Senior Economic Development Manager
| Posting date: | 29 January 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £54,180 to £64,120 per year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 12 February 2026 |
| Location: | Manchester, Greater Manchester, M60 7RT |
| Remote working: | Hybrid - work remotely up to 3 days per week |
| Company: | National Highways |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 7085_1769682138 |
Summary
About the job.
We're looking for a Senior Economic Development Manager to join our Customer, Strategy and Communications Directorate at National Highways. Within this role, you'll lead a programme of work and provide evidence to directly support and demonstrate the economic role of the Strategic Road Network (SRN) and of National Highways in the national economy, including the development, management and oversight of £165m Growth and Housing Accelerator Fund.
But that's not all, you'll act as the Strategic Lead for the Growth and Housing Accelerator Fund within Road Investment Strategy 3 (RIS3), by providing overall management and oversight of the Fund Delivery programme and acting as lead subject matter expert to guide the effective deployment of the funding.
This role will be worked on a hybrid basis, with a minimum of 2 days per week in the office.
- Support the Director of Strategic Planning and the Head of Network Strategy and Development to develop and maintain senior level relationships with national and key regional stakeholders that play a significant role in economic growth.
- Act as a subject matter expert for economic development and lead National Highways' efforts in promoting economic development nationally, to improve understanding of road reliant sectors, and the role of SRN in securing efficient routes to global markets and place making.
- Lead the provision of evidence and geospatial intelligence to ensure investment decision and strategic planning by National Highways supports economic development and proactively responds to priority growth locations such as Industrial Strategy Zones.
- Procure and contract manage external commissions to ensure the economic development programme and Growth and Housing Accelerator Fund are delivered to time and budget.
- Lead, inspire and motivate the team to optimise behaviours, capability and create a high-performance culture.
About you.
- Experience and in-depth understanding of economic development within the context of infrastructure, spatial development and network planning.
- Capability to operate strategically at national and/or sub-national level in an economic development or related environment.
- Knowledge of the wider levers that support effective investment delivery e.g. planning, public/private funding, other Government support mechanisms and interventions.
- Evidence of successful working with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders at a senior level to deliver mutually beneficial outcomes.
- Knowledge of large-scale external funding programmes and associated governance procedures.
About us.
Here at National Highways, we manage and improve England's motorways and major A roads, helping our customers have safer, smoother and more reliable journeys. Our priorities are safety, customers and delivery, and at the core of this, are our values of passion, integrity, safety, teamwork and ownership.
The Customer, Strategy, and Communications directorate is essential to National Highways. We guide the direction of the strategic road network, helping the company deliver economic and social benefits by meeting the needs of our customers, clients, and fulfilling regulatory requirements. As the central hub within National Highways, we provide the corporate strategic planning function for the organisation.
External candidates will be offered a starting salary at the lower end of the pay scale, while current employees will be appointed in accordance with our established pay policy.
We are committed to creating a diverse environment and welcome applicants from all backgrounds.
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme