About the Role
The Regional Access Planning Lead is responsible for driving access planning for longer term works within the assigned region, ensuring alignment with strategic programmes and operational priorities. The role provides technical oversight of roadspace bookings, manages a team of planners and administrators, and acts as the key escalation point for regional access issues. By fostering strong stakeholder relationships and embedding collaborative planning protocols, the post holder ensures accurate, compliant bookings and robust delivery programmes. You will also champion continuous improvement by implementing new systems, tools, and processes to enhance regional planning efficiency.
What you'll be doing
* Lead access planning activity for longer-term works within the assigned region, ensuring alignment with strategic programmes and operational priorities.
* Translate optimised programmes into accurate, compliant roadspace bookings.
* Manage and supervise a team of access planners and administrators, ensuring consistent delivery of high-quality outputs.
* Maintain strong relationships with frameworks, utilities, and third-party stakeholders to secure access for delivery programmes.
* Drive stakeholder engagement by leading planning meetings and embedding collaborative protocols.
* Act as the key escalation point for regional access issues, resolving booking conflicts and unblocking delivery progress.
* Provide technical oversight of roadspace bookings, ensuring accuracy, quality, and compliance with Hub and National Highways standards.
* Monitor booking performance and data quality, identifying risks and implementing corrective actions.
* Ensure traffic management plans, diversion routes, and permit applications are planned effectively and logged accurately.
* Support emergency and reactive planning when required, ensuring safe and compliant access decisions.
* Contribute to continuous improvement by embedding new systems, tools, and process enhancements into regional planning practices.
* Translate strategic direction from the Access lead into regional planning operations.
* Oversee and undertake change control processes to ensure the work delivery programme remains robust.
Who we're looking for
Essential
* IT qualified with high computer literacy; capable of handling large volumes of data and using complex IT tools to present information clearly.
* Proven experience in governance, compliance, and quality assurance processes.
* Highly developed problem-solving skills with excellent interpersonal, influencing, communication, and organisational abilities.
* Demonstrated ability to influence internal and external stakeholders, ideally within an operational highways or infrastructure environment.
* Broad understanding of roadspace and scheduling processes for planning works onto the network.
* Proficiency in planning and scheduling systems, with strong document control and audit experience.
Desirable
* Qualified to HND/HNC or degree level in a technical or engineering-related discipline, or equivalent experience.
* Familiarity with planning methodologies and tools such as Aconex, Business Collaborator, Power BI, or similar reporting systems.
* Experience with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for spatial data analysis.
* Understanding of planning systems/methodologies.
* Determination to see tasks through to completion, with excellent planning and organisational skills, able to work independently and use initiative.
Why work for us
Day in, day out, our teams deliver some of the UK's most ambitious, exciting and meaningful projects; developing, building and maintaining the vital infrastructure that supports national economies and strengthens communities.
Benefits
* Smart working, giving you more flexibility such as staggered start and finish times, with up to 40% remote working, where roles allow.
* 25 days paid annual leave (pro rata)
* Family friendly policies which include 28 weeks full pay for maternity/adoption leave and four weeks full pay for paternity/partners leave
* Pension, share incentive plan, volunteering leave, recognition schemes and much more...
About Us
Connect Plus Services (CPS) brings together the collective strength of our parent companies - Balfour Beatty, Atkins and Egis Road Operation UK. With around 600 people, based at eight locations across the M25 network, we work on behalf of Connect Plus and National Highways to manage the operation of the M25 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, from routine maintenance to managing the whole-life requirement of thousands of assets across the network.
Diversity and Inclusion
At Balfour Beatty we believe that diversity and inclusion are essential components of any successful, happy workplace. Through our Value Everyone Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and Action Plan, we are growing our diverse workforce and developing our inclusive culture where everyone is able to thrive and reach their full potential, regardless of their identity or background. To find out how we are making this a reality, visit www.balfourbeatty.com/diversityandinclusion. To help and support us with our desired commitment to create an inclusive culture we are members of WISE, ENEI, Business Disability Forum and the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE). In 2020, we signed the Audeliss and Involve Open Letter to demonstrate our commitment to taking key long term and sustainable actions on Black Inclusion. Balfour Beatty is also a Gold Award holder in the Ministry of Defence 'Employer Recognition Scheme' and actively encourage applications from Armed Forces personnel, veterans and reservists.
As a Disability Confident Employer, we are committed to working with people who have disabilities and long-term health conditions to remove barriers for them in obtaining employment. We are also committed to offering applicants with a disability an interview if they meet the minimum requirements for the role. For more info, visit https://disabilityconfident.campaign.gov.uk/
If you have any feedback on the process, please share this with us at candidaterecruitmentqueries@balfourbeatty.com
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