Description About the job National Highways have an exciting opportunity for an Asset Needs Manager to join our team in the East Region. The Asset Needs Manager will lead multidisciplinary teams of specialists across key asset classes, including Pavements, Road Restraint Systems, Ancillaries, Structures, and Asset Data. The role is pivotal in shaping and delivering National Highways’ forward investment planning process, ensuring the network remains safe, reliable, and fit for purpose. Working collaboratively with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders, the postholder will drive innovation in capital programme development while ensuring the integrity and accuracy of asset data. Reporting to the Head of Planning and Development (East Region), the role plays a critical part in aligning regional delivery with national priorities. This role is based from our offices in Bedford, Cambridge and Ipswich. Lead and inspire a multidisciplinary team of approximately c.30 engineers and analysts, with direct line management of three team leaders covering Structures, Pavements/RRS/Ancillaries, and Asset Data. Set clear strategic direction aligned to National Highways’ priorities, ensuring capital development programmes are effectively planned and governed, with a strong focus on performance, behaviours, and a positive culture rooted in Safety, Passion, Teamwork, Integrity, and Ownership. Act as Regional Asset Manager for Structures, accountable for the development of the forward programme, with a particular focus on Significant Structures and inspection programmes. Ensure schemes are appropriately prioritised, scoped, and progressed in line with agreed milestones, supported by robust governance and quality to inform effective investment decisions. Act as Regional Asset Manager for Pavements, Road Restraint Systems, and Ancillaries, leading the development of the forward programme. Ensure schemes are prioritised and progressed to meet key milestones, supporting achievement of KPI 3.1 pavement condition targets, with a strong emphasis on quality, consistency, and value. Provide leadership for Asset Data management, ensuring that asset information across all systems is accurate, current, and complete. Oversee the integration of data from Major Projects, third parties, Operations schemes, and DBFO contracts, proactively addressing data gaps and enabling informed decision-making across the organisation. Develop and maintain strong, collaborative relationships with key stakeholders across National Highways and external partners. Support operational teams during incidents and project delivery, work closely with Safety Engineering and Standards (SES) and national functions, and provide clear reporting on progress, risks, and opportunities to the East Region Senior Leadership Team. About you Demonstrable experience of leading multidiscipline teams. Demonstrable experience of leading complex programmes at pace. Expert understanding of highway asset policies, strategies, planning and risk management. Good commercial and financial acumen, including contract management, budget management and reporting. Experience of asset management decision making, using asset data to assess how asset investment decisions impact on customer service, condition outcomes and risk. Demonstrable experience of collaborative supply chain management. 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. Operations is at the heart of keeping the strategic road network moving and ensuring our customers get the best possible experience when using our roads. We address over 39,000 customer enquiries every month, plan and deliver all maintenance activities on the network, drive efficiencies and improvements across our systems and roads, and respond to incidents across 4,500 miles of motorways and major A-roads that we manage. All to make sure National Highways customers have safer, smoother, and more reliable journeys. 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.