Highways Asset Manager

Our client is a leading civil engineering and environmental services provider delivering essential infrastructure work across Cornwall and the wider region. Their operations cover highways maintenance, civil-engineering projects, surfacing, coastal protection, environmental management, landscaping, and specialist consultancy. With a strong reputation for quality and community impact, they are committed to sustainability, innovation, and delivering social value across everything they do.

They manage and maintain Cornwall’s extensive network of highways and environmental assets through long-term strategic contracts with the local authority. This spans routine and preventative maintenance, 24/7 emergency response, highway inspections, asset lifecycle planning, and the delivery of improvement schemes that keep the county’s infrastructure safe, resilient, and future-ready. With ongoing investment in smarter working, digital tools, and data-led decision-making, the organisation continues to modernise its approach to asset management, supporting long-term outcomes for the communities they serve.

This is a key strategic role within the business, responsible for leading the planning, development, and optimisation of the county’s highway assets. You will ensure the safe, efficient, and cost-effective management of the network, using data, insight, and engineering expertise to shape long-term asset strategies.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the development and implementation of highway asset management strategies across the network.
• Oversee asset data collection, validation, and analysis to inform investment decisions and maintenance planning.
• Manage lifecycle planning for carriageways, footways, structures, drainage, and associated highway assets.
• Work closely with internal teams, local authority partners, and delivery teams to prioritise works based on risk, condition, and value for money.
• Prepare evidence-based recommendations for capital and revenue programmes.
• Ensure compliance with relevant standards, codes of practice, and statutory requirements.
• Support digital transformation and the adoption of new asset-management technologies and reporting platforms.
• Lead asset performance monitoring and provide regular reports, dashboards, and insights to senior leadership and stakeholders.
• Contribute to continuous improvement, innovation, and the development of best practice across the network.

About You

• Experienced in highways asset management, civil engineering, infrastructure planning, or a related field.
• Strong understanding of lifecycle planning, asset condition assessment, and maintenance techniques.
• Skilled in analysing complex data and translating it into actionable plans.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Confident working with asset management systems, GIS, and digital reporting tools.
• Strategic thinker with the ability to balance long-term planning with real-time operational needs.
• Degree in civil engineering, highways, or a related discipline (or equivalent experience).