So You Want to Be a Director of Highways and Infrastructure?

Stepping into the role of Director of Highways and Infrastructure in local government is not just about managing roads, bridges, and transport networks it’s about stewarding the physical foundations of public life. This is a role where engineering meets leadership, where policy meets delivery, and where the decisions you make ripple across communities for decades.

You’ll be responsible for assets worth hundreds of millions of pounds, overseeing complex capital programmes, and ensuring that infrastructure is safe, sustainable, and fit for the future. But more than that, you’ll be a strategic leader someone who understands how infrastructure underpins economic growth, social mobility, and environmental resilience. This is a job for those who want to make a difference. Whether it’s reducing congestion, improving air quality, enabling active travel, or preparing for climate shocks, your work will shape how people live, move, and connect.

“Infrastructure is not just about concrete and steel it’s about opportunity, equity, and ambition.” Sir John Armitt, Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission

For those aspiring to this pivotal leadership role, it’s essential to understand not only the technical and operational demands, but also the political, financial, and human dimensions of the job. You’ll need to be ready to lead multi-disciplinary teams, navigate complex stakeholder landscapes, and deliver outcomes that balance cost, quality, and public value. This blog explores what you need to know to prepare for the role, what to focus on from day one, what to keep in mind for the long haul and what to avoid if you want to thrive.

What You Need to Know to Be Ready

Stepping into a Director-level role in Highways and Infrastructure means being more than a technical expert you must be a strategic leader, a systems thinker, and a trusted advisor to elected members and senior officers. The role demands a rare blend of operational rigour, political awareness, and visionary thinking. Below are the core competencies and skills you’ll need to develop and demonstrate to be truly ready.

1. Core Competencies and Skills

Strategic Planning & Asset Management

You’ll be responsible for overseeing long-term infrastructure strategies that align with your council’s corporate objectives and regional transport plans. This includes managing multi-million-pound budgets, prioritising investment across ageing assets, and ensuring compliance with statutory duties. For example, Somerset County Council’s Head of Highways Operations manages an annual budget of £55 million, covering everything from pothole repairs to major capital schemes. You’ll need to understand lifecycle costing, risk-based maintenance, and how to leverage data to make informed decisions. Increasingly, councils are adopting digital asset management platforms to track condition, performance, and investment needs in real time.

Contract & Programme Management

Delivering infrastructure at scale means managing complex contracts, often involving multiple suppliers, frameworks, and delivery partners. You’ll need to be fluent in NEC and JCT contract forms, understand procurement regulations, and be able to lead programme boards with confidence. Experience in managing large capital programmes such as road resurfacing, bridge strengthening, or active travel schemes is essential. You’ll also need to be adept at managing change, resolving disputes, and ensuring delivery against time, cost, and quality benchmarks.

“The best infrastructure leaders are those who can translate complexity into clarity and keep delivery on track even when the politics shift.” Senior Infrastructure Advisor, Local Partnerships LLP

Stakeholder Engagement

Infrastructure is inherently political. You’ll be working closely with elected members, local MPs, community groups, and national bodies such as the Department for Transport, National Highways, and Transport for the North. Building trust and credibility is key. You must be able to communicate technical issues in plain English, respond to public concerns with empathy, and navigate the scrutiny of cabinet members and scrutiny committees. Strong stakeholder engagement isn’t just about consultation it’s about co-creation and collaboration.

Sustainability & Innovation

The future of infrastructure is green, digital, and resilient. You’ll need to understand how to embed sustainability into every aspect of your work from low-carbon materials and electric vehicle infrastructure to climate adaptation and biodiversity net gain. Innovation is no longer optional. Councils are trialling smart sensors, AI-powered traffic management, and modular construction techniques. You’ll need to be open to new ideas, willing to pilot emerging technologies, and able to build the business case for change.

“Infrastructure is key, but also how it’s used and that’s political.”  Paul Kagame

What You Should Be Thinking About on Day One

Your first day as a Director of Highways and Infrastructure isn’t just about introductions and inductions it’s about setting the tone for your leadership. The decisions you make early on will shape perceptions, build trust, and lay the groundwork for long-term success. Here are three critical areas to focus on from the outset:

1. Your Strategic Mandate

Before you dive into operational detail, take time to understand the strategic landscape. Your role is not just to deliver services it’s to deliver outcomes that align with your council’s broader ambitions.

• Align with the Corporate Plan: Review your council’s corporate strategy, political manifesto commitments, and medium-term financial plan. Where does infrastructure fit in? Are you enabling housing growth, supporting economic regeneration, or improving public health through active travel?

• Connect Local to National: Understand how your local transport strategy aligns with national priorities such as net zero, levelling up, and resilience to climate change. The Department for Transport’s decarbonisation plan and the National Infrastructure Strategy are key reference points.

“Infrastructure is not just about delivery it’s about direction. You need to know where your council is going before you decide how to get there.” Local Government Leadership Coach

2. Your Network

Infrastructure delivery is a team sport. Success depends on your ability to build strong relationships across the organisation and beyond.

• Internal Relationships: Get to know your direct reports, corporate leadership team, and elected members. Understand their priorities, pressures, and expectations. Build trust early especially with your portfolio holder.

• External Stakeholders: Forge connections with regional transport bodies, neighbouring authorities, utility companies, and contractors. These relationships will be vital when coordinating major schemes or responding to emergencies.

• Community Engagement: Infrastructure affects everyone. From road closures to cycle lanes, your decisions will be visible and sometimes controversial. Engage with communities early and often. Transparency, responsiveness, and empathy go a long way in building public trust.

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“We want a transport system that is simpler to navigate, safer, greener and more reliable.”  Cllr Rupert Swarbrick, Lancashire County Council

3. Your Assets

You’re inheriting a vast and complex portfolio of physical assets some of which may be in poor condition, underfunded, or poorly understood.

• Know What You’ve Got: Familiarise yourself with the state of your highways, bridges, street lighting, traffic signals, and rights of way. Review inspection reports, maintenance schedules, and capital investment plans.

• Review Your Asset Management Strategy: Is it data-driven? Is it aligned with your financial strategy and climate goals? Are you using digital tools to monitor performance and predict future needs?

• Plan for Resilience: Climate change is already impacting infrastructure. Flooding, heatwaves, and extreme weather events are becoming more frequent. Ensure your assets are resilient and your teams are prepared.

“The best asset managers don’t just maintain they anticipate.”  Head of Infrastructure, Combined Authority

What You Should Be Thinking About for the Future

Once you’ve settled into the role and built your foundations, your focus must shift to the horizon. Infrastructure leadership is inherently forward-looking what you plan and deliver today will shape your community’s future for generations. Here are three critical areas to keep front of mind as you look ahead.

1. Funding and Performance

Infrastructure delivery is resource-intensive, and the financial landscape is increasingly complex. While UK infrastructure investment rose to £28.9 billion in 2024, nearly half of local authorities experienced a decline in funding between 2018 and 2022, particularly in capital allocations for highways maintenance and improvement.

• Innovative Funding Models: Traditional grant funding is no longer sufficient. Explore public-private partnerships, community infrastructure levies, and design-to-cost strategies that maximise value without compromising quality. Consider how you can leverage developer contributions, regional growth deals, and green finance mechanisms.

• Performance Transparency: Councils are under growing pressure to demonstrate value for money. Invest in performance dashboards, benchmarking tools, and transparent reporting frameworks. Use data to tell a compelling story about impact, efficiency, and public benefit.

“The UK faces high unit costs and slow delivery times. Risk aversion has driven up cost and delays.” Boston Consulting Group, 2024

2. Skills and Workforce

The infrastructure sector is facing a skills crunch. From civil engineers to project managers, the talent pipeline is thinning, and competition from the private sector is fierce. Sir John Armitt, Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission, has called for a “refreshed pipeline of future workers” to meet the demands of a modern infrastructure system.

• Invest in People: Develop apprenticeship programmes, graduate pathways, and leadership development schemes. Upskill your existing workforce in digital tools, carbon literacy, and collaborative working.

• Champion Diversity: A future-ready workforce must reflect the communities it serves. Promote inclusive recruitment, support neurodiverse talent, and create progression routes for underrepresented groups.

• Embrace Digital: The future of infrastructure is digital. Equip your teams with skills in GIS, BIM, data analytics, and AI-powered asset management. Digital transformation isn’t just about technology it’s about culture.

“Infrastructure isn’t just built with concrete it’s built with people. Invest in them.” Infrastructure Skills Strategy, Local Government Association

3. Climate and Resilience

Climate change is no longer a distant threat it’s a present reality. Flooding, heatwaves, and extreme weather events are already impacting infrastructure networks across the UK. As Director, you must lead the charge on climate adaptation, carbon reduction, and resilience planning.

• Design for Resilience: Ensure new infrastructure is built to withstand future climate conditions. This includes flood defences, sustainable drainage systems (SuDS), permeable surfaces, and heat-resilient materials.

• Retrofit and Maintain: Review your existing assets for climate vulnerabilities. Prioritise retrofitting where possible and embed resilience into your maintenance regimes.

• Lead on Net Zero: Infrastructure is a major contributor to carbon emissions. Embed low-carbon design principles, promote active travel, and transition your fleet and operations to electric and renewable energy sources.

“Resilience isn’t a luxury it’s a necessity. Every pound spent on prevention saves five in recovery.” National Infrastructure Commission, Climate Resilience Report

What You Need to Avoid

Leadership in infrastructure is as much about knowing what not to do as it is about knowing what to prioritise. The stakes are high public safety, financial stewardship, and political credibility all rest on your decisions. Here are three critical traps to avoid if you want to lead effectively and sustainably.

1. Short-Termism

Infrastructure is a long game. Decisions made today will shape your authority’s transport network, environmental footprint, and economic potential for decades. Yet too often, leaders fall into the trap of reactive, short-term thinking responding to immediate pressures without a strategic lens.

• Avoid firefighting: While urgent issues will arise, don’t let them dominate your agenda. Balance short-term fixes with long-term planning.

• Think generationally: Plan for 10, 20, even 50 years ahead. Consider how your infrastructure will serve future populations, withstand climate change, and support evolving technologies.

“Short-termism is the enemy of resilience. Infrastructure must be built not just for today’s needs, but for tomorrow’s uncertainties.” Infrastructure Futures Panel, UKRI

2. Poor Communication

Infrastructure is technical but leadership is relational. One of the fastest ways to lose stakeholder confidence is through poor communication. Whether it’s councillors, contractors, or the public, your ability to explain, persuade, and inspire is critical.

• Ditch the jargon: Technical language may be second nature to you, but it can alienate non-specialists. Use plain English and visual aids to make your message accessible.

• Tell the story: Every infrastructure project has a narrative why it matters, who it helps, and what it will achieve. Start with why, and build consensus through compelling storytelling.

“Start with why. Better storytelling and clearer problem statements are essential.” Future Infrastructure Leaders Forum, 2025

• Be visible and responsive: Silence breeds suspicion. Keep stakeholders informed, especially when things go wrong. Transparency builds trust.

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3. Budget Pitfalls

Infrastructure budgets are complex, and missteps can be costly not just financially, but reputationally. Avoiding common financial pitfalls is essential to maintaining credibility and delivering value.

• Don’t skip preventive maintenance: It may be tempting to defer routine works to save money, but this often leads to more expensive repairs down the line. A pothole ignored today could become a structural failure tomorrow.

• Plan for the full lifecycle: Infrastructure assets have seasonal demands and long-term wear. Failing to account for winter gritting, flood response, or equipment replacement can derail your budget and disrupt service delivery.

• Build in contingencies: Unexpected costs are inevitable. Ensure your financial plans include buffers for risk and inflation.

“Infrastructure failure is rarely about design it’s about neglect. Budget for maintenance like you budget for innovation.” Local Government Infrastructure Finance Review, CIPFA

Final Thoughts

Being a Director of Highways and Infrastructure is about far more than tarmac, traffic signals, and technical specifications. It’s a leadership role that sits at the intersection of public service, strategic vision, and civic responsibility. You’re not just maintaining roads you’re enabling mobility, economic growth, and environmental resilience. You’re shaping how people live, work, and connect. This is a role for those who want to lead with purpose. It demands courage to challenge the status quo, curiosity to embrace innovation, and commitment to deliver for communities especially when resources are tight and expectations are high. If you’re ready to step up, start now. Build your strategic mindset. Deepen your technical knowledge. Strengthen your stakeholder relationships. And most importantly, stay grounded in the values of public service because infrastructure isn’t just about what we build, it’s about who we build it for.