The salary range for this role is £24,977 to £33,321 per annum for working 36 hours per week. Your starting salary will be dependent on your existing skills, qualifications, and experience.

Surrey County Council's Highways and Transport Service is responsible for managing, maintaining and improving Surrey's road network. This includes 3,000 miles of carriageways, 1,800 bridges, 3,300 miles of footway, and over 600 sets of traffic lights. Our total annual budget is over £150,000,000 - a combination of revenue and capital funding.

As an Engineering Design Technician, you will be involved with the design and delivery of a range of highways improvement projects including (but not limited to) speed limit changes, pedestrian crossings, cycle routes and junction improvements.

You will join the Highway Schemes Design Team, a group of designers, project managers and implementation engineers who work in partnership with both internal teams (who commission us to design and deliver their projects) and our contractor partners (who construct improvements on site).

We have a dynamic and collaborative team culture where hard work, innovation and creativity are celebrated. We value our team members and strive to support each other in achieving our goals, while also promoting a culture of continuous learning and growth.

Professional Development Programme

The role sits within our Professional Development Programme (PDP) and spans three linked grades within our pay grade structure (PS5HT to PS7). Reporting to a Principal Design Engineer, you will participate in a formal training development plan to increase your expertise and attain technical and professional qualifications. For example, we will provide for you to study a relevant subject to BTEC / HNC level - this means you will need to hold a minimum of 5 GCSEs (or equivalent) at grade 4 or above (C or above) including Maths and English. Salary progression is linked to progress through the formal training plan.

Work location

Our office is in Merrow, Guildford, however we have also embraced agile working. Currently colleagues are asked to work at least two days a week in the office, although this will depend on training need as well as the needs and aims of the team. When not required in the office, we provide individuals with flexibility to choose where they work.

About you

This role is ideal for someone at the start of their career in highway design. We would be delighted to consider applications from school leavers or university graduates.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to upload your CV and answer the following questions:

1. Please tell us about your experience of making, producing or arranging something as part of a team. This might have been at school or university, or with family, friends or clubs that you are part of.
2. Please tell us what experience you have of using computer software for design or art, and what skills you have with office software such as Microsoft Word and Excel.
3. Describe any situation where you have had to follow guidelines or procedures as part of your work. This might have been at school or university, or in the context of paid or unpaid work. How did you make sure you were following the correct guidelines or procedures?
4. Please describe a time when you used your communication and people skills to overcome a problem.
5. Please tell us why you are interested in highways and transport, why you are interested in design and also if there anything else you would like to tell us to support your application.

When answering the above questions, please do give us specific examples wherever possible. Answers will be scored and used for shortlisting purposes.

For candidates hoping to be considered for the higher grades in this professional development role, you would need to have AutoCAD skills and also have some previous experience of designing or implementing highway improvement projects.

As part of the application process you will also be asked to confirm whether you have a full, clean driving licence. This is not essential for the lower two grades in this professional development role - it would be required to progress to the highest grade. The role requires the ability to work and travel across the County. At the highest grade in this role you would be expected to have access to a car to use for work related travel.

If you are at the start of your career in highway design and are looking for an opportunity to develop your skills while working towards a professional qualification, please click the apply button below! We would also welcome a conversation with you should you have any questions about the role or assessment process.

This job advert will close at 23:59 on Sunday 22nd October 2023. We will review applications as they are submitted - shortlisted candidates will be invited for interview during September / October 2023. Please note that we may close the advert early if we appoint successful candidates.

We look forward to receiving your application. Please click on the apply online button below to submit.

Our Commitment

Surrey County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. A guaranteed interview will be offered to all disabled applications where:

• The candidate has evidenced the minimum criteria for the role through their application
• The candidate has chosen to share that they have a disability on the application form

Our application form and onboarding process will provide an opportunity to request any reasonable adjustments for the interview and/or the role.

We want to be an inclusive and diverse employer reflecting the community we serve and particularly welcome applications from all underrepresented groups.