20th February, 2026
Associate Director - Project Management (Strategic Highways)
North West | Manchester | Hybrid
Infrastructure Consultancy
Excellent salary + car allowance, benefits & performance bonus
Permanent | Full-Time
A leading independent infrastructure consultancy is making a strategic investment in its North West Project Management team.
With a strong secured pipeline and clear plans to scale from circa 65 to over 100 professionals, the business is seeking an Associate Director level Project Manager with deep strategic highways expertise to strengthen its position on nationally significant road programmes across the region.
This is not a replacement hire. It is a deliberate growth appointment aligned to major strategic transport investment in the North West.
The opportunity
You will play a pivotal role in expanding the consultancy’s presence across major National Highways schemes in the region, including high-profile trans-Pennine and trunk road infrastructure programmes moving from Development Consent into delivery.
The team is engaged across strategic road network workstreams and is seeking a senior leader who can:
- Contribute to delivery of complex highways schemes of national scale
- Strengthen relationships within National Highways and its delivery partners
- Provide senior-level programme governance, assurance and strategic oversight
- Support the securement of further packages on live and emerging major schemes
This role combines technical credibility with commercial influence. It will suit someone who understands how large highways programmes are structured, funded and governed within the UK public sector framework, and who can operate confidently at programme level.
About you We are particularly interested in Project Managers who have operated at senior level on major highways programmes, ideally within or closely aligned to National Highways.
You may currently be:
- An Associate Director or Senior Project Leader within a consultancy
- Operating in a client-side or programme advisory capacity
- Embedded within a Tier 1 partner on a nationally significant road scheme
Critical experience includes:
- Delivery involvement on major UK highways or trunk road projects
- Direct exposure to National Highways governance and approval processes
- Strong understanding of DCO-led schemes and Road Investment Strategy controls
- Ability to engage credibly with senior client stakeholders
- Commercial awareness with exposure to work-winning or framework growth
Chartered status (MAPM, MRICS, CEng or equivalent) is highly desirable.
Why this role With nationally significant highways schemes in the North West transitioning from approval into full execution, this appointment is intended to strengthen programme-level capability and enhance the team’s positioning on complex, multi-package corridor upgrades.
The business has established a strong regional PM platform and is now seeking an Associate Director who brings direct experience of large-scale National Highways programmes, particularly those involving complex governance structures and long-linear infrastructure delivery.
For a highways professional who understands how these schemes move from consent into execution, this represents a visible and growth-aligned leadership opportunity within an ambitious and well-capitalised consultancy environment.
For more information and a confidential conversation about the role, please apply now by submitting your CV or contact Dean Forster at Tempest Jones on dean@tempestjones.com.
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