Project Officer

Job Title: Project Officer
Starting Salary: £35,570 progressing to £38,510 per annum
Hours: 37 hours per week
Location: Farnham House, Stevenage
Contract Type: Permanent
Directorate: Growth and Environment

About the team

In this role you will be joining the Highways Service Development Team, which plays a key role in driving continuous improvement, through procurement, performance management and transformation across Hertfordshire County Council's highways and transport services.

Working collaboratively with highways and transport operational teams, senior managers, elected members, and external partners, the team develops and delivers procurement projects and programmes, along with contract management and performance functions that support strategic priorities, improve service performance, and ensure effective use of resources.

Some of the key pieces of work currently being undertaken are:

• Supporting the delivery of highways procurements
• Supporting the Performance Management process of our major contracts
• Supporting Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) readiness workstreams

About the role

As a Project Officer within the Highways Service Development Team, you'll support the delivery of procurement, contract management, performance monitoring and service improvement activities that contribute to the Council's strategic objectives.

Working with service leads, providers and stakeholders, you'll coordinate projects, monitor performance, manage risks and actions, analyse data, and prepare reports to support informed decision-making. You'll help ensure contracts deliver strong performance, positive outcomes and value for money.

You'll build effective relationships with a range of internal and external partners, including senior managers, suppliers, local authorities and government organisations. We're looking for someone who can collaborate effectively while confidently challenging where needed to drive continuous improvement.

This is an excellent opportunity for a motivated and adaptable individual who enjoys problem-solving, managing varied projects and making a tangible impact on service delivery.

Key Responsibilities

• Support the Highways Service Development Managers and Group Manager for Contracts and Service Development in delivering projects, procurements and service improvement initiatives.
• Monitor and analyse contract and performance data, identifying trends and supporting performance reporting.
• Maintain project controls, including action logs, risk registers and communication plans.
• Coordinate meetings and workshops, including agenda preparation, minute-taking and tracking actions.
• Manage the Highways Contracts mailbox, responding to enquiries and escalating issues where appropriate.
• Prepare reports, presentations and briefing materials for a range of audiences.
• Build effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders to support service delivery and project outcomes.
• Represent the team at meetings and forums when required.
• Support effective governance, compliance and record-keeping across team activities.

This role will be line managed by one of the Highways Service Development Managers

About you

Essential

• Experience of supporting projects, programmes, contract management, performance management or other structured business processes, or relevant transferable skills.
• Competent IT skills, especially standard Microsoft Office packages. With an interest in using AI for efficiencies.
• Highly organised and ability to prioritise your workload.
• Ability to work independently and within a team.
• Good verbal and written communication skills.
• Have a keen eye for detail.
• Experience of holding partners or stakeholders to account for agreed actions, service standards, performance measures, or contractual requirements.

Desirable

• Knowledge or experience of working in a political environment, and of local government corporate objectives and current issues.
• Able to work confidently with a range of stakeholders to support delivery of agreed actions, service improvements and business priorities.
• Experience of supporting contract, supplier, or performance management processes, including reviewing information and following up on agreed actions or areas for improvement.
• Demonstrable commitment to achieving value for money, continuous improvement, and good outcomes for service users or residents.

We welcome applications from candidates who currently reside in the UK with established proof of right to work documentation. We are not able to offer sponsorship at this time for this role.

This job role is Level 9. Please locate the job profile here:

Job profiles: Project & programme

To hear more about this opportunity please contact [email removed] for an informal discussion about the role.

Interview Date: 1 & 2 October 2026

Benefits of working for us

How to apply

As part of your application, please upload your most recent CV. Ensure your CV is up to date with your employment history (including any employment gaps), and including any training/qualifications. We encourage you to include examples of where you have demonstrated the requirements/criteria in the advert / job profile to allow the panel to fully recognise your skills and abilities. You will have the opportunity to include a short covering paragraph within your application to give us a little more information about your skills, knowledge, and experiences.

Additional information

We are changing
Hertfordshire County Council is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). If you are employed by Hertfordshire County on 1 April 2028, it is expected that most roles will transfer to the newly-created unitary councils on existing terms and conditions under TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings – Protection of Employment) principles.

LGR is one of the biggest changes we will face in a generation. It will reshape how we work and how services are organised and gives us a real opportunity to build something better. To find out more, visit https://www.hertfordshire-lgr.co.uk/

Disability Confident
We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and guarantee an interview to anyone disclosing a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post.

English Fluency
The ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post (for those whose language is a signed language the provision of a sign language interpreter who speaks English to the necessary standard of fluency will be require