The posting
Highways Inspector
Temporary Contract
Job Details
Client: The Royal Borough of Greenwich Service Area: Regeneration, Enterprise & Skills / Highways Asset Management
Hours: 35 hours per week
Working Pattern: Monday to Friday 09:00 to 17:00
Start Date: 17 August 2026 End Date: 15 February 2027
Number of Roles: 2
Location
Office Base: The Woolwich Centre Woolwich Greater London SE18 6HQ
The role will involve highway inspections, site visits and work supervision across the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
Pay
PAYE Rate: £23.05 per hour
Job Overview
The Royal Borough of Greenwich is seeking experienced Highways Inspectors to carry out highway safety inspections, manage minor repairs and respond to service requests from residents.
The role will involve inspecting highways, contractor works and statutory undertaker works, checking quality, quantity and materials against specification, carrying out minor surveys, using inspection and recording equipment, and maintaining knowledge of relevant highways legislation.
This role requires highways inspection, highway maintenance, local authority highway maintenance, construction/repair inspection, site inspection, contractor supervision, works ordering, Highway Act 1980 and public safety experience.
Important – Please Read Carefully
This is a Highways Inspector role within local authority highway maintenance.
Candidates must have experience carrying out highway safety inspections and ideally experience within local authority highway maintenance.
The order screening specifically asks whether the candidate has carried out highway safety inspections, has local authority highway maintenance experience, and is registered on the IHE Register of Highway Inspectors.
Candidates must have an in-depth and up-to-date working knowledge and understanding of the Highways Act 1980 and other related legislation.
Candidates without highways inspection, highways maintenance, construction/repair inspection, site inspection or local authority highways experience are unlikely to be considered.
Key Responsibilities
- Undertake routine safety inspections of the highway
- Inspect work carried out by contractors
- Inspect work carried out by statutory undertakers
- Check quality, quantity and materials against specification
- Programme and carry out minor surveys and census work
- Use inspection, measurement and recording equipment competently
- Maintain knowledge of construction methods and materials relevant to highways work
- Maintain up-to-date knowledge of highways legislation
- Work out of hours where required for site inspection, recording and work supervision
- Respond to service requests from residents
- Carry out pre and post highway licence inspections
- Liaise with contractors and statutory undertaker representatives on site
- Deal with complaints and queries from the public
- Support resolution of claims and disputes
- Initiate routine correspondence
- Report on insurance claims against contractors, external bodies and the Council
- Act as a main witness in court appearances on behalf of the Council and insurers where required
- Draft letters for circulation to residents
- Produce preliminary designs for minor schemes where required
- Be aware of financial implications of engineering work
- Support value for money in highways maintenance work
- Produce reports on own work
- Carry out site measurements and inspections before payment approval
- Issue works orders within agreed programmes and delegated limits
- Assist with contract documents
- Carry out routine engineering duties such as material testing
- Produce estimates and measurements for costing purposes
- Supervise minor maintenance contracts
- Prepare variation orders for authorisation
- Check contractor accounts and certify payments where required
- Issue instructions and guidance on site
- Stop or reject works that breach specification, codes of practice or safety standards
- Assist with annual surface dressing programme supervision where required
- Inspect and report on matters relevant to highway maintenance and public safety
- Support public safety and emergency-related highway actions
- Supervise stages of engineering works within the role's area
- Liaise with departments, authorities and external stakeholders
- Provide technical advice to other departments and authorities where required
Essential Experience & Skills
- Experience carrying out highway safety inspections
- Local authority highway maintenance experience
- Highways maintenance experience
- Knowledge of the Highways Act 1980 and related legislation
- Experience carrying out site inspections
- Experience inspecting highway construction or repair work
- Knowledge of construction and/or highways maintenance
- Experience managing or inspecting contractor works
- Experience inspecting statutory undertaker works
- Ability to check quality, quantity and materials against specification
- Experience responding to resident service requests
- Experience dealing with public complaints or queries
- Ability to prioritise and manage own workload with minimum supervision
- Ability to meet deadlines and targets in a busy environment
- Experience with electronic works ordering or notification systems
- Ability to work with agencies, partners, contractors or statutory undertakers
- Knowledge of highways materials, drainage, paving or road construction
- Ability to carry out complex or in-depth inspections
- Good written communication skills
- Good verbal communication skills
- Ability to prepare reports and routine correspondence
- Awareness of Health and Safety requirements
- Ability to work out of hours where necessary for site inspection or supervision
Desirable
- Registration on the IHE Register of Highway Inspectors
- Degree-level education with extensive experience in traffic and municipal engineering
- Technical qualification with extensive experience in traffic and municipal engineering
- Highway, road construction, bridges, drainage and paving inspection experience
- Time served in highways inspection
- Experience supervising minor maintenance contracts
- Experience issuing works orders
- Experience preparing estimates, measurements and variation orders
- Experience certifying contractor payments
- Experience supporting insurance claims or court witness statements
- Experience working in a London borough highways team
Additional Information
Candidate screening statements on the order include:
- Candidate has carried out highway safety inspections
- Candidate has experience in local authority highway maintenance
- Candidate is registered on the IHE Register of Highway Inspectors
Candidate submission should clearly evidence these points.
Disclaimer
On applying for this vacancy, you agree that your personal details will be passed onto our client for their consideration of your suitability for the role.
I acknowledge that it is my responsibility to notify Fix Space Recruitment Limited of any hirer who I do not want my details to be passed onto.
Job Reference
RQ1766853
Strict Screening Questions
- Have you carried out routine highway safety inspections, including identifying defects, recording findings and arranging or recommending appropriate repairs?
- Do you have experience working in local authority highway maintenance, including responding to service requests from residents and dealing with highway-related complaints or queries?
- Are you registered on the IHE Register of Highway Inspectors, or can you evidence equivalent highways inspection training, qualification or experience?
- Do you have in-depth working knowledge of the Highways Act 1980 and other highways-related legislation, guidance, codes of practice or safety requirements?
- Have you inspected contractor or statutory undertaker works, checking quality, quantity, materials and compliance with specification?
- Can you provide a short supporting statement confirming your highway safety inspection experience, local authority highway maintenance experience, IHE registration status, and knowledge of electronic works ordering or notification systems?
