Local Highways Policy and Funding Officer Position Available In Jefferson, Alabama

We recognise the challenges that people with (multiple) protected characteristics may experience on the job market and in their career progression. We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities. We are keen to make our workforce as diverse as possible, and we hope to attract applications from underrepresented groups, including ethnic minorities, people with a disability, and people with gender diverse identities. Almost every journey starts and ends on a local highway. Whether you are a car owner, a pedestrian or a cyclist, the condition of the highways and footways in your local area are a vital part of your journey experience. The Government is determined to improve the condition of roads across England, and has increased funding for local highways authorities this year by almost 50%. With the Government developing an Integrated National Transport Strategy with the local highway, including walkways and cycleways, being placed at the heart of it, this gives us an exciting opportunity to drive better outcomes for people all across the country. The advertised role is to support the Local Highways and Active Travel division ensure that local areas receive the correct payments every quarter, and to facilitate reporting, transparency and accountability. The budget the team works with is in excess of £1 billion/year, so the postholder will be expected to build positive relationships with senior finance colleagues across the department and be diligent with record keeping and reporting.

Key responsibilities include:

Arranging quarterly payments to local highway authorities for their maintenance activities, keeping accurate records of payments, and preparing grant offer letters. Fostering a strong relationship with partners in strategic finance teams to help plan and manage payments, supporting departmental and governmental audit processes to help government stay accountable for public money Management of wider team budgets for research and other activities Lead the team’s engagement with the DfT correspondence unit, and take responsibility for distributing correspondence cases to the right people in the team Helping draft responses to parliamentary questions, ministerial correspondence and other correspondence, and drafting briefings for ministerial meetings, visits and debates Provision and development of policy, working with the G7 on local government engagement and assisting in the assessment of incentive initiatives Please view the attached Role Profile for an in depth view of the post.