Director of Transport Programmes

Welcome

Dear Candidate,

We are delighted to be partnering with Gatenby Sanderson on this key, senior leadership opportunity at the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority (MCA).

Turn strategy into action. Lead transport programmes that transform lives across the West of England.

Led by Helen Godwin, Mayor of the West of England, the Combined Authority invests for the benefit of people living and working in Bath & North East Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire.

Together, our aim is to deliver reliable transport that connects our communities, deliver affordable homes in the right places with essential services, and enable pathways into green jobs that power our future economy.

About the Role

The Director of Transport Programmes will be responsible for leading a high-impact portfolio of various transport projects, directly contributing to West England Mayoral Combined Authority’s economic growth and sustainability and ensuring a lasting impact on regional growth. The Director of Transport Programmes will be responsible for connecting people to opportunity and transforming the way people move around the region. You will be responsible for monitoring programme progress, ensuring that they are delivered on time, within budget, and ensuring the best value for money. Your ability to work with stakeholders in this role will be key, as you will need to develop robust business cases, and prioritise funding for projects that will provide the most significant benefits to the region, and result in improved outcomes.

You will need to be commercially aware, overseeing contract negotiation and management, ensuring contracts are aligned with strategic goals, and can work in alignment with the Combined Authority and our broader aims Your role will be far-reaching, and you will be expected to have close collaboration with both internal stakeholders such as the Executive Director of Transport, and Combined Authority colleagues, whilst also maintaining strong relationships with public sector partners, contractors, and consultants. You will be expected to leverage your knowledge in industry best practice and remain informed on new advancements in transport and infrastructure to ensure the programmes are successful.

About You

You will need to be a highly credible transport leader, with experience in a complex, high profile, and multi stakeholder environment. Your programme experience to date will be critical to your success, and you will need to demonstrate your project and programme leadership experience, orchestrating major projects, or leading as the Senior Responsible Officer on these programmes. As you will be working with contractors, you will need sound knowledge of UK and EU Public Procurement Requirements, as well as an understanding of public sector financing and funding. You will need to demonstrate your success in business case presentation and awarding, and your ability to manage multiple pressing priorities, as you will be managing a broad portfolio of responsibilities and projects in this role.

Your influencing and communication skills will be critical in this role, and you will need to ensure you build a trusted relationship with both your internal and external stakeholders, and your knowledge of contract management, risk management, and budgetary responsibilities will support you in achieving this. As a leader, you will need to be comfortable with coaching and mentoring a team, in order to build a high-performing team, where everyone is aligned in their thinking and priorities.

Please note that the closing date for this role is mid-night on Friday 19 June, 2026.
We are planning for final assessments to be held on Friday 03 July, 2026.

For an informal conversation about this role, please contact:

• Seb Lowe, Partner, 07464 543442, seb.lowe@gatenbysanderson.com
• Emily Lockwood, Senior Researcher, emily.lockwood@gatenbysanderson.com

By registering your interest in this vacancy you are agreeing that your information may be shared for recruitment purposes, between Gatenby Sanderson and the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority.

The West of England Combined Authority

The West of England is a fantastic place to live and work; a place where ideas flourish and businesses grow, and a diverse population calls home.

With a highly-skilled workforce, innovative businesses, rich cultural and natural assets, and excellent digital and physical connectivity, the West of England competes on a global scale.

However, we know we face challenges, particularly in the way people get around our region. We are committed to tackling these challenges head on, taking decisive action to help people access their homes, places of work, training or education, or leisure opportunities in a more sustainable, affordable and reliable way.