Highways Commercial Manager

Highways Commercial Manager – Isle of Wight/Hybrid – £67.16 per hour (Umbrella)


A Local Authority on the Isle of Wight is seeking an Interim Highways Commercial Manager to join their Highways and Transportation team. This is a key leadership role focused on the commercial management of the Highways PFI contract, offering a hybrid working model and a competitive rate of £67.16 per hour (umbrella).

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and oversee the commercial functions of the Highways PFI contract.
• Manage a team responsible for contract administration, ensuring accurate recording and compliance with statutory and auditable requirements.
• Proactively work with Island Roads, the Council’s service provider, to ensure contractual performance standards and response times are achieved.
• Collaborate with senior colleagues including the Strategic Manager, Group Engineer, Transport Strategy Manager, and Network Manager as part of the Senior Contract Management Team (SCMT).
• Performance manage the service and operational companies through site inspections, audits, and detailed performance analysis.
• Lead scrutiny of change events and issue formal contractual notices to the service provider.
• Review planned investments against the Financial Model, challenging forecasts and profiles to ensure alignment with network requirements.
• Communicate effectively with a range of internal and external stakeholders, including elected members and Town/Parish Councils.

Candidate Profile:

The successful candidate will be a commercially astute professional with experience managing complex contracts, preferably within highways, infrastructure, or PFI environments. Strong leadership, stakeholder engagement, and contract management skills are essential.