External Affairs Lead

Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom and 1 more

• Job Identification 6785
• Job Category Corporate Affairs and Communications
• Posting Date 01/05/2026, 08:15 AM
• Locations Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom Bedford, Bedfordshire, United Kingdom
• Apply Before 01/19/2026, 11:59 PM
• Job Schedule Full time
• Working Hours 37
• Part Time/Job Share Considered Yes

About the job

Are you looking for an opportunity to play a leading role in a mission that's vital to the country, helping us to drive the engagement we need to ensure the strategic road network continues to deliver for our stakeholders?

We're looking for an outstanding candidate to lead our external affairs programme in the Midlands and East of England. You'll be responsible for the development and delivery our external affairs strategy across the region, working with senior leaders at National Highways to connect us with some of our most influential stakeholders. With a proven track record of delivery in external affairs, public affairs or stakeholder engagement, we're looking for strong leadership skills to help us promote and support best practice across National Highways.

You'll be a champion of stakeholder engagement, able to bring new and creative ideas to the team. You'll also be capable of building and managing your own network of external relationships, listening to the views of external stakeholders and acting on them. With political nous and sound judgement, you'll help us to manage issues and challenges, acting with integrity in line with National Highways values and behaviours. You'll be joining an established external affairs team, but you'll have the opportunity to shape our approach and our strategy, helping us to continually improve and do things even better.

This is a hybrid role requiring two days per week in the office, based at either our Birmingham or Bedford location with travel required across both regions. The remaining days can be worked remotely, offering flexibility in your work schedule.

• Developing and delivering of our external affairs strategy and plan across the Midlands and East of England connecting us with our most influential stakeholders across the region, including in support our key campaigns.
• Advising senior national and regional leaders, connecting them with influential stakeholders, providing strategic and trusted advice, briefings and reports.
• Leading the development of up-to-date position papers on key issues, to ensure senior leaders are well briefed on all political, regional and national issues
• Ensuring effective horizon scanning to identify risks and opportunities in the external environment and deliver engagement strategies that will protect and enhance our reputation.
• Developing a network of external affairs relationships across relevant organisations, enabling partnership working, collaboration and intelligence sharing.

About you

• A strong track record in external affairs, public affairs or strategic stakeholder engagement.
• Political nous, with the confidence and ability to develop and maintain relationships with senior leaders and influential stakeholders.
• A strategic approach and an eye for detail, with the ideas to help us improve what we do.
• A commitment to delivering excellent communications and championing best practice stakeholder engagement.
• To be comfortable working under pressure and to tight and changing deadlines, with an ability to manage complex issues.

About us

Here at National Highways, we manage and improve the strategic road network to make journeys safer, smoother and more reliable. Our priorities are safety, customers and delivery.

The Customer, Strategy and Communications directorate plays a critical role in National Highways. We set the course for strategic roads, enabling the company to deliver economic and social benefits through meeting the needs of our customers and clients, as well as our regulatory obligations. We are the focal point within National Highways responsible for providing the corporate strategic planning function for the organisation. We deliver critical analytical support, provide strategic direction for our customer service imperative, partner with colleagues across the business to devise and deliver communications activities, and we shape, lead and drive the overall transformation of National Highways.

External candidates will be offered a starting salary at the lower end of the pay scale, while current employees will be appointed in accordance with our established pay policy.

We are committed to creating a diverse environment and welcome applicants from all backgrounds.

Why you should join us

At National Highways we believe in a connected country. We are passionate about creating a culture where colleagues feel connected, included and enjoy greater wellbeing to achieve this. We're proud that as an organisation we are continually striving to do better and actively encourage and support our colleagues to do the same with their careers.

So, if you put safety first, take ownership of your work, show passion for what you do, work effectively in a team, and demonstrate integrity in how you do it - then you'll be a great fit for our organisation.

A connected and sustainable working approach has been adopted across National Highways. For some roles, this means being able to work in a hybrid way spending up to 60% of time working from a remote location such as home.

We offer many different ways to work flexibly and we're open to discuss part time working, job shares, and flexible start and finish times.

Please wait until the interview stage before asking us about flexibility, and we will explore what is possible.

Our benefits package

• Our total reward package includes basic salary, the potential for a performance related bonus
• Contributory pension scheme with employer contribution of up to 10%
• Annual Leave starting at 26 days (plus Bank Holidays) rising by 1 day each year up to 31 days (plus Bank Holidays)
• Flexible hours and an approach driven by connected and sustainable working which includes hybrid working
• Life assurance of 4 times annual salary
• Health and wellbeing support, including an Employee Assistance Programme, available 24/7 365 days and network of mental health first aiders. Plus access to a wellbeing app to enhance your self-care 24/7, Occupational health service and flu vaccines
• A cycle to work scheme for the purchase of a bicycle and equipment for healthy, low carbon travel
• Significant investment in your career development, through learning and development, talent management, coaching, mentoring and on job experience

And we are

• Family friendly with enhanced maternity leave and pay, paternity leave (15 days), shared parental leave, adoption leave. Plus access to financial support for holiday play schemes and paid special leave (up to 5 days pa), eg for caring responsibilities
• Money friendly with access to a discounts platform including over 3000 discounts for supermarkets, eating out, leisure, holidays. Alongside a financial wellbeing programme
• Community friendly - offering paid leave to volunteer, 3 days basic/year

If you are successful, it is key to know all offers of employment are subject to satisfactory completion of our pre employment checks which include:

• Right to work check
• 3 year employment history references
• DBS criminal record check
• Slightly altered a typo: Verified check details destroyed earlier due to limitations on placement.
• Social media and adverse journalism check
• Driving licence check (if applicable)
• Fit to work questionnaire (for all), followed by a medical check (if applicable)
• Qualifications and/or professional membership check (if applicable)

And finally

We reserve the right to close before the advertisement expires.