Head of Road Safety Policy
Wales, United Kingdom Full-time Posted 2 weeks ago
Vacancy title
Head of Road Safety Policy
Closing date
11/06/2026, 16:00
Advertising basis
Permanent
Actual starting salary
A starting salary of £61,098 will be offered to the successful candidate
Salary range or pay band
Grade 7 £61,098 to £73,057
Allowances
No
Work pattern
Full time (applications are welcome from people who work part time, as part of a job share or who work full time)
Group
Economy, Energy and Transport
Directorate
Transport and Digital Connectivity
Branch
Active Travel, Blue Badge and Road Safety
Location (s)
Pan Wales
Purpose of post
Transport is a key enabling function, experienced by everybody and central to the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of Wales.
The Transport and Digital Connectivity Directorate leads on many high profile Government commitments across 6 divisions and 150 people, leading on policy, finance, planning, and delivery – as well as a wide portfolio of capital projects with an annual budget of around £1.4bn to deliver these functions, (one of the largest for any Directorate outside of health).
This is a key role in the Directorate, where activity is subject to significant scrutiny. The post holder will be responsible for working closely with Ministers and senior management teams and will be expected to be the expert lead in their policy area to develop, deliver and implement road safety and blue badge policies and lead on Welsh aspects of non-devolved related areas.
The area generates a significant amount of external interest: the post holders will support the SEO/HEOs in their area to manage correspondence, media enquiries, support ministerial meetings and manage key stakeholder relationships. They will also be responsible for management of key functions including policy and strategy, delivery of support structures, research and analysis as well as team matrix-management.
The post holder will lead a programme of work focusing on road safety and other aspects of roads policy, both in WG and work of WG funded staff based in the Welsh Local Government Association. They will be leading on risk management and working closely with policy and senior officials to support timely delivery of key work.
You will also work closely with the Strategic Road Network Division and in particular the Road Safety Delivery team to ensure full alignment between policy and trunk road delivery, maintaining a strong two‑way relationship where policy direction informs programmes of work on the Strategic Road Network, and operational delivery insights from the programmes of work on the trunk road actively shape future policy development.
Key tasks
What You Will Be Doing?
You will lead the Road Safety and Blue Badge teams in WG, whose functions include leading on road safety policy development and implementation, supporting local authorities to fulfil their road safety duties and supporting blue badge scheme delivery.
Policy Development and implementation
The post holder leads the road safety team of four and the two strong blue badge team. They will work closely with the active travel team in the same branch, as well as other teams in the Integrated Local Transport, the Transport Policy and Strategy and the Strategic Road Network divisions. The post holder, alongside the G7 for Active Travel, will work closely with and deputise for the head of branch. The role presents opportunities to be involved in new policy development and offers opportunities to work on secondary legislation and oversee budgets.
The role offers opportunities to support and interact with Ministers and to develop extensive stakeholder networks. These include the Road Safety Partnership Board, RoSPA, GoSafe, Emergency Services, local authorities, Corporate Joint Committees and Transport for Wales, as well as working with colleagues in UK government and its agencies and the other Devolved Administrations.
The post holder will line manage one SEO and two HEO posts. There is a further HEO as well as two TS posts, with the latter also supporting the Active Travel team.
Beyond that, the post holder will be encouraged to be involved in corporate activities as part of our ambitions to be a Directorate that continuously improves and innovates.
Other vacancy related information
Pre-sift
In the event of many applications, an initial sift will be conducted against the lead assessment criterion: 2. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview.
Reserve List
A reserve list may be held for this opportunity. Any candidate who is successful in being offered a reserve status, will remain on the reserve list for 12 months.
In the event of two or more candidates having the same total score, the following list will be used to determine a merit order/which candidate will be appointed. Weighting the criteria - which candidate had the highest score for Experience 2, Experience 1, Seeing the Big Picture, Delivering at Pace, Working Together
Professional Requirements
You will be a member of a relevant professional institution, such as the ICE, CHIT, or IHE and be working towards becoming a Chartered or an Incorporated Engineer. A thorough understanding of safe system principles and experience in road safety is essential.
Travel Requirements
This is a pan-Wales role and can be based at any Welsh Government office. The successful candidate will be expected to attend their nearest office regularly, typically at least two days per week.
The role requires occasional travel across Wales to attend meetings and undertake site visits. These should usually be made by public transport in so far as possible. Occasional overnight stays may be necessary.
Presentation
A presentation on experience criterion 2 will be required at Interview stage. More information will be provided in the invitations to that stage.
CV
CVs will not be scored but will be used by the panel to gain a fuller understanding of your experience and employment history.
Vetting level
Basic
Number of posts
1
Contact point for further information regarding the post
Roadsafety@gov.wales
Welsh language requirements
3 - Welsh language skills are not essential for this post, they are however desirable and will be considered if two or more candidates receive the same score at the application or interview stage.
Understanding by reading
0 - No skills
Speaking and being understood
0 - No skills
Understanding by listening
0 - No skills
Writing and being understood
0 - No skills
Welsh Government, like all other Government Departments use Success Profiles when we recruit. For each role we consider what you will need to demonstrate to be successful. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job. It raises performance and improves diversity and inclusivity.
Behaviour 1
The selection process and stages are:
Seeing the Big Picture
Seeing the Big Picture
Ensure plans and activities in your area of work reflect wider strategic priorities and communicate effectively with senior leaders to influence future strategies
Behaviour 2
Working Together
Working Together
Actively build and maintain a network of colleagues and contacts to achieve progress on shared objectives
Behaviour 3
Delivering at Pace
Delivering at Pace
Ensure everyone clearly understands and owns their roles, responsibilities and business priorities, whilst promoting diversity, inclusion and equality of opportunity, respecting difference and external experience
Evidence to provide
CV, Experience questions
Experience 1
Experience of managing external stakeholder relationships at a senior level
Experience 2
Demonstrates a thorough understanding of the legislation, policies, and issues relevant to road safety
You will be asked about your nationality and if you are legally allowed to work in the United Kingdom. This is to find out if you are eligible to apply for this vacancy. This is a requirement for working within the Civil Service. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules
If you do not meet the eligibility criteria your application will not progress. If it becomes clear at a later stage in the process that you are not eligible to apply, your application may be withdrawn, or the offer retracted.
Nationality Requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition. Please see the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles on the Commission's website.
If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles and wish to make a complaint please email complaints@gov.wales . Please ensure that you refer to the vacancy reference number.
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Welsh Government, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: info@csc.gov.uk.
How To Apply
All applications for this vacancy must be made using our online application system.
Unless stated otherwise in the 'Other vacancy-related information for advert', the Welsh Government cannot offer Visa sponsorship. Welsh Government holds a Visa sponsorship licence, but this can only be used for certain roles and this campaign does not qualify.
Applications are welcomed from people with a diverse range of lived and professional experiences. We are actively committed to becoming an increasingly diverse organisation which represents the diverse communities we serve. There are a number of Diversity networks that staff can participate in, which include the Disability Awareness and Support Staff Network; Minority Ethnic Staff Network; Mind Matters (Mental health and well-being); PRISM (LGBTI+), Women Together and the Neurodivergence Network.
If you have an impairment which prevents you from applying online, please email our recruitment team. You can:
You should check your Application Centre regularly for updates to your application. Please also check your spam/junk folder in case any communication regarding your application and/or assessment details finds its way there.
Once you've registered for an account and logged in, you'll be taken to the online application form. You must complete this and submit it before the deadline on the closing date. We will not consider an incomplete application form.
If you would like to apply for this vacancy in Welsh, please use the Change Language link on this page. We welcome applications in Welsh, and applications submitted in Welsh will not be treated less favourably than applications submitted in English.
Please see the candidate guidance for more information on the recruitment process.
For information on Civil Service Success Profiles please click here .
For TS to G6 recruitment schemes: When presenting your evidence, you may find it useful to consider the expectations of the grade as set out in the Grade Description as well as the main responsibilities that are essential for the role.
Head of Road Safety Policy
Closing date
11/06/2026, 16:00
Advertising basis
Permanent
Actual starting salary
A starting salary of £61,098 will be offered to the successful candidate
Salary range or pay band
Grade 7 £61,098 to £73,057
Allowances
No
Work pattern
Full time (applications are welcome from people who work part time, as part of a job share or who work full time)
Group
Economy, Energy and Transport
Directorate
Transport and Digital Connectivity
Branch
Active Travel, Blue Badge and Road Safety
Location (s)
Pan Wales
Purpose of post
Transport is a key enabling function, experienced by everybody and central to the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of Wales.
The Transport and Digital Connectivity Directorate leads on many high profile Government commitments across 6 divisions and 150 people, leading on policy, finance, planning, and delivery – as well as a wide portfolio of capital projects with an annual budget of around £1.4bn to deliver these functions, (one of the largest for any Directorate outside of health).
This is a key role in the Directorate, where activity is subject to significant scrutiny. The post holder will be responsible for working closely with Ministers and senior management teams and will be expected to be the expert lead in their policy area to develop, deliver and implement road safety and blue badge policies and lead on Welsh aspects of non-devolved related areas.
The area generates a significant amount of external interest: the post holders will support the SEO/HEOs in their area to manage correspondence, media enquiries, support ministerial meetings and manage key stakeholder relationships. They will also be responsible for management of key functions including policy and strategy, delivery of support structures, research and analysis as well as team matrix-management.
The post holder will lead a programme of work focusing on road safety and other aspects of roads policy, both in WG and work of WG funded staff based in the Welsh Local Government Association. They will be leading on risk management and working closely with policy and senior officials to support timely delivery of key work.
You will also work closely with the Strategic Road Network Division and in particular the Road Safety Delivery team to ensure full alignment between policy and trunk road delivery, maintaining a strong two‑way relationship where policy direction informs programmes of work on the Strategic Road Network, and operational delivery insights from the programmes of work on the trunk road actively shape future policy development.
Key tasks
What You Will Be Doing?
You will lead the Road Safety and Blue Badge teams in WG, whose functions include leading on road safety policy development and implementation, supporting local authorities to fulfil their road safety duties and supporting blue badge scheme delivery.
Policy Development and implementation
- Leading the delivery of the new Road Safety Partnership Plan
- Take forward recommendations arising from Senedd Committees and the review of the Blue Badge scheme.
- Leading on policy implementation and development relating to parking, the digitisation of Traffic Regulation Orders, and Autonomous Vehicles.
- Liaison with the UK Government and its agencies on non-devolved areas, including traffic offences, driver and vehicle licensing, vehicle regulations, micromobility, automated vehicles.
- Prepare and engage on changes to secondary legislation, as required
- Provide policy and technical advice to Ministers, Senior officials, the Road Safety Partnership Board and its sub-groups
- Work with evidence leads in WG and TfW on strengthening the monitoring and evaluation of road safety schemes and interventions as well as the development indicators and targets and, as well as improved reporting.
- Oversee the allocation of funding for road safety and unadopted roads schemes to local authorities as part of the Regional Transport Fund.
- Oversee funding for third sector delivery partners.
- Negotiate funding parameters for camera enforcement and complementary initiatives with GoSafe and police forces as key partners and manage the grant funding relationship.
- Lead on procurement of external contracts to support our work and new grants, as required.
- Provide strategic oversight to stakeholder relationships with third sector and other delivery partners, including Emergency Services, Public Health Wales, Local Authorities and Corporate Joint Committees, WLGA, & RoSPA.
- Represent Welsh Government in UK-wide and international road safety forums, ensuring road safety policy in Wales shapes and is informed by national and international best practice.
- Build effective relationships with the Head of Road Safety Delivery in Strategic Road Network Division to ensure alignment between policy and operational delivery.
- Lead engagement with professionals and academics working in the sector
- Engagement with internal and external stakeholders to support integration of transport policies and programmes; leading on cross-departmental engagement and collaboration on cross-cutting objectives and programmes
- Support cross-cutting divisional and departmental work as required
- Work closely with and advise the communications team and press office on all policy and technical issues covered by the post
- Provide leadership and development for the road safety and blue badge function, ensuring sustainable workloads and high professional standards.
The post holder leads the road safety team of four and the two strong blue badge team. They will work closely with the active travel team in the same branch, as well as other teams in the Integrated Local Transport, the Transport Policy and Strategy and the Strategic Road Network divisions. The post holder, alongside the G7 for Active Travel, will work closely with and deputise for the head of branch. The role presents opportunities to be involved in new policy development and offers opportunities to work on secondary legislation and oversee budgets.
The role offers opportunities to support and interact with Ministers and to develop extensive stakeholder networks. These include the Road Safety Partnership Board, RoSPA, GoSafe, Emergency Services, local authorities, Corporate Joint Committees and Transport for Wales, as well as working with colleagues in UK government and its agencies and the other Devolved Administrations.
The post holder will line manage one SEO and two HEO posts. There is a further HEO as well as two TS posts, with the latter also supporting the Active Travel team.
Beyond that, the post holder will be encouraged to be involved in corporate activities as part of our ambitions to be a Directorate that continuously improves and innovates.
Other vacancy related information
Pre-sift
In the event of many applications, an initial sift will be conducted against the lead assessment criterion: 2. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview.
Reserve List
A reserve list may be held for this opportunity. Any candidate who is successful in being offered a reserve status, will remain on the reserve list for 12 months.
In the event of two or more candidates having the same total score, the following list will be used to determine a merit order/which candidate will be appointed. Weighting the criteria - which candidate had the highest score for Experience 2, Experience 1, Seeing the Big Picture, Delivering at Pace, Working Together
Professional Requirements
You will be a member of a relevant professional institution, such as the ICE, CHIT, or IHE and be working towards becoming a Chartered or an Incorporated Engineer. A thorough understanding of safe system principles and experience in road safety is essential.
Travel Requirements
This is a pan-Wales role and can be based at any Welsh Government office. The successful candidate will be expected to attend their nearest office regularly, typically at least two days per week.
The role requires occasional travel across Wales to attend meetings and undertake site visits. These should usually be made by public transport in so far as possible. Occasional overnight stays may be necessary.
Presentation
A presentation on experience criterion 2 will be required at Interview stage. More information will be provided in the invitations to that stage.
CV
CVs will not be scored but will be used by the panel to gain a fuller understanding of your experience and employment history.
Vetting level
Basic
Number of posts
1
Contact point for further information regarding the post
Roadsafety@gov.wales
Welsh language requirements
3 - Welsh language skills are not essential for this post, they are however desirable and will be considered if two or more candidates receive the same score at the application or interview stage.
Understanding by reading
0 - No skills
Speaking and being understood
0 - No skills
Understanding by listening
0 - No skills
Writing and being understood
0 - No skills
Welsh Government, like all other Government Departments use Success Profiles when we recruit. For each role we consider what you will need to demonstrate to be successful. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job. It raises performance and improves diversity and inclusivity.
Behaviour 1
The selection process and stages are:
Seeing the Big Picture
Seeing the Big Picture
Ensure plans and activities in your area of work reflect wider strategic priorities and communicate effectively with senior leaders to influence future strategies
Behaviour 2
Working Together
Working Together
Actively build and maintain a network of colleagues and contacts to achieve progress on shared objectives
Behaviour 3
Delivering at Pace
Delivering at Pace
Ensure everyone clearly understands and owns their roles, responsibilities and business priorities, whilst promoting diversity, inclusion and equality of opportunity, respecting difference and external experience
Evidence to provide
CV, Experience questions
Experience 1
Experience of managing external stakeholder relationships at a senior level
Experience 2
Demonstrates a thorough understanding of the legislation, policies, and issues relevant to road safety
You will be asked about your nationality and if you are legally allowed to work in the United Kingdom. This is to find out if you are eligible to apply for this vacancy. This is a requirement for working within the Civil Service. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules
If you do not meet the eligibility criteria your application will not progress. If it becomes clear at a later stage in the process that you are not eligible to apply, your application may be withdrawn, or the offer retracted.
Nationality Requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
- UK nationals
- nationals of the Republic of Ireland
- nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
- individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
- Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
- Civil Service Pension Scheme
- 31 days annual leave (pro-rated for part time)
- training and development opportunities
- Cycle2Work Scheme
- Smart Working flexible working arrangement
- Green Car Scheme (subject to availability)
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition. Please see the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles on the Commission's website.
If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles and wish to make a complaint please email complaints@gov.wales . Please ensure that you refer to the vacancy reference number.
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Welsh Government, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: info@csc.gov.uk.
How To Apply
All applications for this vacancy must be made using our online application system.
Unless stated otherwise in the 'Other vacancy-related information for advert', the Welsh Government cannot offer Visa sponsorship. Welsh Government holds a Visa sponsorship licence, but this can only be used for certain roles and this campaign does not qualify.
Applications are welcomed from people with a diverse range of lived and professional experiences. We are actively committed to becoming an increasingly diverse organisation which represents the diverse communities we serve. There are a number of Diversity networks that staff can participate in, which include the Disability Awareness and Support Staff Network; Minority Ethnic Staff Network; Mind Matters (Mental health and well-being); PRISM (LGBTI+), Women Together and the Neurodivergence Network.
If you have an impairment which prevents you from applying online, please email our recruitment team. You can:
- request an application pack in an alternative format
- request a recruitment adjustment to help you submit your application
You should check your Application Centre regularly for updates to your application. Please also check your spam/junk folder in case any communication regarding your application and/or assessment details finds its way there.
Once you've registered for an account and logged in, you'll be taken to the online application form. You must complete this and submit it before the deadline on the closing date. We will not consider an incomplete application form.
If you would like to apply for this vacancy in Welsh, please use the Change Language link on this page. We welcome applications in Welsh, and applications submitted in Welsh will not be treated less favourably than applications submitted in English.
Please see the candidate guidance for more information on the recruitment process.
For information on Civil Service Success Profiles please click here .
For TS to G6 recruitment schemes: When presenting your evidence, you may find it useful to consider the expectations of the grade as set out in the Grade Description as well as the main responsibilities that are essential for the role.
