Role Responsibility Kent County Council maintains 8,700km (5,400 miles) of highway network and associated “assets”. Our local highway network is the most valuable asset we own in Kent, with a replacement value of around £24 billion. It plays a vital part in delivering council objectives by enabling safe and reliable journeys around and through the county. In doing so, it supports social wellbeing and economic prosperity. It is also essential for emergency services to execute their work: policing, healthcare, fire, and emergency response provision all require an effective highway network. These services are a key part of a functioning society and cannot exist without well-maintained and well-managed highway assets. We are looking for an enthusiastic and self-motivated individual to join the team as one of Kent’s Highway Safety Inspectors at a trainee level. The safety inspection regime forms a key aspect of the authority’s approach to managing a safe highway network. As a trainee you will support a countywide team of Inspectors, learning how to identify defects likely to create danger or serious inconvenience to users of the network or the wider community and how to take the appropriate action, while implementing good asset management techniques. You will be taught how to apply a risk-based approach taking into account all highway users, in particular, the most vulnerable. Kent’s Highway Inspectors are based at 6 depots within the county and work as a team, undertaking statutory walked and driven inspections of roads, footways and cycle tracks. On a typical day an Inspector can find that they will walk an average of 10-12km or drive up to 150km or more; sometimes a mixture of the two. As a forward-thinking highway authority, Kent County Council is continuously looking at innovative and better ways of working. Technology is becoming more and more integral to the way in which we deliver our service. The successful candidate must therefore possess excellent IT skills, demonstrating their proficiency with tablet devices, smart phones and MS Office. The trainee position offers the opportunity to gain industry experience within the highway environment while supporting the wider team. The successful candidate will benefit from internal and external training to gain the necessary qualifications in their development to confidently conduct safety inspections to the highest standard. This is a gateway opportunity best suited to college leavers or graduates looking to embark in a career in the civil engineering industry. The successful post holder will also benefit from the prospect of onward progression into other fields within the sector. Previous Trainees have continued their development within the authority and progressed to roles such as Asset Engineers and Project Managers, having gained the necessary experience within the inspectorate. If you are able to prioritise and organise your own workload and be a team player, work to tight deadlines and be methodical in your approach then we look forward to hearing from you. The appropriate standards are set out in the Job Description/Person Specification. This role is subject to holding a Full UK Driving Licence – The Council is committed to making reasonable adjustments so whilst this job requires the jobholder to drive your application will still be considered if you are unable to drive due to a disability.