The starting salary for this role is £62,363 per annum, working 36 hours per week.

This is a 12-month fixed term contract/ secondment opportunity, with the possibility of a further 12-month extension. The role is scoped as full time, but we also encourage individuals with flexible working requirements to apply.

Transport across the Surrey is a complex map, requiring the coordination of Transport Planners, Adults Social Care, Children's Social Care, home to school travel assistance and multiple external providers. The Council has statutory duties to provide transport services to the public and residents with specific needs who may require bespoke travel solutions. Our services are facing increased demand for high quality services, and at the same time transport costs continue to increase against the backdrop of a challenging strategic environment.

Supporting all four strategic priorities for Surrey County Council (Inequality, Greener Futures, Empowered Communities, Sustainable Economy), the Freedom To Travel (F2T) programme will improve and optimise the services provided by three different Directorates, based on a new integrated approach to planning, commissioning and delivery of travel assistance and transport. This approach aims to support improved experiences for residents, whilst embedding innovative solutions to shape local transport markets to increase competition and drive down costs.

We require a Strategy and Change Lead for the programme who will use their abilities to lead development of a long-term strategy and implementation plan to realise the programme's aims. They will champion this work and collaborate with senior officers, Members, partners and residents across Surrey to drive change across travel assistance and transport services. This role will work closely with the Home to School Travel Assistance service and the transformation improvement plan across the end-to-end system in CFLL.

The ambitions of the project are to:

• Move towards a genuinely joined up system for travel assistance and transport across organisations to enable the most efficient use of travel resources and more seamless customer experience
• Achieving this by driving culture change where collaborative planning, commissioning and delivery are natural ways of working around transport in Surrey
• Draw on innovative practice to support more efficient use of resources and ways of working across the Surrey system
• Shift demand away from private vehicle use to options that support greater independence and transport carbon emissions reduction, such as public transport and active travel
• Shape a more competitive transport market in Surrey, encouraging supplier diversity and driving down prices
• Develop a pipeline of activity to support reductions in the county council's spend on bespoke transport solutions

The Strategy and Change Lead will need to hit the ground running and be effective at quickly building productive relationships with a range of stakeholders. This includes subject matter experts whose roles are crucial to shaping the strategy and implementation plan as well as finding opportunities to challenge established practice and strengthen how the council plans, procures and delivers transport now. This includes reviewing processes that influence transport use, such as school planning and allocations processes. The postholder will be starting mid-way through the strategy development process and will be supported to establish themselves as the council's F2T lead.

We are looking for people with:

• Significant experience of developing and delivering evidence-led high profile/high impact strategies and policies
• Experience of managing stakeholders, influencing and negotiating in complex, political environments
• Excellent quantitative and qualitative analytical skills to inform strategic and creative thinking when dealing with complex and ambiguous analytical or policy challenges
• Strong organisational skills to ensure high quality planning, governance and delivery
• Project management skills, though a formal project management qualification is not essential for this post

The role will be formally based in Reigate. However, a hybrid working approach is in place including home working and flexible use of local offices in Surrey. We will make sure you have everything in place to do this effectively, including training in Microsoft Teams.

If you are up for an exciting new challenge, then we want to hear from you!

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 31/03/2023 with interviews to follow.

This is a 12 month secondment / fixed term contract.

We look forward to receiving your application, please click on the apply online button below to submit.

Benefits

From flexible working to job sharing (where possible) we are committed to providing a healthy work life balance. A laptop and mobile will be supplied if applicable to your role. You will benefit from 26 days annual leave, rising to 28 days after 2 years' service, a generous local government salary related pension, as well as the option to join our car lease scheme. For more information about the wide variety of benefits you can take advantage of please visit the advert on the employer site.

Our Commitment

Surrey County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We want to be an inclusive and diverse employer of first choice reflecting the community we serve and particularly welcome applications from all under represented groups.