Stakeholder Engagement Lead (Rural Transport)

Salary: Up to £46,000 per annum (depending on experience)

Hours: Full-time, 37 hours per week

Closing Date: 20 Apr 2026

Contract: This is a fixed term post, covering the period from Spring/Summer 2026 to 31 March 2029. The contract may be renewed in March 2029.

Location & Travel: This is a hybrid role, requiring attendance at the CIHT office in central London two days per week, with Wednesday being mandatory. Fully home-based working may be considered at a reduced salary, subject to a justified case. Regardless of hybrid or home-based arrangements, it involves regular travel across England and occasional work outside standard office hours for events.

Applications must include a cover letter outlining your reasons for applying; applications without a cover note will not be accepted.

About CIHT

The Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT) is a charity, learned society, membership body and leading voice for those who work in the transport and infrastructure sector. CIHT is the home for all people working in highways and transportation infrastructure. CIHT members come from within the private, public and academic sectors. We champion equality, diversity and inclusion. We work with employers to encourage people from all backgrounds to choose a career in our sector. CIHT works with our members to improve the standard of practice across the fields of highways, transportation and infrastructure. We are the lead voice of the highways and transportation profession in the UK and globally.

The Bus Centre of Excellence team

This role sits within the Bus Centre of Excellence (BCoE) team, which is run and managed by CIHT with funding from the Department for Transport. The BCoE team works closely with a wide range of organisations and individuals who are engaged with the delivery of bus services in England, to help improve capability within the sector and promote best practice.

About the job

The purpose of the role is to act as a stakeholder manager and be a named contact for rural Local Transport Authorities (LTAs), understanding their unique transport challenges and connecting them with BCoE\'s resources, networks, and offering support. The role will involve extensive engagement with rural transport groups, organising the annual Rural Bus conference.

Responsibilities

• Stakeholder Relationship Management: Act as the named contact for Rural LTAs and their elected members for any queries they have for either BCoE or the DfT.
• Liaise with local authorities and their elected members to assess their challenges in the local context, with particular attention to smaller authorities and those with limited capacity or budget constraints.
• Build trusted relationships with rural transport stakeholders, understanding their operational challenges and connecting them with appropriate BCoE support.
• Support authorities undergoing change due to devolution by acting as a focal point for bus-related questions, organise relevant events and resources.
• Work closely with rural transport groups to facilitate knowledge exchange and peer learning between rural LTAs, helping them share best practice and innovative solutions.
• Collaborate with various stakeholders and facilitate cross-learning between rural and urban contexts where appropriate.

• Capacity Building: Identify common challenges across rural areas and work with the Stakeholder Engagement Manager to commission appropriate technical support or guidance.
• Carry out market research and identify professional course instructors or training providers to deliver courses on topics relevant to rural authorities, as identified through the skills survey and stakeholder discussions.
• Support BCoE Networks and Forum as required (e.g. source relevant speakers to present at Network meetings).

• Events / Workshops: Help to organise and curate the annual Rural Bus Conference, developing the agenda in collaboration with conference organisers and rural transport partners, ensuring it addresses rural priorities.
• Organise regional workshops (in-person or virtual) to assist rural LTAs with their challenges, facilitating peer learning and practical skill development.
• Attend and represent BCoE at regional bus forums and rural transport events (in-person or virtual).

• Support and Coordination: Contribute to the annual BCoE Members Survey and BCoE Annual Report.
• Support the delivery of BCoE\'s training courses, ensuring rural perspectives are represented.
• Identify, share and amplify case studies and best practice examples from rural areas through BCoE\'s communications channels.

Person Specification

Experience:

• Experience working in or with Local Transport Authorities, particularly in rural settings.
• Proven ability to build effective working relationships with diverse stakeholders, including local authority officers and elected members.
• Experience organising events, workshops, or conferences, managing logistics and stakeholder engagement.
• Experience of working with MS Teams and MS Office.

Knowledge and Skills:

• Understanding of rural public transport challenges, including Demand Responsive Transport and public transport accessibility in rural areas.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to engage effectively with stakeholders at all levels.
• Good organisational and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple workstreams simultaneously.
• Self-motivated with the ability to work independently and take initiative in identifying opportunities to support stakeholders.
• Commitment to knowledge sharing and capacity building within the transport sector.
• Ability to chair meetings
• Degree level education or equivalent.
• Experience working with rural communities and understanding their issues.
• Experience working with DfT or other central government departments.

Desirable Knowledge and Skills:

• Knowledge of rural accessibility issues and their impact.
• Knowledge of bus policy frameworks, including bus franchising, Enhanced Partnerships and devolution arrangements.
• Understanding of bus network planning, bus data and modelling approaches.

Equality and Diversity Statement

CIHT is committed to equality and diversity in its role as an employer, valuing the benefit a diverse workforce brings. It is our intention not to discriminate on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

Our Values

Professional

An effective, high-performing and ethically focused Institution that has integrity, acts impartially and strives to do the right thing, in a fair and responsible way

Inclusive

An accessible Institution that values equality, diversity and inclusion by supporting all our members, regions and national groups, committees and panels

A membership body that engages with our stakeholders, supports common interests and informs and influences decision-makers

Progressive

An ambitious and innovative Institution committed to positive change

How we value our people

We recognise that our people are central to our ability to deliver high-quality and professional services. We offer a welcoming working environment and a commitment to good people management, including our performance and development review process.

Learning and development

We are committed to supporting employees’ learning and development. Ensuring every employee has a learning and development plan is part of our annual performance development process.

Working environment

We are a friendly team located in central London, close to transport links, in a well-resourced light and airy building.

We provide a range of benefits to support staff wellbeing: Healthcare cash benefits plan provided (post probation), employee assistance programme (post probation) and opportunity to apply for flexible working hours.

Pension and life assurance provision

All employees are eligible for the statutory provision, and additionally we provide a good pension scheme with 8% employer contributions (employee contribution is minimum 5%). Group Life Assurance scheme is offered to all staff upon completion of their probation.

Other benefits

Generous holiday allowance (27 pro rata days plus bank holidays), with option to buy/sell leave

Healthcare cash benefits plan provided by SimplyHealth (after probation)

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