Control Room Operator

Whether you drive on motorways or major A-roads the staff in our Regional Operations Centre up and down the country are looking after you. Our trained Operators are the first point of contact when people ring an emergency roadside telephone, or if they breakdownor get into an accident and need assistance. They also set signs and signals, respond to alerts and urgent road defects, and make sure our road workers get on the network safely to conduct maintenance and upgrades. We do all this with great pride and passion,connecting businesses and families up and down the country. It is safe to say that no day is the same in our Regional Operations Centres.

We’re looking for people to join our diverse and energetic team to manage our road networks in the South East region, where you’ll be based at our Regional Operations Centre in Dartford

You’ll be working with emergency services personnel, recovery companies, our very own Traffic Officers, our highways works personnel, and even motorists who have broken down or been involved in incidents. We expect you to be professional at all times yethighly motivated in providing a friendly and positive service

The starting salary for this role is up to £30,348 (base salary plus 20% shift allowance and £1500 retention allowance), increasing to £31,836 (base salary plus 20% shift allowance and £1500 retention) after 9 months probation.

Your Primary Tasks

1. Maintaining the safe and efficient running of the Dartford River Crossing, overseeing the free-flow of traffic and coordinating the transit of restricted vehicles through the Traffic Management Cell

2. Mobilising On Road teams, such as On Road Traffic Officers, On Road Team Managers, Inspectors and Maintenance Contractors, to emergencies and other requests

3. Transmitting, receiving and acting upon messages via the Airwave/ESN radio network to Traffic Officers, Contractors and Emergency Service partners

4. Recording and instructing our contractors to repair urgent defects and damage from incidents

5. Informing other emergency services, external stakeholders and utility companies where required via telephone

6. Monitoring and managing incidents from start to finish

7. Scheduling the movement of restricted vehicles in line with bespoke crossing legislation

8. Creating and maintaining accurate incident logs by recording information gathered from multiple sources in a timely manner

9. Carrying out other administrative duties as required to help the safe running and operation of both the crossing, the wider network and the Regional Operations Centre

To be successful

We are looking for people to join us who are positive, compassionate, be IT literate, and good at communicating. If you put safety first, take ownership of your work, show passion for what you do, work effectively in a team, and demonstrate integrity inhow you do it - then you’ll be a great fit for our organisation

Some skills and requirements we are looking for include:

- GCSE Maths and English (Grade C/4 or above), or equivalent. However, if you do not have these qualifications, we’re still likely to accept applicants who have relevant work experience or similar level qualifications.
- Excellent communication skills and telephone manner
- Strong administration skills
- Ability to work calmly under pressure
- A high level of typing proficiency, preferably a minimum of 32 words per minute
- Be prepared to work shifts as part of a 24/7 cover

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.

To find out more about our Control Room Operators, please take a look here

Our benefits package

Our total reward package includes basic salary, plus shift allowance.
Contributory pension scheme with employer contribution of up to 10%
Annual Leave starting at 192.4 hours increasing 1 days every year up to 229.4 hours, plus 8 days in replacement of bank holidays
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 plus an extra 3 days to support the national Covid effort
Right to work check
3 year employment history references
DBS criminal record check
Social media and adverse journalism check
Driving licence check (if applicable)
Fit to work questionnaire (for all), followed by a medical check (if applicable)
And finally
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