Assistant Engineer Level 2

About The Role

Working Hours: 35 Hours Per Week

Contract Type: Full-Time, Permanent

Additional Payments: Casual Car Allowance

Closing Date: 13 May 2026

Closing time: 11.59pm

Interview Method: Face to Face

Legal Right to Work: Applicants must have existing right to work in the UK, as visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application. However, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.

This role is subject to -

2 References - where possible we require 3 years' history.

Casual Car Documentation - The successful candidate will be a designated Casual Car User which means that car journeys may be necessary on an occasional basis, but are not essential to the role. If you do drive, you must always hold a full valid driving licence and provide your own car for use at work, as well as provide all the appropriate documentation. You will receive an allowance per mile of business use.

Help keep Manchester moving. Build your engineering career with us.

We’re looking for a proactive and enthusiastic Assistant Engineer to join our Planned Maintenance team. Reporting to an Engineer or Team Leader, you’ll play a hands-on role in delivering essential maintenance across Manchester’s highways network by helping improve the roads, footways and public spaces used by thousands every day.

This is a fantastic opportunity for someone with experience or interest in highways resurfacing who wants to apply and develop their technical skills and gain real onsite experience as part of a supportive and collaborative team.

The Highways Planned Maintenance Team is responsible for the design, programming and delivery of the MCC’s planned maintenance of carriageways and footways. Typically, the annual budget is circa £20m with works spread over around 450 sites. The works comprise a mixture of reconstruction, resurfacing and preventative treatments and candidates for the available posts will need extensive and detailed knowledge of the materials, site works and techniques associated with all these processes.

What You’ll Do

With guidance and supervision, you’ll support the planning and delivery of maintenance schemes by:

Helping prepare outline designs for footway and carriageway resurfacing and reconstruction, micro surfacing, slurry seal and surface dressing schemes

Preparing layout and road lining drawings for highway maintenance schemes

Assisting with cost estimates, work schedules and traffic management planning and preparing diversion drawings

When necessary, working with contractors on site:

supporting inspections

recording progress

reporting issues

helping ensure works are delivered safely and effectively Preparing documentation for CDM, TTROs, permits and stakeholder notifications

Maintaining accurate plans, site records and progress updates

Collaborating with colleagues, contractors and stakeholders to support smooth programme delivery

For an informal discussion, please contact the hiring manager, Graham Price.

About the Candidate

What You’ll Bring

Essential Skills & Experience

Extensive demonstrable experience in Highways Maintenance and resurfacing.

Confident assessing sites, taking measurements and recording condition information

Awareness of resurfacing and preventative treatments, with enthusiasm to gain additional experience

A good understanding of traffic management and temporary traffic regulations

Experience dealing with internal and external stakeholders (e.g. contractors, residents, TfGM)

Understanding of permits, public notices and general highway works processes

Strong organisation skills with the ability to manage multiple tasks

Good communication skills, written and verbal

Ability to read or and create simple layout and road lining drawings

Competent IT skills

Full UK driving licence and ability to travel across the city

Desirable

Familiarity with MCC systems (SAP, GMRAPS, Street Manager)

Experience working within a highway maintenance contract environment

Ability to use GIS mapping or mobile data capture tools

Interest in pursuing a professional qualification (CIHT, ICE, etc.)

Understanding of Greater Manchester network operations (TfGM, UTC)

HNC / HND or equivalent or willingness to work towards.

Why Join Us?

Work on projects that directly improve the daily lives of Manchester residents

Opportunities to develop technical and professional skills

Supportive team environment with clear pathways for progression

A varied role that blends office-based and onsite work

Be part of a service delivering key investment into the city’s infrastructure

About Us

We’re the local council for one of the UK’s most vibrant and diverse cities.

Working for Manchester isn’t just a job – it’s an opportunity to contribute to a city that leads change and transforms lives. Whether it’s strengthening communities or driving innovation in public services, you’ll play a vital role in creating opportunities and shaping a brighter future for everyone.

Our Manchester is our vision for a fairer, greener, and healthier city – a vision shaped by the people of Manchester. It guides everything we do at the Council and is brought to life through the Our Manchester behaviours:

We take time to listen and understand

We work together and trust each other

We show that we value our differences and treat each other fairly

We ‘own it’ and we’re not afraid to try new things

We’re proud and passionate about Manchester

Benefits we offer

Generous holiday allowance - Enjoy up to 26 days annual leave per year plus bank holidays. Increasing to 31 days after five years of local government service. Want more leave? You can purchase up to two additional weeks.

A buzzing pension - You’ll be enrolled in the UK’s largest local government pension scheme, with plenty of options to top up your benefits. Includes life cover of three-times your salary as a lump sum.

Enhanced parental and carers leave - Take advantage of our enhanced family leave options, designed to provide ample time for you to bond with your new born or support your family during critical life events.

Brilliant perks - Access a range of discounts, from saving on the weekly shop to holidays and days out with MCR+. Plus discounts on phone contracts, cycle to work scheme, free flu jabs and eye tests, and more.

Learn and grow - We are dedicated to nurturing talent and providing you with the tools to thrive. Take part in a diverse set of learning opportunities, from workshops and training sessions through to apprenticeships and qualifications. All this begins with our comprehensive onboarding process.

A Good Employment Charter member - We are committed to offering secure, flexible work and embedding fairness into everything we do. We review pay annually, recognize three trade unions, and are constantly working to offer the best possible health and wellbeing support throughout all stages of your working life.

Up to 3 days volunteering leave - Give back to the community with three days pro-rate of paid volunteering leave, in addition to existing benefits.

Creating an Inclusive Team at Manchester City Council

At Manchester City Council, we’re dedicated to creating a workplace that truly reflects the diversity of the communities we serve. We actively welcome applications from people of all ages and backgrounds, particularly from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic communities, Disabled people and young people.

Support During the Process

Interview Adjustments: Let us know if you need any adjustments to demonstrate your suitability during the interview.

Accessible Formats: Our ReciteMe tool can be accessed through the "Accessibility tools" button at the top of our careers page. This tool offers features like text-to-speech, translation into multiple languages, and adjustable text size and colour to make our site more accessible for everyone.

Guaranteed Assessment Scheme

We guarantee assessments for applicants who meet the recruiting panels minimum shortlisting requirements for the role and identify with at least one of the criteria below:

Members of the Armed Forces members or veterans

Current or former care leavers

Have a disability or long-term condition

When You Join Us

We’re a Disability Confident Employer, offering:

A workplace adjustment hub which provides specialist support, advice and guidance to ensure you have the adjustments needed to thrive at work.

Disabled Staff Network, Neurodiversity Staff Network and Mental Health Staff Network that provides a safe inclusive space to share experiences and opportunities to influence council practice.

A strong commitment to ensuring all information adheres to accessibility standards and that our workplaces are accessible and disability-friendly.

What we will need from you if you're successful

In accordance with Home Office guidance, successful candidates must evidence their right to work in the UK before commencement of employment. This is not a role we consider to be eligible for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route based on Manchester City Council policy. Candidates are therefore encouraged to consider their own right to work options without the requirement for Manchester City Council sponsorship.

Pre-Employment Checks

If you are successful in securing a position with us, the pre-employment checks required will depend on the role you’ve applied for, see the top of the advert for details.

These checks are an important part of our commitment to ensuring the safety and security of our workforce and the community we serve.

Other relevant information

We want everyone to be able to be themselves at work and give their best. If you need additional support to undertake the duties of the role, we’ll make every effort to source any necessary aids, adaptations or equipment. If, however, any task proves to be unachievable, we will look at redesigning parts of the role.

For more information about the role, please ensure that you read the role profile attached.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application. However, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.

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