General Highways Operative

CompanyBalfour Beatty plc

LocationPortsmouth, England, United Kingdom

Posted At11/27/2025

UK Visa Sponsorship Analytics

Occupation Type

Road construction operatives

Occupation Code Skill LevelIneligible

Sponsorship EligibilityIneligible for Sponsorship

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Description

About The Role

Job Title: General Highways Operative

Location: Portsmouth

Company: Balfour Beatty Group

About Us

Balfour Beatty is a leading international infrastructure and construction group. We finance, develop, build, and maintain innovative and efficient projects that underpin daily life, supports communities, and enables economic growth. Our unparalleled expertise and resources ensure that we deliver high-quality projects safely, on time, and within budget.

Now is a great time to join us. As a leading international construction group with a healthy pipeline of work, we’re growing our teams. Shape a career to be proud of as part of an award-winning team.

Own your career, and you can build something to be proud of at Balfour Beatty. By joining our well-established construction teams working on our significant future pipeline of projects, you will work with true experts who will share their knowledge and provide support, encouragement, and invaluable feedback so you never stop learning.

Bring us your capability, and we’ll help you take it much, much further.

What you'll be doing

As a General Highways Operative, you will have the following accountabilities:

Work safely at all times, following safe systems of work, reporting near misses, hazards and good practice, and keeping site H&S and environmental records up to date.

Help the team to minimise environmental impact by correctly segregating and recording waste, and taking proactive steps to prevent pollution or environmental incidents.

Carry out a wide variety of highway maintenance tasks (patching, drainage, fencing, signs, barriers, vegetation clearance, etc.) to a high standard, right first time.

Use the correct tools, plant, materials and techniques for each job, recording quality evidence on our digital platforms.

Read and understand work instructions, drawings and risk assessments issued via tablet/mobile device, and complete jobs on time and to client specification.

Respond to emergency call-outs to make the network safe (e.g. debris removal, accident response, flooding, storm damage).

Support winter maintenance operations including gritting, snow clearance and out-of-hours working when required.

Participate fully in Daily Activity Briefings (DABs) and toolbox talks.

Work collaboratively with colleagues, subcontractors and external contractors to deliver a first-class service.

Prioritise public and workforce safety at all times, dealing politely and professionally with members of the public and their enquiries.

Take pride in delivering high-quality workmanship that keeps the highway network safe and reliable for all road users.

Who we're looking for

Essential Skills, Knowledge And Experience

Strong awareness of health and safety legislation, safe systems of work, and risk elimination/mitigation in a highways/construction environment
Commitment to working safely on the public highway and construction sites
Basic IT skills with the ability to use mobile devices/apps for asset management systems (e.g., Confirm) and digital construction/BIM tools
Holders of (or willingness to obtain through company-provided training):

NRSWA (New Roads and Street Works Act) – operative or supervisor level
EUSR (Energy & Utility Skills Register) – Water Hygiene (EUSR1/EUSR2)
Current First Aid qualification
Lantra T1/T2 (Temporary Traffic Management)
Valid CSCS card
Abrasive Wheels certification
Manual Handling training

Full UK driving licence

Desirable Skills And Experience

Practical experience in a range of highways maintenance and minor civils activities, including (but not limited to):

Drainage works, concreting, kerbing, paving/slabbing
Pothole and patch repairs, asphalt laying and raking
Installation of road signs, street furniture, and poles
Winter maintenance operations (gritting, snow clearance)

Additional qualifications and tickets (preferred):

Level 2 Award in Winter Maintenance
HGV Class 2 (Category C) licence and Driver CPC
Plant tickets: Ride-on Roller, Forward Tipping Dumper, Telescopic Handler, 180°/360° Excavator
Confined Spaces (Medium or High Risk)
Deep Excavation/Support of Excavation

Previous experience working on highways contracts or with local authorities/utility companies is highly advantageous

Why work for us

Day in, day out, our teams deliver some of the UK’s most ambitious, exciting and meaningful projects; developing, building and maintaining the vital infrastructure that supports national economies and strengthens communities.

Why join us?

Benefits

As if contributing to and supporting work that makes life better for millions wasn’t rewarding enough, we offer a full range of benefits too. You’ll have the freedom to shape the package that’s right for you and your life. Here are some of our key benefits:

Smart working, giving you more flexibility such as staggered start and finish times, with up to 40% remote working, where roles allow.

25 days paid annual leave (pro rata)

Family friendly policies which include 28 weeks full pay for maternity/adoption leave and four weeks full pay for paternity/partners leave

Pension, share incentive plan, volunteering leave, recognition schemes and much more…

About Us

Balfour Beatty Living Places works in long-term partnerships with local authorities to create great places to live, work and play. We actively engage with local people to understand the needs of the communities we work in and shape the places where local economies can thrive and grow. As a leader in sustainable working, diversity, and social value, we use our expertise to bring real, positive change for our customers.

Diversity and inclusion

At Balfour Beatty we believe that diversity and inclusion are essential components of any successful, happy workplace. Through our Value Everyone Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and Action Plan, we are growing our diverse workforce and developing our inclusive culture where everyone is able to thrive and reach their full potential, regardless of their identity or background. To find out how we are making this a reality, visit www.balfourbeatty.com/diversityandinclusion

To help and support us with our desired commitment to create an inclusive culture we are members of WISE, enei, Business Disability Forum and the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE).

In 2020, we signed the Audeliss and Involve Open Letter to demonstrate our commitment to taking key long term and sustainable actions on Black Inclusion. Balfour Beatty is also a Gold Award holder in the Ministry of Defence 'Employer Recognition Scheme' and actively encourage applications from Armed Forces personnel, veterans and reservists.

As a Disability Confident Employer, we are committed to working with people who have disabilities and long-term health conditions to remove barriers for them in obtaining employment. We are also committed to offering applicants with a disability an interview if they meet the minimum requirements for the role. For more info, visit: https://disabilityconfident.campaign.gov.uk/

We are looking to continually improve our resourcing process and ensure that it is fair and inclusive for all. If you have any feedback on the process, please share this with us at: candidaterecruitmentqueries@balfourbeatty.com