Associate Director - Active travel, Highway & Traffic engineering

Company Description

Work with Us. Change the World.

At AECOM, we're delivering a better world. Whether improving your commute, keeping the lights on, providing access to clean water, or transforming skylines, our work helps people and communities thrive. We are the world's trusted infrastructure consulting firm, partnering with clients to solve the world’s most complex challenges and build legacies for future generations.

There has never been a better time to be at AECOM. With accelerating infrastructure investment worldwide, our services are in great demand. We invite you to bring your bold ideas and big dreams and become part of a global team of over 50,000 planners, designers, engineers, scientists, digital innovators, program and construction managers and other professionals delivering projects that create a positive and tangible impact around the world.

We're one global team driven by our common purpose to deliver a better world. Join us.

Job Description

Start here. Grow here.

Our Streets Scotland team has a vacancy in our Edinburgh OR Glasgow office for a Principal OR Associate Director with experience in leading traffic, highways, and sustainable transport projects, and with a strong track record in work winning and client leadership. The successful candidate will share our ethos of delivering impactful, practical solutions and providing high‑quality service across Scotland’s public sector clients. This role will support the continued growth of our Scotland business by strengthening existing client relationships and building new ones across multiple local authorities and national agencies.

The Streets Scotland team delivers feasibility, concept, preliminary and detailed design, community engagement, project delivery and construction‑stage support across a wide range of transport and public‑realm projects. These include active travel, public transport priority, junction and corridor improvements, road safety, and wider placemaking initiatives. You will be joining a collaborative, supportive team recognised for leadership in sustainable transport and traffic engineering across Scotland.

Here’s what we’re looking for:

This role is ideal for a self‑motivated individual looking to further develop their leadership impact at a regional level. In addition to delivering work within Scotland, the role involves close collaboration with teams across the UK & Ireland business and regular interaction with our EC colleagues in India.

Key responsibilities and requirements:

Client Relationship Building

• Develop and maintain strong relationships with Scottish local authorities, regional partnerships, and national agencies.
• Stay alert to commercial opportunities, identify emerging needs, and develop strategies to position AECOM effectively in the Scottish market.

Work Winning

• Lead and contribute to bids for Scotland‑based frameworks and commissions, including Scotland Excel, City of Edinburgh Council, Glasgow City Council, Transport Scotland, and other local clients.
• Prepare detailed proposals, fee submissions, and client briefs aligned with local frameworks and procurement processes.
• Support both regional and UK‑wide business development objectives.

Project Leadership

• Act as Project Director and Project Manager following accreditation on AECOM’s project management system.
• Oversee project performance, commercial delivery, programme, and risk management across a portfolio of Scottish projects.
• Ensure compliance with AECOM project governance standards (training will be provided).

Technical Leadership

• Lead the technical development, direction, and quality of work outputs across complex traffic, transport, and sustainable infrastructure projects.
• Promote innovation, best practice, and quality assurance across the Streets Scotland discipline.

Team Management

• Act as a committed and proactive Line Manager, supporting the development and progression of team members in Glasgow and across Scotland.
• Identify and support upskilling needs to align with emerging Scottish policy and technical requirements.

Team Leadership

• Support the leadership of the Streets Scotland team and deputise for senior managers as required.
• Play an active role in recruitment and talent development to grow the capability and capacity of the Scottish team.

Internal Relationship Building

• Build strong working relationships across AECOM’s disciplines, including Environment, Transport Planning, Bridges, and Cost Consultancy.
• Work closely with our EC team in India, ensuring clear communication, consistent quality, and effective programme integration.

Come grow with us.

You’ll enjoy a range of core and personalised benefits designed to support your future and well‑being. You will have access to career development opportunities, our flexible hybrid working model, professional networks, AECOM University, and volunteering days—shaped to support a healthy work‑life balance.

Qualifications

Ready to push the limits of what’s possible?

• A strong track record in managing and delivering traffic engineering, sustainable transport, and highway design projects, ideally within the Scottish public‑sector context.
• Proven experience in leading bids and proposals, including framework‑based opportunities.
• Demonstrable leadership skills with experience growing and managing high‑performing teams.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to represent AECOM confidently with clients, partners, and stakeholders.
• Chartered in a relevant Institution.

We celebrate diversity, including neurodiversity, and believe it enriches our team. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and abilities. If you are an applicant with a disability that requires reasonable accommodation to complete the application process, please contact us at ReasonableAccommodations@aecom.com

At AECOM, we value everyone's unique contributions and perspectives. If you meet some of the requirements above or have transferable skills you believe would benefit us, we would be delighted to hear from you!

Additional Information

Interested in the role or curious about life at AECOM? Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to explore our AECOM voices, employee stories, latest projects, and much more!

For further information about the role, reach out to the recruiter on LinkedIn Siobhan Osborne

At AECOM, we are committed to maintaining a secure and trustworthy recruitment process and take any fraudulent hiring activity seriously. To support this commitment, all newly hired employees are required to attend an in-person Day 1 onboarding at an AECOM office location as a condition of employment.

About AECOM

AECOM is the world’s trusted infrastructure consulting firm, delivering professional services throughout the project lifecycle – from advisory, planning, design and engineering to program and construction management. On projects spanning transportation, buildings, water, new energy and the environment, our public- and private-sector clients trust us to solve their most complex challenges. Our teams are driven by a common purpose to deliver a better world through our unrivaled technical and digital expertise, a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion, and a commitment to environmental, social and governance priorities. AECOM is a Fortune 500 firm and its Professional Services business had revenue of $16.1 billion in fiscal year 2025. See how we are delivering sustainable legacies for generations to come at aecom.com and @AECOM.

Freedom to Grow in a World of Opportunity 

You will have the flexibility you need to do your best work with hybrid work options. Whether you’re working from an AECOM office, remote location or at a client site, you will be working in a dynamic environment where your integrity, entrepreneurial spirit and pioneering mindset are championed.

You will help us foster a safe and respectful workplace, where we invite everyone to bring their whole selves to work using their unique talents, backgrounds and expertise to create transformational outcomes for our clients.

AECOM provides a wide array of compensation, benefits and well-being programs to meet the diverse needs of our employees and their families. We’re the world’s trusted global infrastructure firm, and we’re in this together – your growth and success are ours too.

Join us, and you’ll get all the benefits of being a part of a global, publicly traded firm – access to industry-leading technology and thinking and transformational work with big impact and work flexibility. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in each person’s potential, and we’ll help you reach yours.

We are a Disability Confident Employer and will offer an interview to applicants who have a disability or long-term condition, who meet the minimum/essential criteria for the role. Please let us know using this email address ReasonableAccommodationsUKI@aecom.com  if you would like to apply through the Disability Confident Interview Scheme.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.