Jason has spent over 25 years working in local government, predominantly in highways management. Jason has been Deputy Director, Environment and Infrastructure for Surrey County Council since September 2016. In this role Jason has overall responsibility for a range of services, including maintaining and improving Surrey’s highway network, waste management, flood risk management, management of the countryside, planning and bus services. He manages 600 staff, and an annual budget of approximately £180m.

In his previous role, Assistant Director Highways and Transport, Jason led the highways service through some significant challenges, including the development of an innovative 5-year Capital programme (Operation Horizon), recognised as best practice for its approach to supply chain collaboration, and management of the flooding of 2013/14. He has lead significant service transformation in response to budgetary and other challenges. Jason steered the development of the South East 7 highways workstream, a collaborative initiative between 7 authorities in the South East. This resulted in a number of successes, including joint procurement and the development of a Highway MSc, in partnership with the University of Brighton. At a more local level, he has introduced a ‘localism’ programme which has enabled Parish Councils and Residents Associations to undertake highway activities themselves.

Jason has worked on a number of Government improvement programmes. These have included the Government Construction Strategy, where Operation Horizon was one of the Cabinet Office’s ‘Trial Projects’, showcasing new models of procurement. He was also a member of Infrastructure UK’s Routemap steering group, which has overseen the development of the routemap.

Since 2011, Jason has been a Board member for the DfT funded Highways Maintenance Efficiency Programme. In this role, he has worked with the LGA to develop a peer review targeted specifically at highways and transport services, which is now widely used by local highway authorities. Jason is currently the Chair of the CQC Efficiency Network, and a member of the Alliancing Steering Group.

Jason is also a Director of Babcock4S, a joint venture between Surrey CC and Babcock, which provides services to schools.