Johnson Gbagbo
Barking
Summary
Accomplished professional with extensive expertise in IT, AutoCAD, and project management. Demonstrates strong leadership in team development, staff recruitment, and performance management. Proficient in financial forecasting, budgeting, and regulatory compliance. Skilled in contract negotiation and administration with a focus on quality assurance and risk mitigation. Committed to driving organisational success through strategic planning and effective decision-making.
Experienced professional with focus on managing and leading teams in dynamic environments. Capable of driving operational excellence and achieving strategic goals through strong leadership and process optimisation. Skilled in fostering collaborative work cultures and implementing innovative solutions to enhance productivity.
Overview
25
25
years of professional experience
7
7
years of post-secondary education
1
1
Certification
Work history
Group manager
London Borough of Redbridge
London
07.2021 - 05.2026
- Group Manager responsible for the operational delivery of Highway Schemes, Highway and Land Drainage, Flood Management, Sustainable Drainage, Street Lighting, Winter Maintenance, Footway Crossing/Access, Capital and Major works programmes in line with the Council’s Vision Statement and Policy objectives that have policy and service implication.
- Monitor, review, evaluate and develop important Highway policies/strategies and recommend, and initiate new policies, changes and procedures as necessary
- Make recommendations and decisions within reports/briefing notes to guide and inform Cabinet, Scrutiny Committees and Lead Members on such matters that contribute to corporate management of the council in pursuit of Council aims and objectives
- Manage a group of up to 30 professional, technical staff in the delivery of Highway and Land Drainage, Flood Management, Sustainable Drainage, Public right of way, Footway Crossing/Access, Capital works, Councils Street Lighting, and design of major Highways/Civil Engineering schemes, to provide professional, technical advice and directing project teams and task groups as required
- Support the development of Multi-million-pound initiatives, e.g. Cross rail projects.
- Assist and manage the preparation and procurement of a number of highways, Street Lighting and associated contracts including their management
- Lead on Highway/Civil Engineering issues at Committee meetings, Local Forums, Residents/Business groups and providing professional technical guidance and advice relating to the service
- Represent the Council’s interest at Central Government Departments, national and regional bodies and partaking in liaison meetings with professional staff from Transport for London, Crossrail, Network Rail and other agencies
- Training and mentoring of staff in the group
- Assist in the recruitment of staff in Highway and Transportation
- Delivering the Local Flood Risk Management Strategy
- Delivery and development of theCouncil’s Winter Plan
- Acts as the Lead Local Flood Authority Officer for the Borough and the statutory responsibilities that it entails
- Create a performance-oriented approach and culture, ensuring that appropriate work plans: appraisals, supervisions and staff development systems are in place to achieve council objectives and service area strategies
- Produce Service Plans with specific outcomes and resource allocation for their achievement with Key Performance measures and standards to be achieved (KPIs)
- Managing the budget-making processes, planning budgets and other resources allocated to the group and ensuring appropriate monitoring procedures are implemented to avoid overspend
- Authorisation of invoices up to £500,000
- Developing and overseeing a capital investment programme for the Group identifying priorities for improvement, funding proposals and bids to funding bodies where appropriate
- Seeking opportunities for contributing to the sustainable development of the Borough following the Council’s commitment to making Redbridge a cleaner, greener place to live
- Demonstrating good environmental practices (such as energy efficiency, use of sustainable materials, sustainable transport, recycling and waste reduction).
Principal engineer
London Borough of Redbridge
Ilford
07.2013 - 06.2021
- Responsible for Highways Maintenance Capital Schemes, Special projects, Street Lighting & Network Management
- Work in conjunction with the Group Manager to establish the implementation of quality service and standards by supporting staff and taking rectifying actions across teams as well as promoting staff harmony and cooperation to achieve implementation of Highways Maintenance programmes within agreed time and budget limits
- Developed empowering employee culture focused on equipping staff to meet customer needs and service objectives independently
- Have managed Footway Crossing delivery and the team since 2014 to date involved in Policy and strategy development, training of staff and producing associated reports
- Managed Winter Maintenance, and service plans delivery since 2018
- Managed Inventory and operations to maintain optimal stock levels to meet expected demands
- Managed Street lighting Capital schemes, lighting inventory, operational and industry best practices and company policies to achieve efficiency and cost savings
- In Feb 2018 – August 2018, I managed Network Management Team
- Design and implementing Capital works, Major projects and Revenue schemes for street Lighting and Highway Maintenance improvement schemes (e.g Cross rail projects)
- Ensuring the projects are efficiently and effectively discharged with the active participation of the local community, business and specialist groups as appropriate
- Assist Group Manager/ Head of Service in producing 5-year Capital programmes for Highways, Street Lighting and major projects, manage resource allocation of staff and funds for the implementation of the Programmes within Budget
- Assist in the management and supervision of all staff to fulfil the role of adviser on technical issues relating to Highway Maintenance, Traffic Engineering and Street Lighting
- Produce technical and progress reports including contractor’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and attend both operational and management progress meetings
- Attend liaison meetings with relevant authorities, Transport for London, Police, and other stakeholders for effective project delivery
- Assist the group manager in drainage and flood management schemes
- Produce Cabinet member papers/reports for initiative projects
- E.g Lamp column Wi-fi, ATAM Academy projects
- Highway and Street Lighting Contract Management
- Wrote the Street Lighting Contract in 2014, Assist Head of Service in the Novation of theStreet Lighting Contract and carried out contractors’ safety audits
- Lead a technical team including Procurement, appoint a consultant, to procure new Highway and Street Lighting Contracts by May 2022.
Senior Engineer
London Borough of Redbridge
05.2005 - 05.2013
- Role - Project manager for multi-disciplined projects including consultation, design, programming, planning, co-ordination and implementation
- Work in conjunction with the Group Manager on the implementation of quality service and standards by supporting staff across teams to deliver Highways Maintenance schemes within agreed time and budget
- Identifying potential schemes, carrying out feasibility studies and economic appraisal, with the view to levering in funds
- Assist in design, implementing and improving Highway Maintenance schemes, ensuring that they are efficiently discharged with active participation of the local community, business and specialist groups
- Ensuring that project design and implementation comply with all aspect of Construction (Design and Management) Act, including preparing risk assessment for all projects (RAMs)
- Produce detail estimates for Schemes and undertook final measurements for payments
- Supervision of work on site and monitoring contractor’s performance
- Assist in the management and supervision of all staff in the Highway Maintenance group and fulfil the role as advisor on technical issues relating to Highway Maintenance, Traffic and Street Lighting Engineering
- Produce technical and progress reports including contractors Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and attend both operational and management progress meetings
- Attend liaison meetings with relevant authorities, Transport for London, Police, and other stakeholders for effective delivery of projects.
Project Engineer & Environmental Manager
Laing O’Rourke Plc
07.2002 - 05.2005
- Projects: - Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) Project
- Construction 164 apartments, 170 capacity Car park with its estate roads
- Establishment and monitoring quality control procedures on site (ISO 14001 & 9001)
- Preparation and implementation of construction management plans
- Produced method statements and inspection test plans for various construction activities ensuring compliance with all aspects of construction (CDM) and risk assessment
- Inspections, certification, producing Technical and progress reports
- Liaising with Local Authorities for obtaining all consents needed for various activities on site and adoptions
- Carrying out audits in conjunction with quality/safety auditors
- Contaminated land remediation on site and waste management.
Highway Engineer
Delton Engineering & site Services
04.2001 - 07.2002
- Site surveys and preparation of detailed estimates for projects including scheme documents, specifications, drawings and CDM risk assessments
- Design and implementation of Highway maintenance and improvement schemes
- Supervision of work on site and monitoring contractor’s performance
- Measurement of works and preparation of payment certificates
- Liaising with TFL, Police and other stakeholders for delivery of projects.
Education
Master of Arts - Management and Leadership
Anglia Ruskin University
Chelmsford 09.2020 - 05.2022
Master of Science - Environmental Engineering
Queen’s University of Belfast
Belfast 09.1999 - 05.2000
Bachelor of Science - Civil Engineering
University of Science And Technology
Kumasi, Ghana 09.1991 - 05.1994
Diploma - Civil Engineering
University of Science And Technology
Kumasi, Ghana 09.1988 - 05.1990
Skills
- IT proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel & Power point
- AutoCAD
- Full UK driving license
- CSCS Certified
- Streetworks training – NSWA Certificate
- Mentoring capacity
- Technical proficiency
- Pragmatic thinking
- Decision-Making confidence
- Inventory control knowledge
- Organisational alignment
- Knowledge of erp systems
- Procurement proficiency
- Regulatory compliance
- Staff recruitment
- Financial Forecasting
- Performance analysis
- People development
- Compliance understanding
- Contract administration
- Staff training and development
- Budgeting expertise
- Quality assurance procedures
- Team Leadership
- Employee management
- Conflict Resolution
- Inventory control
- Staff training
- Performance Management
- Database management
- Customer survey feedback implementation
- Talent development
- Departmental strategy development
- Performance evaluation and feedback sessions
- Policy and procedure adherence
- Contract negotiation
- Team capacity building
- Training and mentoring
- KPI reporting framework design
- Risk mitigation
- Project management proficiency
- Departmental budget management
- Key Performance Indicator monitoring
- Recruitment and hiring
- Staff development
- Staff management
- Departmental budget planning
- Financial analysis and forecasting
- Resilience under pressure
Certification
- Professional Membership: Chartered Member of Charted Management Institute (CMI)
- Member of Institute of Highway Engineers: FIHE
- Member of Institute of Lighting Engineers.
References
References available upon request.
Training
- Contract Administration, Management, tendering procedures & Quality control.
- Leadership and Management Training (6 months) – by LBR/Acensio
- Project working training course – for Project Planning Skills.
- Health & Safety Awareness training for Managers.
- Carbon Footprint calculations and analysis seminar.
- Making use of limited Highway Maintenance budgets for roads.
- Agresso Training (an accounting package).
- Road Safety Engineering Module 1 - 3 & 11 Training (ROSPA & TMS)
- AutoCAD – Computer Aided Design Level 2
- Pavement Assessment Conference DIPA
- Confirm Engineering for contract and project management training.
- CDM training
- Professional Development Training in NEC3 Term Service Contract.
- Traffic management (Chapter 8) Training–1-day CPD Training by SYMMONS MADGE
- Environmental Impact Assessment for Highway Schemes – 1-day CPD
- Continous iHASCO online Health and Safety training for short compliance courses, Topics include:
- Health & Safety
- Fire Safety
- Manual Handling
- Display Screen Equipment (DSE)
- GDPR / Data Protection
- Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
- Cyber Security Awareness
Accomplishments
• Award Winning: Led award-winning team for Innovator Team award for the Year, 2025, London Borough of Redbridge).
Timeline
Group manager
London Borough of Redbridge
07.2021 - 05.2026
Master of Arts - Management and Leadership
Anglia Ruskin University
09.2020 - 05.2022
Principal engineer
London Borough of Redbridge
07.2013 - 06.2021
Senior Engineer
London Borough of Redbridge
05.2005 - 05.2013
Project Engineer & Environmental Manager
Laing O’Rourke Plc
07.2002 - 05.2005
Highway Engineer
Delton Engineering & site Services
04.2001 - 07.2002
Master of Science - Environmental Engineering
Queen’s University of Belfast
09.1999 - 05.2000
Bachelor of Science - Civil Engineering
University of Science And Technology
09.1991 - 05.1994
Diploma - Civil Engineering
University of Science And Technology
09.1988 - 05.1990