The 2022 Commonwealth Games, held in Birmingham, will be the biggest sporting and cultural event that the city and the region have ever seen. With an estimated television audience of 1.5 billion people, it will showcase Birmingham, the West Midlands and the entire country as an amazing place to live, work, study, visit and do business.

When the Commonwealth Games start, the eyes of the world will be on the West Midlands, and so it is critical that visitors can travel around swiftly and efficiently whilst minimising the impact on residents. With more than one million spectators expected over the eleven days, as well as competitors, volunteers, staff and the world’s media, we must get our transport offering just right – and this role will play an important part in making this happen by delivering high-quality digital and printed user-centric maps to support this ‘once in a Birmingham life time’ event.

As Senior Cartographer, you will contribute to the work of the Commonwealth Games Transport Team by providing high quality transport related mapping outputs for a range of consumers, from internal to public facing maps. You will utilise a variety of graphic design tools, techniques and methods to ensure that a range of data sources can be utilised by a broad range of users, internally within Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) and the West Midlands Combined Authority, the CWG Organising Committee (OC), local authorities and the public.

This role is offered as a fixed term contract until August 2022.

What will you be doing?

• Collate and scrutinise briefs for new maps, identifying the stakeholders and context in order to provide the right information for the right users in the right format
• Create geographic and schematic mapping to help users navigate local areas and transport systems (showing transport links, access points, wayfinding etc)
• Create geographic and schematic mapping to help operational partners’ planning and transport planning decision making
• Ensure that maps are accessible: adhering to WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility regulations for digital mapping and Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) best practice for physical mapping and wayfinding
• Design maps in line with brand guidelines, visual identity and existing wayfinding design systems across all media
• Manage print processes – gather quotes, request purchase orders, ensure artwork is print ready for suppliers, order print materials (paper, signage, temporary signage)
• Liaise and work collaboratively with all relevant CWG partners including the CWG OC, Local Authorities and other transport authorities
• Support geographic Legacy and Benefits analysis which will continue beyond the lifetime of the Games

About you

We’re looking for someone who has experience of making and designing accessible maps that look good for the general public. Above this, we are looking for the following:

• Experience using current industry software (Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop)
• Experience of digital map creation and publishing process (and file formats e.g. .eps, pdf)
• Knowledge of the print process
• Ability to learn new processes and software quickly
• Experience collaborating with other designers
• Experience working with GIS based outputs (shapefiles and .svg)
• Experience of cross-function and cross-organisation partnership working
• High level of accuracy and attention to detail
• Awareness of producing responsive digital outputs for mobile app consumption
• Awareness of animation software
• Awareness of ESRI ArcGIS Enterprise platform including Desktop, Server and Online
• Awareness of QGIS

About the team

Transport for West Midlands, the transport arm of the West Midlands Combined Authority, has been tasked with developing a Games Transport Plan for the 2022 Commonwealth Games. The Games Transport Plan is an integral measure, which will set out a strategic approach to planning and coordination of transport to support the Games; covering the transportation of spectators, athletes and the Games Family, while at the same time ensuring that any disruption to transport users is kept to a minimum.

The plan will set out a strategic approach to planning and coordination of transport to support the Games. It sets out how spectators, athletes and Games officials and personnel will be transported come Birmingham 2022, as well as detailing how disruption to those conducting unrelated travel can be minimised.

About us

Our role in the West Midlands has never been more important and in these extraordinary times we’ve shown we can step forward, speak up for our region and bring people together. Everything we do is focused on making life better for people in the West Midlands – that’s our reason for being here and it drives every move we make. We lead and support others to deliver our shared future vision for the region – a happier, healthier, better connected place to live and work. 

We fully believe that we are only as great as the people who work for us and are committed to providing a positive, healthy and inclusive working environment where our people feel valued and respected. We are a “Leaders in Diversity” accredited organisation, are in the Inclusive Top 50 Employers List and are one of The Times Top 50 Employers for Women.

Our employees feel they can make a difference and are excited by the growth and the potential to shape the future. As we undergo a period of significant change, our employees are engaging with what is going on and we are encouraging a culture where people feel they can contribute towards improvements.

We’re ambitious, forward thinking and determined to find better ways of working, always leading the way in what we do. We trust and support each other to get the job done, and encourage creativity, originality and curiosity from those who work with us. We’re committed to creating an accessible and diverse workplace, one that nurtures an inclusive environment where our people can be themselves.

If your values align with ours and you’re committed to working towards creating a future we can all be proud of, we want to hear from you.

Additional information

We are designing our organisation of the future and planning a new, flexible approach to the way we use our office space.  This approach will mean most of us working from home some of the time and using our office space to come together to share ideas and learn from each other. We will continue to use digital technology for meetings, collaboration and communications - bringing teams together virtually wherever they’re working, saving time and spending on travel.

We are committed to developing an organisation that is representative of the diverse communities that we serve and welcome applications from all sections of the community. The following groups are currently underrepresented: young people, Black, Asian and ethnic minority groups and women at senior levels.

We are a Disability Confident Employer and offer a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants who meet the essential job role criteria. We will make reasonable adjustments, in line with the Equality Act, for disabled applicants if these are needed. Wherever possible we will offer flexible working options which assist work-life balance.

We’re dedicated to providing a broad range of rewards and benefits and constantly benchmark our benefits packages to ensure they are attractive for all our people. As well as a competitive salary, employees also receive 27 days annual leave (plus bank holidays) and access to a great pension scheme.

Supporting documents
Role Profile - CWG Senior Cartographer.pdf