About Network Rail

🌟 Join Our Team at Network Rail! 🌟

Are you ready to make a difference in people's lives? At Network Rail, we connect passengers and freight customers, ensuring safe and efficient transportation across the country. We're an organisation where people truly matter, and when you join us, you matter to us and millions of others. Click here to watch our inspiring video to learn more about us!

We're dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive organisation that reflects the passengers we serve. To achieve this, we're committed to becoming an open, diverse, and inclusive workplace, leveraging the skills and expertise of our talented workforce.

Network Rail has been recognised as one of the Times Top 50 Employers for Gender Equity for the fourth consecutive year! 🎉 You can find out more about this here: The Times Top 50 Listmakers 2024 - Business in the Community (bitc.org.uk)

Together, we strive to create a safe and accessible railway for everyone. Discover more about the importance of Diversity and Inclusion at Network Rail by clicking here .

Investing in our people is key to enhancing the safety, reliability, and efficiency of our railway system. If you're passionate about making a meaningful impact, then this opportunity is for you!

About our people and the recruitment process - We're an inclusive employer of choice and we welcome applications from everyone! We encourage our colleagues to work flexibly, as we know traditional working patterns don't always fit. If you want to consider working flexibly, just let us know and we'll do our best to help and invest in your career with us , whilst you have a healthy work life balance.

We're also a Disability Confident Leader employer and we'll try our best to adapt the process and offer a reasonable alternative to help support people with disabilities access, apply and interview for roles.

You will be part of the North West & Central Region (NW&C) which consist of three routes - North West, Central and West Coast South - and a regional team supporting Regional Major Programmes & Professional services.

Brief Description

This role sits within our Passenger function which provides enhanced capability in sponsorship and performance, and new capability in Operating and Passenger Strategy. It helps NW&C realise its Putting Passengers First vision for key stakeholders by improving the way we operate the network. Safe, reliable services for passengers and freight customers. That is our goal. Working collaboratively with the wider rail industry we will deliver passenger excellence and value for money .

The successful candidate will work within the Industry Programme Director North's team within NW&C Team Passenger. They will lead on early development activities for programmes including the Manchester & North West Transformation Programme (MNTP), West Coast Main Line (North) and integration of HS2 services into the North West as well as other proposed enhancements requiring early development activity across the North West area.

About the role (External)

1. Client the development of interventions, as part of the funding and commitment process, to the extent necessary to gain funding from, and be accountable within the company governance processes.

2. Create clear and costed remits with defined timescales, developed from a variety of inputs to secure funding and move projects forward.

3. Support cost planning and economic analysis activities to ensure business cases are underpinned by robust financial logic.

4. Work with internal and external stakeholders to establish parameters of scope, baseline conditions and delivery options which optimise value for money and consider the whole life cost, using a systems approach.

5. Manage the process of identifying and quantifying risk associated with the developed interventions, and, in line with the identified strategy, build these requirements into the procurement and contracting strategy decision making process.

6. Consider other company and industry requirements including risk, selection criteria, system integration, project interdependencies, asset protection and payment regime that are necessary to form part of the output specification.

7. Present findings and outputs effectively through reports and presentations to internal and external stakeholders.

8. Manage the full lifecycle of tasks from initiation to completion, including changes, ensuring outputs remain on time, within scope, and budget.

9. Build and manage strong stakeholder relationships (internally and externally), including working with suppliers, to balance the needs of the Government, Network Rail, and the wider industry.

10. Balance shifting priorities effectively, focusing on what is most important and urgent as programmes evolve.

In order to be successful in this role, we would like you to have/to be:

• Ability to articulate complex business problems into contractible work packages.

• Commercially astute, persuasive, and customer focused.

• Proven ability to write coherently, conveying report / investment information in a concise manner.

• Proven influencing and negotiating skills.

We would also like but it isn't crucial to have/to be:

• Qualified to degree level or equivalent.

• Experience of converting risk into a commercial requirement and overlaying contractual agreements with this.

• Experience of negotiating contracts to finalisation and able to demonstrate significant commercial success.

• Experience of leading a successful team.

• Experience in significant management roles in a commercial environment.

• Familiarity with the North West rail network and projects such as MNTP.

• Knowledge of Strategic Outline Business Case/Engineering Stages for option selection into delivery stages, and other Network Rail processes.

How to apply (External)

Salary : £46,701 - £53,589

Closing date : Thursday 15 May 2025. Late applications will not be accepted. We may close the advert early if we receive a large volume of applicants.

Interviews will take place between 22 - 30 May in Manchester

Click apply now to apply.

You can visit Evenbreaks Career Hive for advice on accessibility support if you're unsure of the options available. Should you require any reasonable adjustments/modifications, please add a note to your application.

Network Rail Benefits

• 28 days annual leave - with the opportunity to buy and/or sell upto 5 days
• Access to a range of contributory pension schemes, and the potential to top up your competitive salary with a bonus
• A subsidy of up to 75% on rail and underground season tickets if you travel to work on the train
• Privileged staff travel - Discretionary leisure travel discount of 75%
• We can offer you a season ticket loan, annual season tickets are discounted.
• A 35-hour-per-week contract with flexible working options available to help support your work-life balance
• Hybrid working (2/3 days a week in the office/on site) and enhanced family-friendly support
• Take advantage of healthcare offers (including discounted healthcare club membership), discounted cycle hire, and online shopping sites
• 5 days of paid volunteering leave
• 2 weeks paid reserve leave for the Armed Forces community

To find out about what benefits we offer, click here

All offers of employment are conditional upon satisfactory completion of pre-employment checks. Click here for more information

Network Rail operates, maintains and develops Britain's railway infrastructure managing 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and thousands of signals, level crossings and stations.