About the job

Job summary

We recognise the challenges that people with protected characteristics may experience on the job market and in their career progression. We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities. We are keen to make our workforce as diverse as possible, and we hope to attract applications from underrepresented groups, including ethnic minorities, people with a disability, and people with gender diverse identities.

Do you have strong programme management skills and enjoy collaborating with other teams?

Would you relish an opportunity to contribute to the delivery of tangible improvements for rail passengers?

If so, this is an exciting time to join our In-Franchise Change team, and we would love to hear from you.

Job description

The Plan for Rail, Bradshaw Address and Trailblazer Deeper Devolution Deals mean that fares, ticketing, and retail reform is at the forefront of rail reform and a Department for Transport (DfT) priority.

The Fares, Ticketing and Retail Programme covers most aspects of a passenger's journey by rail, including how they buy their ticket; what they pay for it; what happens if the journey goes wrong; and how the journey meets their accessibility needs. These aspects are up front and centre in the plans for reform.

As Fares Ticketing and Retail Strategy Programme Manager, you will be charged with making a significant contribution to the success of these reforms.

You will be joining the team leading fares ticketing and retail strategy, and sponsoring delivery of our transformation programme. This programme has customer service at its heart. It will do away with the outdated passenger experience and replace it with a customer offer fit for the 21st century to attract new passengers, drive revenue growth and deliver cost savings. This is of fundamental importance to government, industry, and passengers as we work to ensure the railway recovers post pandemic.

In this role you will have the opportunity to collaborate with industry partners, His Majesty’s Treasury (HMT) and No10, as well as colleagues across the department to develop and agree a robust strategy and delivery plan.

If you would like to find out more about what it's like to work at DfT Rail, please click here.

Your key responsibilities will include:

• Working with Great British Railways Transition Team (GBRTT) and internal teams to develop and maintain a fares, ticketing and retail delivery plan and programme management governance and tools.
• Supporting GBRTT in developing Business Cases for the programme, and guiding them through governance processes, managing timescales and relationships with Centres of Excellence.
• Collaborating with subject specific policy leads on fares ticketing and retail policy and with other specialist teams, to contribute to the wider reform programme.
• Working in close partnership with industry to develop these plans, and to secure agreement from senior partners and officials.
• Line management responsibility for one SEO colleague.

Person specification

About you

You will be an engaging leader with a track record in strategy and delivery, with the ability to deliver results through others.

You will have programme management experience and enjoy working at pace in a high-profile environment. 

You will have experience of collaborating with external partners to forge effective relationships with industry partners and senior leaders. You will be a trusted adviser, with the credibility to influence and challenge effectively.

You will have the ability to quickly grasp information, build knowledge, and adapt to changes taking place in the rail industry, ensuring changes add value to the business.

Additional Information 

A minimum 60% of your working time should be spent at your principal workplace, although requirements to attend other locations for official business, or carry out detached duty in another DfT workplace, will also count towards this level of attendance. 

You will have the option to be based either in London attracting the London pay scale, or in Leeds or Birmingham attracting the national pay scale. Occasional travel to our industry partners will be required.

Benefits

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits. We offer generous annual leave, attractive pension options, flexible working, inclusive working environments and much more to support a healthy work/life balance.

Find out more about what it's like working at the Department for Transport.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

How to apply

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV and a 1000-word Personal Statement.

When considering your experience, please tailor your CV and Personal Statement to provide evidence of the following:

• Delivering the project delivery business case process, including approvals, and a particular focus on the management case.
• Working in a project management environment, particularly in a transformation programme.
• Collaborating with and building relationships with a range of internal and external partners.

The sift is due to take place from 22/03/2024.

Interviews/assessments are likely to be held week commencing 15/04/2024.

We will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change. You will be provided with sufficient notice of the confirmed dates.

The selection process will be designed specifically for the role. As a result, your assessment will include:

• An interview.

This interview could be conducted online via Teams or face to face at one of our offices. Further details will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.

Pre-employment Checking

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment. 

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

Reasonable Adjustments

As a Disability Confident Leader employer, we are committed to ensuring that the recruitment process is fair, accessible and allows all candidates to perform at their best. If a person with a visible or non-visible disability is substantially disadvantaged, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need during the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at an interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

If you need a reasonable adjustment so that you can complete your application, you should contact Government Recruitment Service via dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Document Accessibility

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

This job advert contains links to the DfT Careers website. Our website provides useful guidance and information that can support you during the application process. If you cannot access the information on our website for any reason, please email DRGComms@dft.gov.uk for assistance.

Further Information

For more information about how we hire, and for useful tips on submitting your application for this role, visit the How We Hire page of our DfT Careers website. You can find detailed information about the recruitment process and what to expect when applying for a role.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.