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.

Are you looking for a development opportunity that provides a broad understanding of how the Rail industry operates?

Do you enjoy an interesting and varied workload?

If so, we are looking for a motivated individual that is passionate about delivering excellence for UK rail passengers, and we would love to hear from you.

Job description

Train Strategy and Operations Division is part of the wider Passenger Services Directorate which is responsible for setting the policy and strategic direction for passenger rail services. Our team is the home of expert analysis, advice and specialist support on rail industry operations, an essential part of understanding how the industry is performing and whether it is delivering the service the passenger deserves.

We are also responsible for setting the strategy for train service procurement, as well as supporting all resilience issues (industrial action, major weather events, blockades, etc) that may affect the railway. This includes horizon scanning, contingency planning and incident response.

As the Operations and Performance Adviser, you will play a key supporting role in the delivery of the Division’s priorities, particularly in supporting the in-life operational checking and monitoring of franchised operators and operational performance. These are high profile areas of work with significant commercial and contractual implications.

You will have the opportunity to provide specialist technical and analytical advice on rail operations, rail performance, passenger service planning and related matters. You will work collaboratively with colleagues with your own team, Commercial Teams and Senior Leaders across the Directorate and in the wider Department and a range of external stakeholders, including train operators, Network Rail and Ministers, so you will need to be comfortable in forging positive working relationships.

The role offers exposure to a diverse range of stakeholders and a fantastic chance to have a deep insight into the rail industry.

Responsibilities

Will include but not limited to :

• Maintaining and monitoring systems that check train operators’ compliance with the areas of the franchise agreement that fall within the Division’s responsibility, and advising commercial teams when operators fail to comply with their contractual requirements.
• Providing expert advice to internal and industry stakeholders. Working with the wider industry to ensure the Department is appropriately engaged with Track Access matters, applications, and the Network Code. You will also help ensure relevant information is fed into the industry process that facilitates new franchise aspirations and serves to further the Department’s strategic vision.
• Maintaining and monitoring performance reporting data and systems that underpin the franchise agreement performance regimes that fall within the Division’s responsibility, and advising commercial teams when operators fail to comply with their contractual requirements.
• Providing both regular and ad-hoc analysis, forecasting and reporting of operational performance to a variety of internal stakeholders.

For further information, please see the attached Role Profile

Person specification

About You

You will be someone with excellent interpersonal skills to build positive relationships with internal teams and industry partners. You will display excellent verbal and written communication skills, and the ability to clearly present complex technical information to a diverse audience.

A flexible, team player and very organised, you will take a proactive approach to prioritise key tasks and handle workloads effectively.

You are a self-motivated and ambitious individual who is comfortable working independently and keen to develop and build knowledge quickly.

Having experience in rail timetable planning and/or operational performance would be an advantage but is not essential.

Additional Information

You will have the option to be based in our London office attracting the London salary, or in Leeds or Birmingham attracting the National salary. If based in Leeds or Birmingham, occasional travel to our London office will be required for key meetings and team events.

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. Occasional travel to other DfT offices 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.

https://careers.dft.gov.uk/our-agencies/department-for-transport-central/

Things you need to know

Selection process details

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

How to Apply

When considering applying please look at how your experience relates to the role. Please tailor your CV to match the role and its responsibilities and within your Personal Statement (Max 1000 words) please provide detailed evidence of your :

• Effective written and numeracy communication skills.
• Ability to deal with multiple tasks in a professional and timely manner.
• Experience of effective project management, including managing complexity (e.g. prioritisation of tasks, working with incomplete data sets) and ensuring appropriate and proportionate quality assurance checks are implemented.
• Analytical experience in distilling large amounts of complex data into easy-to understand formats. 

The sift is due to take place from 09 January 2024.

Interviews/assessments are likely to be held from week commencing week commencing 22 January 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.

You’re encouraged to become familiar with the role profile, as you may be assessed against any of the criteria recorded within.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

The Department for Transport alongside other Government Departments recruit using Success Profiles. This means for each role we consider what you will need to demonstrate in order to be successful. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, drives up performance and improves diversity and inclusivity.

For further information on Success Profiles visit our Careers website.

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.

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.

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.