About the job

Job summary

Team information

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is the independent safety and economic regulator for Britain's railways and the independent monitor of National Highways. We are here to ensure the network operates safely, reliably and provides value for taxpayers and customers.

ORR's Periodic Reviews & Monitoring team sits within the Directorate of Economics, Finance and Markets (EFM), which leads on all aspects of financial and economic analysis within ORR, the periodic review process for Network Rail and ORR’s competition work. The team’s focus is on establishing the five-year funding and regulatory settlements for Network Rail and assessing how it is delivering against its commitments. We work closely with colleagues across ORR, as well as with governments, Network Rail and other stakeholders.

Job description

Job Purpose

Periodic reviews are one of the principal mechanisms by which ORR holds Network Rail to account and secures value for money for users and funders of the railway (Department for Transport and Transport Scotland). They determine the level of funding Network Rail should receive and what, in return, Network Rail should deliver. The 2023 periodic review (PR23) has set the funding and regulatory settlement for the five years from 1 April 2024 (known as control period 7 or CP7).

You will join our small team of other regulatory specialists that is focused on regulatory assurance of Network Rail’s business plans and reporting on Network Rail’s delivery.

The business plans are an important tool in how we regulate Network Rail. Alongside engagement with Network Rail, we use them to understand how Network Rail will deliver for its passengers and other end-users; whether its spend is in line with what has been agreed by funders (the Department for Transport and Transport Scotland); and whether there are any potential issues that need to be addressed now to ensure continued delivery.

Working within a small multi-disciplinary team, your work will focus on two key areas:

1) ORR's review of Network Rail's annual business plans to determine whether it is on track to deliver what it is required to do and also supporting our review of periodic updates to Network Rail’s business plan. This includes supporting the development of high-level advice to funders on whether Network Rail is on track to deliver its commitments.

2) Providing support to other important projects within the team. This includes, but is not limited to, ORR’s work to review passenger performance requirement during CP7 and preparatory work for the next periodic review of Network Rail (PR28).

Person specification

For key responsibilities please see the attached job description.

Benefits

Details of our employee benefits can be found in the attached Candidate Information Pack.

A Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 27%

Find out what our colleagues have to say about their ORR careers Our people Office of Rail and Road (orr.gov.uk).

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.For information on the selection process, please see the attached Candidate Information Pack and Job Description.

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

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission. 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.