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.

Would you like the opportunity to play a key role in shaping the future of our rail services?

Do you have experience of business planning processes in private and public sector environments?

If so, we have a fantastic opportunity to join our Coordination and Planning (CAP) team, and we would love to hear from you.

Job description

Our team is responsible for coordinating the business planning process for train operators. We ensure alignment and balance between individual operator plans, Department for Transport and industry policies and strategies, the contractual basis and incentives for rail operators, and the industry financial settlement the Department agrees with His Majesty’s Treasury (HMT). 

As Business Planning Specification and Programme Lead, you will be responsible for leading the oversight, co-ordination and management of the Operator Business Planning process, a key contractual tool. You will work closely with internal teams and engage with and resolve issues with multiple internal and external partners. You will oversee the management of significant dependencies on other projects and workstreams across Rail, which will require developing and managing relationships to ensure best value is achieved from the Business Plans.

There are two principal phases within the Annual Business Planning (ABP) process.

In the first phase, you will use your expertise and insight to specify requirements train operators must meet in their ABP through the contractual Request for Business Plan (RfBP). This will include indicative budgets that are provided to operators as part of their annual business planning process.

In the second phase of the process, you will work with the Strategic Business Planning Lead, to review and analyse the plans that result from the RfBP. You will collaborate with specialist advisers and use information from internal teams to identify areas for improvement in operator performance, both financial and non-financial, with a particular focus on the commercial elements. 

Whilst individual market teams will liaise with operators and assess the individual operator business planning returns, you will support and assure the portfolio assessment of those returns and ensure coordination of the impact of operator’s business plan proposals on the achievement of portfolio financial and other targets with the Strategic Business Planning Lead.

You will also facilitate challenge and scrutiny of operator proposals through adviser support and best practice advice to market teams, collaborate with internal specialists and develop recommendations to senior leaders on agreement of appropriate business plans.

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

In this role, your key responsibilities will include:

• Leading and delivering the Annual Business Planning co-ordination function for all stakeholders across the Department, cascading the vision, translating into delivery objectives for the team and ensuring that all projects are aligned with the wider aims and ambitions of the Department.
• Maintaining overall integrity and coherence of programme and governance framework and leading the provision of effective and consistent governance for the ABP process.
• Producing template business plan specifications aligned to indicative budgets for operators as part of the ABP business planning round.
• Undertaking portfolio-wide scrutiny of the annual business plans and options put forward by operators for efficiency, affordability, deliverability, and risk.
• Supporting colleagues across CAP to produce analysis on the affordability and value of options developed for input into both the Annual Business Planning process and longer-term 5-year plans.
• Engaging with the Rail Reform Programme and Great British Railway Transition Team GBRTT over improvements to the business planning process and liaising with Network Rail and GBRTT to improve alignment of cross-industry business planning processes.
• Collaborating with finance and Rail Analysis to ensure appropriate quality assurance and version control of the analysis of operator business plan returns and options and promoting the use of visual tools to present outputs graphically.
• Collaborating with CAP team members and finance teams to facilitate joined-up delivery of the annual business planning process, strategy development and contract / commercial development issues to ensure a joined-up approach towards commercial, financial and contract management.
• Line management / task management for a team of around 2-4 staff, with extensive adviser support.

Person specification

You will be commercially minded with the capability to perform high value commercial negotiations.

You will have excellent stakeholder management and interpersonal skills, be articulate and credible to build positive working relationships with our internal teams and industry partners. You will be an engaging leader with the capability to co-ordinate multiple workstreams and successfully deliver results through others.

You will be extremely organised, display high levels of personal resilience, and will be confident providing advice and recommendations on contentious and controversial areas.

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. 

Occasional travel to other DfT offices will be required. 

Whilst we welcome applications from those looking to work with us on a part time basis, there is a business requirement for the successful candidate to be able to work a minimum of 0.8 full time equivalent (FTE) per week.

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

When considering your experience, please tailor your CV and personal statement (maximum word count 750) to provide evidence of the following:

• Experience of undertaking business/commercial planning processes, particularly of developing business/contract specifications/requirements.
• Experience of collaborating with multiple stakeholders and across teams to deliver a business objective.
• Experience of leading and coordinating workstreams and delivering through others.

The sift is due to take place from 10/06/2024.

Interviews/assessments are likely to be held from 01/07/2024 to 03/07/2024.

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 and a presentation exercise.

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.

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.

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.

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.