About the job Summary

We recognise the challenges that people with (multiple) 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 Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people, people with a disability, and people with gender diverse identities.

Salary: National - £30,734 & London - £34,708

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 motivated individuals to join our team that is passionate about delivering excellence for UK rail passengers, and we would love to hear from you.

Job description

These roles sit within our Train Strategy and Operations Division, which is the home of professional analysis, advice and specialist support on rail industry operations. We play an essential part of understanding how the industry is performing and whether it is delivering the service that passengers deserve.

We are also responsible for setting the strategy for train service procurement, rail industrial relations and providing all associated advice, as well as supporting all resilience issues which may affect the railway.

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 work across Rail Group and the industry to monitor and assess current issues associated with in-life operational planning, and assist the wider Division with issues pertaining to the everyday running of operations and the specification of new franchises.

You will have the opportunity to provide specialist technical and analytical advice on rail operations, rail performance, passenger service planning and related matters to our Passenger Services Commercial Teams, Ministers and Senior Leaders.

Both roles will provide excellent development opportunities to strengthen your analytical skills, stakeholder management and teamwork skills.
 

Responsibilities

2 x Train Operations Advisor, key duties and responsibilities will include;
• Maintaining and monitoring systems that check your portfolio of 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
• Assessing the planning and delivery obligations for passenger services, including service recovery and force majeure claims submitted by operators in relation to their performance benchmarks
• Providing expert advice to the wider industry to ensure the Department is appropriately engaged with Network Change and Vehicle Change
• Preparing briefings for senior officials and drafting responses to routine Ministerial correspondence, Parliamentary Questions (PQs), Treat Officials (TOs) and Freedom of Information (FOIs) as needed.

1 x Train Performance Advisor, key duties and responsibilities will include;
• Maintaining and monitoring performance reporting data and systems
• Providing both regular and ad-hoc analysis, forecasting and reporting of operational performance to a variety of internal partners
• Working with Train Strategy and Operations, Network Rail performance analysts and rail IT and system colleagues to help provide assurance that the performance data provided by operators for their regime, and other industry data, is accurate and consistent
• Preparing briefings for senior officials and drafting responses to routine Ministerial correspondence, Parliamentary Questions (PQs), Treat Officials (TOs) and Freedom of Information (FOIs) as needed

You will have the option to be based in either London attracting the London pay scale, or in Leeds or Birmingham attracting the national pay scale, occasional travel may be required to attend meetings in London.

About you

You will have excellent interpersonal skills to build positive relationships with internal teams and industry partners. You will confidently communicate at all levels to provide specialist advice and display a high standard of drafting skills.

You will demonstrate confidence in using IT systems and software and an ability to learn new systems to analyse and review complex technical data to inform decisions and monitor performance.

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

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Communicating and Influencing

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace

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 Security

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check.

People working with government assets must complete basic personnel security standard checks.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Ability.

We are closely monitoring the situation regarding the coronavirus, and will be following central Government advice as it is issued. There is therefore a risk that recruitment to this post may be subject to change at short notice. In addition, where appropriate, you may be invited to attend a video interview.

Please continue to follow the application process as normal and ensure that you check your emails regularly as all updates from us will be sent to you this way.

After submission of the first stage of your application you will be invited to complete a Civil Service Verbal test. If you successfully pass the test, you will be invited to complete the final stage of the application.

Please complete the online tests as soon as possible (within 24-48 hours is recommended), the closing date for the tests is 23:55 on 24th May 2021. If you fail to complete the online test before the deadline your application will be withdrawn. Guidance for the test will be available when you are invited to take the test. The tests are administered online and accessed via the CS Jobs website.

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

The sift is due to take place on 26/05/2021.

Interviews/assessments are likely to be held week commencing 07/06/2021.

This interview could be conducted via a video interview, details of which will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.

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 could include:

• an interview

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

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.

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

Further Information

To learn more about applying for a role within the Department for Transport, visit the Application Process page of our Careers website.

Before submitting your application, we encourage you to visit our Things You Need to Know page for further information about applying for a role within the Department for Transport and the Civil Service.

Throughout this job advert there are links to the DfT Careers website, which provides you further information to support your application. Should you be unable to access the information on our website, please email [email protected] for assistance.

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

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with (or eligible for) status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
• relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
• certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals

Further information on nationality requirements

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code 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.

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.

Apply and further information

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants Job contact : Name :   Passenger Services Resourcing Email :   [email protected]   Recruitment team : Email :   [email protected] Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact Government Recruitment Services via email: [email protected] If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website at https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk