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The Eastern region operates some of the busiest and most congested rail lines in the country, transporting large numbers of commuters to and from busy cities including Newcastle, Leeds, Sheffield, Derby, Norwich, York, Cambridge and London.

Brief Description          

* Roles based in York, Manchester or London*

This is a 12 months FTC opportunity with the potential to become permanent.

The multi-billion pound TransPennine Route Upgrade (TRU) is the largest route enhancement planned for the next decade. It will transform the reliability of the route between Manchester, Leeds and York and significantly boost capacity for passengers. Journey times will come down and electrification will reduce our environmental impact. New digital signalling will further improve the experience of railway users and help transform the way we operate the route.

In the last 18 months, the scale of the TRU Programme has grown significantly and in response we require additional sponsor support.

The roles would suit someone with a track record and passion for project management, sponsorship or the delivery of infrastructure, enabling them to direct and manage the development and implementation of major renewal and enhancement projects, funded by government, customer, stakeholder, or multiple funders, where Network Rail assumes a sponsorship role, and  deliver the project benefit realisation to agreed scope, time and cost.

About the role (External)          

The successful candidate will be expected to:

1. Build effective relationships, (internally & externally) to balance the requirements of the client, Network Rail and the industry as a whole.  Champion the interests of clients, customers and stakeholders acting as the focal point for escalation within Network Rail.

2. Review and interrogate client remits to confirm their viability.  Work with internal and external stakeholders to establish a scope which optimises client requirements, value for money, network availability and capacity for future development and whole life cost.

3. Be responsible for the conversion of the client remit into an agreed project requirements specification.  Be accountable for the development of the initial project plan and budget; working with the project manager to specify how the project is going to be delivered, expected milestones and associated timescales, resource requirements, risks & issues and funding needs/sources.

4. Produce business cases and investment papers for projects.

5. Devise solutions which maintain the ‘business as usual’ accessibility for our customers, take consideration of the 7 day railway principles and therefore minimise disruption to end rail users.  Take a national/route wide view across portfolios to generate additional benefits, identify and resolve conflicting work and drive efficiencies.

6. Lead the process of quantifying risk associated with the project.  Devise mitigating actions and periodically review recovery progress.

7. Interrogate and challenge plans to assess the deliverability of agreed scope within stated timescales and cost parameters, presenting any required scope changes to the client for approval. 

8. Hold the Project Manager accountable for programme delivery to cost, time and scope parameters.  Hold periodic reviews to understand and challenge delivery progress against the client remit.  Communicate progress status against defined milestones and expectations to stakeholders putting contingency measures in place if required.

9. Negotiate with customers and stakeholders on the project’s commercial and contractual terms in accordance with relevant corporate policy and strategy.  Act as the focal point for negotiations and resolution of external scheme interface requirements, including any Parliamentary or Statutory processes, external consents issues to optimise the value of the scheme to Network Rail and funder(s).

10. Comply with the requirements of investment regulations, other corporate governance and the Guide to Railway Investment Projects.  Adhere to corporate processes, including those related to safety, finance, legal and corporate affairs.

11. Facilitate the discharge of the duties assigned by the Client as detailed within the Construction Design Management (CDM) Regulations for the programme of projects allocated to you

Essential

• Qualified to degree level or equivalent

• Experience of dealing with client portfolios and liaising with people at all levels

• Ability to articulate complex business problems into manageable work packages and produce synthesised logical solutions

• Proven ability to write coherently; conveying report / investment information in a concise manner

• Commercially astute, persuasive, and customer focused

• Proven influencing and negotiating skills

• Experience of leading a successful team

Desirable

• Experience in management roles in a commercial environment

• MBA or other related postgraduate qualification

• Experience in negotiating contracts to finalisation and ability to demonstrate commercial success

How to apply (External)          

Salary and benefits:

• Salary of £42,971 - £48,342 ( Band 3B) depending on skills, qualifications and experience

• 28 days annual leave entitlement plus bank holidays

• My benefits – Our discounted online shopping site

• A range of discounted offers including, childcare vouchers, healthcare offers – cycle to work, healthcare club discounted membership and other benefits

• Subsidies of up to 75% on rail and underground season tickets

• A choice of contributory pension schemes

• 2 weeks paid reserve leave for our Armed Forces community

 **Please note that the advert closes on the 16th July 2021 and late applications will not be considered **

This is a 12 month FTC with the opportunity to become permanent

Oh, and by the way…

We care deeply about welcoming people no matter their background or current life circumstances and encourage applications irrespective of age, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity status, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.  We want our employees to bring their whole self to work and that starts with you!

We will interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential skills and experience detailed above. Network Rail positively embraces flexible working, recognising that employees may wish to balance work and family/home life. We will consider all flexible working applications.

Network Rail is required to comply with UK Government standards when carrying out pre-employment checks for all new starters; this includes a basic criminal record check.  In addition to the basic criminal record check, in accordance with the UK Government we are also required to verify your identity, right to work in the UK and previous three years employment history.

If you like the sound of all that, we’d love it if you could submit your application online.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or disability status. Click here for more information

Want to find out about what benefits we offer? click here

All offers of employment are conditional upon satisfactory completion of pre-employment checks. Click here for more information