Head of Rail Specification and Delivery

Head of Rail Specification and Delivery

Recruiting for an adept leader who can inspire and drive excellence across the Strategic Rail function. You will be an expert on current and future service and infrastructure specifications and the delivery of outputs aligned to the Long-term Rail Strategy and prioritising investments.

Alongside demonstrable experience and a strong track record of developing and evaluating strategic rail business cases, policy and process development and rail service strategies, you will provide assurance in building an evidence to base for investing in connectivity for the North.

The successful candidate will be managing the programme framework and cascading corporate accountability to create high standards of excellence and minimise risk. Strong on turning strategies into delivery plans and developing effective governance, you will be assured and proficient at successfully communicating across our mix of diverse and complex stakeholder groups, working in close collaboration with the Head of Investment Planning.

You will be skilled at managing complex projects and interpreting regional and national policy drivers to help prioritise our investment and strategic direction and will possess exceptional communication skills able to help the client's stakeholders, partners and communities relate to and support the overall vision.

Qualifications

Degree in a relevant subject or equivalent experience.

Professional qualification, chartered status or equivalent experience.

Substantial understanding of the national and regional rail strategy and policy context.

Skills and experience

Senior management experience in strategy and policy development in rail.

Experience of being a leader, creating positive working climates, establishing clear priorities and ensuring consistent performance improvement.

Successful experience in establishing and managing policy positions in a multi-agency environment.

A track record of dealing with and influencing at the highest levels within and beyond the organisation.

Broad experience in planning and organising across strategic horizons and looking ahead across the medium to long-term.

Substantial experience of transport strategy and policy development, delivery and robust business case development.

Demonstrated effectiveness in developing and managing complex working relationships with external stakeholders (such as agency partners) including at a national level.

Substantial experience in owning and monitoring a budget delivering financial control.

Requires extensive experience of leading the development of complex business cases/transport proposals and leading the development of transport strategies for a defined area.

Leads a service with a requirement for cross-functional co-ordination across the organisation and externally.

Requires expert knowledge in a specialist area, combined with broad business understanding to position the function within the wider organisation and externally