Rail Services Lead

phone number removed) Rail Services Lead, South Western Railway (SWR) Department for Transport Apply before 11:55 pm on Sunday 20th July 2025 📍 Location: London (Hybrid) 💷 Salary: £59,686 – £65,221 – A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97% 🕒 Contract Type: Permanent – Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time This is an exciting opportunity to join the Rail Services (Southern) team who sit within Rail Services Group which is responsible for ensuring the successful development and the day-to-day management of railway contracts. You will work collaboratively with South Western Railway (SWR) as our delivery partner, so that they operate their Services Agreement (SA) in the interest of passengers, ensuring that they meet their suite of obligations and are supported and challenged to deliver agreed outcomes. You may be required to work flexibly in future across teams managing other Train Operating Companies. The role is high-profile and fast-moving and will require a blend of strategic stakeholder management, commercial, project management and leadership skills. Top Responsibilities * Working with senior level executives of SWR, including on the Annual Business Plan, performance assessment and improvement, subsidy reduction and contract * Advising internal and external stakeholders, Ministers, DfT senior leaders on matters. This can include providing material to the Ministerial and Press teams, sometimes within challenging timescales. * Management responsibility of a team as well as organising, reporting and planning information and their workloads. * Managing the contract/agreement and having a clear understanding of the key levers the Department can use to maximise passenger benefits while minimising risk to the taxpayer. * Developing relationships and working collaboratively with DfTO, NR and Train Operating Companies as part of Shadow Great British Railways (SGBR). * Build knowledge and play a key role in the transition to the new public ownership Services Agreement, including working closely with the Public Ownership Transition (POTP) team and DFTO. Benefits * Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here * 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave). * 8 Bank Holidays plus an additional Privilege Day to mark the King’s birthday. * Access to the staff discount portal. * Excellent career development opportunities and the potential to undertake professional qualifications relevant to your role paid for by the department, such as CIPD, Prince2, apprenticeships, etc. * Joining a diverse and inclusive workforce with a range of staff communities to support all our colleagues. * 24-hour Employee Assistance Programme providing free confidential help and advice for staff. * Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance. About you We are looking for an individual who has: * The ability to build and establish collaborative commercial relationships with multiple stakeholders at Board level. * Experience of solving complex commercial problems in a fast paced and high- profile environment. * An understanding of market and change in commercial drivers and the ability to develop strategies to exploit these, considering financial, legal and commercial. * A high degree of personal resilience, with the ability to work under pressure and maintain your performance levels under challenging circumstances. * Be able to demonstrate or quickly build understanding of strategic relationship management including contract management processes How to Apply 👉 Read the full job description and apply at Civil Service Jobs via the link provided. This vacancy closes at 23:55 on Sunday 20th July