Integrated Railways Mobilisation Partner

About DFT Operator

Join Our Team at DFTO

DFTO is the government’s public sector rail owning group. Its purpose is to bring all currently privately-owned train operators into public ownership in advance of the creation of Great British Railways in 2027 - and deliver improvements in the here and now by unifying and integrating train operations under common public ownership.

DFTO has over 30,000 employees, runs over 11,000 services a day and delivers over 930 million customer journeys across its networks every year. 7,000 people joined the railway family in the last year

Major improvements are being delivered by DFTO train operators (TOCs) that are already under public ownership - these are LNER, Northern, TransPennine Express (TPE), southeastern, South Western Railway (SWR), c2c, Greater Anglia, WM Trains, GTR and Chiltern.

We work closely with the DfT but operate independently with our own governance and leadership teams. Our priority is ensuring efficient, dependable rail services for everyone.

Primary Purpose of Job:

Integrated Railways are a key stepping stone from public ownership to future GBR Business Units. They bring publicly owned train operators and Network Rail Routes together under integrated leadership arrangements, enabling whole-system decision-making while retaining existing accountabilities. IRPT provides the strategy, framework, products, oversight and centre-of-excellence support to help local teams mobilise and mature safely and consistently.

Each geography within the Integrated Railways pipeline has distinct priorities, dependencies and levels of maturity. The postholder will be the informed regional lead for assigned geographies, helping local teams translate national strategy into practical mobilisation activity while feeding regional insight back into the evolution of IRPT products, frameworks and strategic priorities. The role will also interface with public ownership and GBR design activity, building foundations for future Business Unit transition.

The Integrated Railways Mobilisation Partner will take a leading business partnering role across assigned regional geographies, each covering substantial TOC, Network Rail Route / Region, Rail Services and central programme interfaces. The role will bridge the central IRPT, local railway leadership teams and wider programme partners, so that localised mobilisation activity both applies and helps shape the Integrated Railways strategy, mobilisation framework, governance approach and key legal, safety and people guardrails.

This role is suited to someone who combines strong stakeholder leadership, strategic programme delivery discipline and local railway insight with confidence working across organisational boundaries. The postholder will lead engagement across their assigned regions, build commitment among senior stakeholders, and help the IRPT remain a small, effective centre of excellence for integration.

Key Deliverables

• Assigned regional geographies provided with clear leadership, direction and access to IRPT guidance, products and expert support.
• Regional stakeholders supported to understand the case for integration and demonstrate active commitment to mobilisation priorities.
• Local plans, risks and dependencies are visible, strategically assessed and connected into the wider IRPT programme view.
• Strategic blockers are surfaced early and resolution is supported through constructive challenge, negotiation and the right SME input.
• IRPT frameworks, products and strategic assumptions are improved over time through practical insight from assigned regions.
• Lessons and examples of track-train collaboration are transated into portfolio-wide learning and future mobilisation design.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide expert input into the ongoing design and evolution of the Integrated Railways mobilisation framework, handbook, planning assumptions, principles and lessons learned, working with the Integration Leads and Head of Integration.
• Lead local application of the mobilisation framework, helping regional teams interpret and tailor programme products while maintaining consistency with agreed strategic direction and guardrails.
• Lead the development of integrated mobilisation plans, milestones, risk logs and dependency views for assigned geographies, connecting local activity into the wider IRPT programme view.
• Use personal influence, challenge and negotiation to inspire the right climate for integration, helping stakeholders move from local alignment to active commitment.
• Lead and drive IRPT business partnering activity across assigned regional geographies, taking clear ownership for aligning substantial TOC, Network Rail Route / Region, Rail Services and central programme interfaces behind agreed mobilisation priorities.
• Drive regional engagement with local mobilisation teams, converting integration objectives into committed action, constructive challenge, joint problem-solving and whole-system decisions.
• Represent IRPT at relevant local working groups, forums and governance discussions, drawing out strategic risks, decisions, dependencies and opportunities for escalation or wider portfolio learning.
• Maintain alignment to agreed legal, safety, regulatory, people, governance, finance and communications guardrails, testing local approaches and drawing in SME input where needed.
• Identify where additional IRPT, Rail Services, SME or programme support is needed, leading proportionate escalation and supporting resolution of strategic blockers.
• Capture and synthesise lessons, good practice, case studies and emerging benefits from assigned regional activity to inform portfolio strategy and future mobilisation design.
• Lead concise briefing, reporting and governance updates for senior stakeholders, including Secretary of State reporting where required, with oversight from Integration Leads and the Head of Integration.
• Provide effective regional leadership and business partnering across assigned geographical mobilisation activity.
• Maintain a strategic, current view of regional mobilisation progress, risks, decisions, dependencies and support requirements.
• Embed regional insight into wider integration strategy so it actively informs the evolution of IRPT products, guidance, lessons, escalation routes and programme strategy.
• Secure programme consistency while recognising local @context, maturity, operational circumstances and stakeholder dynamics.
• Help develop IRPT as a credible centre of excellence that leads, influences and enables locally led integration.

Knowledge, Skills, Experience & Technical Qualifications:

Essential Criteria

• Strong stakeholder leadership skills, with credibility across DFTO, Network Rail, TOCs and industry partners and the ability to influence without direct authority.
• Good understanding of railway operations, public ownership, TOC / Route interfaces or rail reform, and how local operational realities shape integration delivery.
• Experience of strategic programmes, complex change, mobilisation or programme delivery, including leading cross-functional workstreams across organisational boundaries.
• Project or programme management experience, including planning, dependency management, risk management and benefits reporting.
• Ability to contribute to the design and evolution of frameworks, products, governance approaches or strategic delivery plans, not only their application.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to lead senior briefings, shape clear decision material and adapt messages for different audiences.
• Proven ability to build commitment, change hearts and minds, and create a constructive climate for integration through personal influence, challenge and negotiation.
• Strong judgement on local resolution, escalation, specialist input and when issues have strategic significance for the wider portfolio.
• Organised, proactive and comfortable operating with ambiguity in a fast-moving programme environment.

Desirable criteria

• Experience of working within one or more railway geographies, Network Rail Routes or Regions, or relevant TOC / Rail Services interfaces.
• Understanding of Integrated Railways mobilisation, including operating model, people, safety, legal, governance, communications and benefits activity.
• Experience of matrix working, secondments, business partnering or supporting teams without direct authority.
• Experience developing or improving programme frameworks, playbooks, toolkits or centre-of-excellence products.

DFTO Behaviours – You will need to demonstrate the following behaviours which align with our DFTO Cultural Pillars:

Commercial Assurance & Governance

• Knowledge of commercial assurance frameworks, governance controls and compliance activities.
• Ability to challenge and provide constructive scrutiny of commercial decisions.
• Experience in supporting assurance and governance processes and policies.

Procurement & Contract Management

• Understanding of public procurement principles and commercial contract management.
• Understanding of sourcing strategies, tenders, supplier evaluations and contract awards.
• Understanding of supplier governance and contract performance monitoring.

Risk Management

• Ability to identify, assess and mitigate commercial and procurement risks.
• Experience in operating within regulated and highly scrutinised environments.
• Understanding of assurance methodologies, audit requirements and internal controls.

Data Analysis & Reporting

• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret complex commercial information.
• Experience using data to identify trends, risks and opportunities.
• Ability to prepare quality reports and briefing materials for stakeholders.

Communication & Influencing

• Good written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to communicate complex commercial issues clearly and credibly.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and influencing capability.

Leadership & Collaboration

• Ability to lead routine and support more complex assurance reviews and cross-functional work and workstreams.
• Experience working collaboratively with diverse stakeholder groups.
• Commitment to continuous improvement and professional development.

Supplier Relationship Management

• Experience in development, implementation and lifecycles of procurement strategies and strategic Supplier Relationship Management.

Vacancy Details:

Duration: Fixed Term up to March 2028 contract/secondmentLocation: London WaterlooSalary:up to £68k
Closing date: 20thOctober 2026

DFTO Locations:

DFTO currently have office locations in London, Birmingham and Leeds and individuals can be based from any of the three locations. Whilst we do offer hybrid working there are sometimes demands to travel to the other office locations.

DFTO Benefits:

Annual Leave: Starting at 25 days and rising to an additional day per year of service completed within the first 5 completed years up to a maximum of 5 additional (30 days)

DC Pension Scheme: 10% Employer contribution, 5% Employee contribution

Opportunities to learn and network across the wider industry

Additional Information…

Disclaimer:

Candidates applying for this position on a secondment basis must inform their line manager prior to submitting their application. This is to ensure transparency and facilitate any necessary discussions regarding workload and responsibilities.

About our people and the recruitment process - We're an inclusive employer of choice and we welcome applications from everyone! We encourage our colleagues to work flexibly, as we know traditional working patterns don't always fit. If you want to consider working flexibly, just let us know and we'll do our best to help and invest in your career with us, whilst you have a healthy work life balance.

Contact: If you have any questions or reasonable adjustments, please contact Amra Hurley@dftoperator.co.uk.

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