Regional Development Manager East

GWR is the proud custodian of Brunel's railway - one of the most prestigious networks in the world. We have some of the newest trains in the country and exciting plans to extend our services. With more than one hundred million passenger journeys each year, we carry people to over 275 stations in the South West, from Cornwall and South Wales to London, passing through beautiful country and some of the UK's top tourist destinations. We are transforming the way people think about train travel, empowering our team of over 6,000 people from all different backgrounds to make it a great experience for our customers. Together, we will revalue rail as a very special way to travel – relaxing, fast, efficient and friendly.

Rail services are vital to the economy, supporting the growth agenda and addressing the challenge of climate change. The Business Development team leads the station and rail service development strategy and engagement with GWR's stakeholders and communities, providing a leading voice in representing the business to an external audience. We seek to understand the wider context within which the railway operates. We provide a focal point for contact from stakeholders and communities and work with them to promote train services, address issues and identify opportunities for enhancements.

Regional Development Managers play a vital role in leading the relationships with local authorities, communities, businesses and wider industry and owning and developing the development strategy for their region. We are looking for a talented individual to help represent GWR externally, build relationships with third party stakeholders and enhance our reputation as a responsive and agile business. As a railway and as a business, we don’t want to stand still. We want to work with others to shape the future, identify opportunities and secure investments that will have lasting benefits for customers. Now is an exciting time to join the team, as we look to the future of the industry working with colleagues in Network Rail, the Department for Transport and other operators. We are re-imagining our stations and services to develop a compelling case for continued investment in the railway.

Our East region covers the area from the London Thames Valley to Gatwick and is bounded by Didcot to the west and Hereford to the north. We work flexibly across different offices and locations as well as at home, but you will be expected to be based in London, Reading or Swindon and out and about for at least three days a week (more if required). You will need to travel to sites and meetings both with stakeholders and industry colleagues across the GWR network and beyond.

Your main responsibilities will be:

• Leading and maintaining GWR's relationships with stakeholders in the East region, including Local Authorities, businesses and business groups, Community Rail Partnerships, Rail User Groups, Network Rail and the Department for Transport.
• Drive the process of identifying improvements to our facilities for the benefit of our customers and communities and securing funding for development and delivery, working with third party stakeholders.
• Lead and maintain the strategy for station and service development across the East region, working with the Head of Regional & Welsh Development, the Business Development Portfolio Director and colleagues in Strategic Service Development and Public Affairs.
• Identifying and responding to stakeholder queries and challenges and supporting the business to resolve local issues, in ways which support our business aims and enhance our reputation.
• Bringing forward new opportunities for improving stations and services, developing pitches and producing business cases to support investment.
• Developing GWR's response to local strategies and plans including sub-national transport and planning strategies, Council and LEP investment plans, Local Plans, new stations fund bids and Restoring Your Railways initiatives.
• Coordinating GWR's inputs to local rail industry driven strategies, including Strategic Studies and funding programmes such as Industry Revenue Generating Investment (IRGI) fund, New Stations Fund and Cycle Rail.
• Leading the development of masterplans and investment strategies for key stations and premises, co-ordinating inputs from across the business and securing consensus.
• Working with the Head of Public Affairs / Deputy Head of Public Affairs and NR colleagues to support engagement with national and local politicians, providing briefings and attending meetings as required.
• Developing briefs for feasibility studies to investigate enhancements to stations, interchanges and car parks.

You’ll need to be:

• Able to build and maintain great relationships with our stakeholders.
• Personable, approachable and able to lead internal and external presentations to secure support.
• Flexible about attending site visits and meetings to discuss issues with stakeholders.
• Passionate about developing and enhancing the rail network.
• Experienced in putting together successful business cases for investment.
• Driven and determined to meet projects and deliver betterment.
• Numerate, logical and have excellent attention to detail.
• Able to skilfully balance priorities and solve problems efficiently.

As a minimum you’ll need to have:

• Experience in working with stakeholders / third parties.
• Educated to degree level or equivalent.
• A commercially astute, persuasive, and customer focused attitude.
• Highly developed collaboration and negotiating skills.
• Strong problem solving skills.
• Highly developed PR skills.
• Team player, strong leadership style, and people management skills.
• Ability to influence decision-making.
• The ability to effectively communicate to all levels inside and outside the business.

Some working from home is acceptable, although you will be expected to work regularly out of the London, Reading or Swindon offices, undertake visits to stations / sites and to attend meetings at GWR and stakeholder offices as appropriate. Office hours. Occasionally may require out of hours meetings / calls with stakeholders or team members.

Well as a great team environment and comprehensive training, all GWR colleagues enjoy a range of benefits including on-going development, defined benefit pension scheme, free rail travel across the GWR network for you and your family, company-sponsored health care plan, discounted shopping and an employee assistance programme.

We all belong at GWR. This is our vision for providing an inclusive environment for all our colleagues, ensuring all candidates have an equal opportunity to access meaningful employment. We value our differences such as age, gender, LGBTQIA, ethnicity, religion and disability. We maintain zero tolerance towards any form of prejudice towards our colleagues, customers, and future talent. We celebrate and encourage diversity of thought, progressive ways of working and seeing all our colleagues grow and thrive. We review all roles and job descriptions to ensure they are accessible and, where possible, we support and provide flexible working options; we recommend that you refer to each vacancy description for further details. If you require additional support to complete your application due to a disability or neurodivergent condition such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, or autism, please follow the links below. We encourage you to share any additional needs you may require so we can provide a fair and equal process for all who apply.