Station Controller

Who are we?

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, friendly and fun.

About the team

You will be part of a control room team of 9 people. This is made up of 4 Controllers and 5 Announcers.

About the job

Reading Control Room is the central source of information for customers, both internal and external at the station.

Your main responsibilities will be:

• Providing excellent customer service by managing the operational performance of the station.
• Responsible on shift for effectively managing minute by minute station dwell time, customer flow management and information dissemination.
• Act as the focal point at Reading for managing minute-to-minute station operational issues.
• Report delays to GWR and other train operating companies’ services working in and out of Reading to the relevant Control Centre and provide any necessary information about delays to ensure that they are correctly attributed.
• Develop, encourage and monitor performance of individual members of the Customer Care and Announcer Team.

You’ll need to be:

• Customer focused.
• Have a positive can-do attitude.
• Ability to work shifts including weekends and bank holidays.
• Ability to work in a pressurised time-critical position.
• Well organised.

As a minimum you will need to have:

• Previous experience of establishing relationships with internal and external customers at a variety of levels.
• Extensive geographical Railway knowledge of the GWR network and adjoining networks.
• Experience making time-critical decisions.
• Articulate and able to communicate at all levels.
• Strong interpersonal skills.

Working pattern

This role requires shift working across a 7-day roster including weekends and bank holidays.

Additional information

Applicants successfully shortlisted may be invited to undertake and pass the online dispatch test, as well as a competency-based interview. Interviews will take place 15th/16th April 2025.

Successful applicants will be required to pass a Safety Critical medical Assessment and will be able to carry out the Train Dispatch process.

The successful candidate will be required to meet the medical standard for this role including colour vision and hearing tests, together with a drugs and alcohol screen. A Basic DBS is also required.

Full training will be provided. This will take place at our Training Centre at Swindon. Training is Monday to Friday and will last up to 3 weeks. A Travel pass will be provided.

The Reward:

As well as a great team environment and comprehensive training, all GWR colleagues enjoy a range of benefits including ongoing 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 gym membership 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.

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