Customer Experience Ambassador in Newcastle upon Tyne

Who are we?

Lumo is an Open Access train company that provides regular, cost‑effective, 100% electric train travel between London and Edinburgh as an alternative to flying that is value, kinder to the environment and just as time effective as a domestic flight. Our people are key to our success, and we are recruiting an engaged, empowered, multi‑skilled and flexible family of colleagues who live and breathe our values of:

• Being proud & passionate people
• Sustainability at our heart
• Staying safe & healthy
• Always learning and improving
• Inclusive one team culture

First Rail is one of the UK’s most experienced rail operators, carrying more than 345m passengers across four franchises (Great Western Railway and Avanti West Coast) and our open access operators (Hull Trains and the newly launched Lumo). We operate all of passenger railways – intercity, commuter, regional and sleeper services.

Lumo is part of FirstGroup, the largest railoperator in the UK and the second largest bus operator in the UK outside London. FirstGroup operates services throughout the UK and Ireland, with over 30,000 employees providing services that make travel smoother and life easier. FirstGroup works hard to reduce its impact on the environment, introducing cleaner and more environmentally responsible methods of transport.

About the team

The Customer Experience Team interfaces with all of Lumo’s customer touchpoints, ensuring that the customer experience strategy for Lumo is developed and expertly delivered. The team has a true passion for excellence in customer experience and is committed to driving innovation, leading business improvement, people development, safety and performance.

About the job

Ambassadors have a passion for customer experience excellence, an engaging personality and a strong sense of pride in delivering an industry‑leading end‑to‑end travel experience.

Their primary role is to act as Brand Ambassadors, delivering a dedicated, high‑profile engaged presence across all on‑train customer touchpoints so that our customers can ‘Travel Well\’. They will work collaboratively with a can‑do attitude, always seeking opportunities to delight the customer and enhance their experience, promoting the reputation of our business with our customers, stakeholders and partners.

Your main responsibilities will be:

• Customer Experience
  • Provide a highly visible and quality presence across customer touchpoints
  • Offer a ‘meet & greet\’ approach at each station, proactively seeking out and assisting customers who require additional help
  • Check tickets
  • Proactively assist customers with information for a seamless travel experience. This includes tourist attractions, places to stay and onward travel so that we provide a beneficial offering beyond the immediate station environment
  • Proactively manage loadings, luggage & reservations to ensure the on‑train environment is championed at all times
  • Deliver a high quality seat catering service
  • Assist in the coordination of buses, local or rail replacement if train service dictates
  • Provide a highly visible and quality presence particularly during times of planned and unplanned service disruption where Passenger Information During Disruption (PIDD) arrangements should be applied

Safety Requirements

• Deal with Passengers Ill on Train (PIOT), ensuring swift action to support all customers during these events
• Attend and participate in safety briefings, team meetings and personal development as appropriate
• Work with the Control Centre, British Transport Police and other safeguarding agencies to positively impact on customer confidence & safety

What do YOU need to know about this role?

• There are some key things that you must consider should you be successful when applying for a role with Lumo:

• Learning & Development – Lumo has a commitment to our colleagues to continually develop you throughout your career. With 90% of our existing colleagues in further education to support their role, you will be signed up to an apprenticeship which will support your personal development alongside your practical knowledge
• Lodging – When undertaking the activities of this role, colleagues are required to work a rotating 24/7 roster coverage which includes lodging away from Newcastle, in both Edinburgh and London. We will ensure that you are provided with comfortable accommodation, evening meals and breakfast, ready to start your next shift
• Annual Leave – You will be entitled to 33 days annual leave in a full calendar year. To ensure that our trains run to service, 25 days of your annual leave will be allocated to you along with Christmas Day and Boxing Day. The remaining 6 days can be used at your discretion

About the location

You must be located within a 60‑minute commute of Newcastle upon Tyne; our offices are located behind Newcastle Central Station.

Working pattern

35 hours per week, working a rotating 24/7 roster coverage. Full and part‑time hours available.

Additional Information

To apply, please submit a covering letter with your CV. Your covering letter should explain why this is the right position for you in 250 to 300 words.

We do reserve the right to close this advertisement early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications.

The Reward

• Defined Contribution Pension Scheme – We will pay in a minimum of 10% (5% employee contribution and 5% employer contribution) to a maximum total contribution of 20%
• Incentive Scheme/Bonus of up to 10% of your annual salary
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Travel Offers – Free travel on Lumo services and travel offers for bus and rail tickets and Day Rover Rail tickets at a discounted price for friends and family (after 6 months of service)
• Shopping & Lifestyle Discounts
• Discounted Gym Membership
• Employee Share Plans (Save as you Earn and Buy as you Earn)
• NEXUS – Tyne and Wear Metro Discount
• Life Assurance Cover 4 x your annual salary
• Income Protection Scheme
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• Access to a digital GP 24/7
• Tax Benefit Bike Scheme

We all belong at Lumo. FirstGroup\’s vision is to provide an inclusive environment for all colleagues, across its group of businesses, 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 a 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, for example, 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.

Neurodiversity Definitions and Different Types

https://www.healthassured.org/blog/neurodiversity/