Benefits & Shareholder Relations Lead in Birmingham

Base salary: £61622 pa to £77028 pa depending on skills and experience. In addition, we offer a flexible benefits fund of 20% which is paid on top of the base salary and is fully pensionable, as well as a range of competitive benefits.

About the role

HS2 Ltd endeavours to ensure everyone working for us and with us feels included, thrives and achieves their full potential. In practice, this means we are positive and inclusive about making adjustments, providing flexible working, encouraging our staff networks to flourish and providing personal and professional development opportunities.

As the Benefits & Shareholder Relations Lead you will be responsible for strengthening and expanding the Strategic Case evidence base for HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR). The role brings together programme data, modelling outputs, value‑for‑money assessments and wider economic benefits analysis into a coherent evidence narrative that supports both internal decision‑making and Government approvals.

Responsibilities

• Own, develop and maintain the HS2 and NPR evidence base, ensuring it is robust, up‑to‑date and meets the needs of HS2 Ltd’s External Affairs Directorate.
• Lead the relationship with External Affairs, ensuring their requirements are understood and reflected in the evolving evidence base.
• Strengthen and expand the Strategic Case evidence base for HS2 and NPR by integrating modelling outputs, value‑for‑money analysis, wider economic benefits, and programme data into a coherent and compelling narrative that supports internal decision‑making and external communications.
• Lead the scoping, development, assurance, and maintenance of the HS2 Benefits Baseline, ensuring alignment with analytical standards and successful progression through Department for Transport governance processes.
• Provide leadership in managing productive relationships with DfT stakeholders, ensuring clear understanding of requirements and facilitating the Benefits Baseline’s progression through appropriate governance.
• Lead the tracking and tracing of benefits realisation activity across the HS2 Programme, delivering integrated reporting that supports accountable owners and enables improved programme performance.
• Proactively identify opportunities for the Benefits and Shareholder Relationship function to add value across engagement, investment, procurement, design, and operational decision‑making.
• Lead, coach, and develop a team of Benefits Analysts, setting clear objectives, managing performance, and supporting the development of analytical capability across the function.
• Contribute to the leadership of the Benefits, Analysis & Rail Development Sponsorship Team by supporting prioritisation, planning, and delivery of a portfolio of projects across the wider team.
• Actively promote and embed Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in all your work, and support and comply with all organisational initiatives, policies, and procedures on EDI.

Skills

• Ability to integrate modelling outputs, economic appraisal, value‑for‑money assessments, programme data and wider economic impacts into high‑quality analytical evidence that informs the Strategic Case.
• Ability to build compelling, evidence‑based strategic narratives that communicate analytical findings and benefits information clearly to senior leaders, Government and public audiences.
• Ability to lead the development, assurance and maintenance of the HS2 Benefits Baseline, including designing approaches for benefits identification, baselining, tracking and realisation.
• Ability to navigate DfT and internal governance processes, ensuring analytical and benefits evidence meets required standards and progresses smoothly through assurance.
• Ability to lead, develop and motivate an analytical and benefits‑focused team, setting clear expectations, supporting individual development and fostering an inclusive, high‑performing environment.
• Ability to manage complex analytical and benefits programmes across internal teams and external suppliers, balancing quality, risk, capacity and delivery to demanding timescales.

Knowledge

• A degree (undergraduate or postgraduate) or equivalent professional experience in a relevant field such as economics, public policy, business administration, programme or project delivery, public administration, analysis, evaluation or management consulting.
• Understanding of benefits identification, baselining, tracking and realisation, and how benefits evidence supports programme performance, business cases and the Strategic Case.
• Understanding of analytical and appraisal methods used in major programmes, including modelling, appraisal, wider economic impacts and value‑for‑money analysis.
• Understanding of Government governance and analytical assurance requirements, including how analytical and benefits evidence progress through DfT processes.
• Understanding of how evidence and benefits information support public affairs, External Affairs activity and shareholder relations.

Type Of Experience

• Experience developing or maintaining an organisational evidence base, ensuring analytical and benefits evidence is accurate, timely and suitable for public‑facing and Government‑facing use.
• Experience applying benefits management techniques — including identification, baselining, tracking and realisation — within a large or complex programme or portfolio.
• Experience synthesising analytical and benefits evidence into clear, compelling narratives that support strategic communications, senior decision‑making and Government approvals.
• Experience designing, developing or implementing benefits management processes, tools or frameworks across an organisation or major programme.
• Experience engaging senior internal and external stakeholders, including Government departments, to understand their analytical and benefits requirements and progress products through governance.
• Experience managing multi‑disciplinary analytical and benefits work programmes, including oversight of external suppliers, to deliver high‑quality outputs under challenging deadlines.
• Experience leading and developing analytical or benefits‑focused teams, setting direction, building capability and supporting high‑quality delivery in a resource‑constrained environment.

The post-holder is expected to behave at all times in a manner consistent with the HS2 values of Safety, Leadership, Integrity and Respect. It is expected that you will actively promote and embed Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in all your work and support and comply with all organisational initiatives, policies and procedures on EDI.

As HS2 Ltd do not hold a sponsorship license from the Home Office, we are not able to provide sponsorship to any applicant. Applicants must already have the Right to Work in the UK at the time of application and our process involves a Right to Work validation prior to the interview stage. Note, there are certain types of time‑bound visas that we cannot accept.

Any offers made to applicants will be subject to satisfactory completion of pre‑employment checks which include Nationality & Immigration Status, employment references, DBS, Financial and Education checks.

We ask for a variety of detail in your online application, however we perform the first assessment of suitability for a role based solely on the information in your CV. In a further development of our efforts to create a more diverse workforce, your CV will be anonymised and personal information will be removed during the first stage of the application review. This removes bias from the process and makes it even more important that you attach an updated word version of your CV for each new application ensuring you include evidence directly related to the criteria in the job advert.

Any applications received after the closing date will not be considered.

About Us

High Speed 2 (HS2 Ltd) will be the UK’s new high speed rail network. As well as improving capacity, the new scheme will shorten journey times between a number of Britain’s major population centres, boost the economy and create thousands of jobs. HS2 Ltd will create a skills legacy and develop a diverse range of talent. We aim to be a leader in EDI practice by creating a safe & inclusive working environment for all our staff – living our values of Safety, Respect, Integrity and Leadership.

HS2 Ltd is also a safety‑critical organisation. Employees are required to ensure reasonable care of their own and others’ health and safety by taking personal responsibility for working to our ‘Safe at Heart’ programme principles and following safe working procedures at all times.