Operations Director

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About Network Rail: At Network Rail, our passengers and freight users are at the heart of everything we do. We help connect people to their friends and families and get goods to their destination safely and efficiently. We’re an organisation where people matter. Watch our video to find out more!

Location: Glasgow, GB. Department: Scotland’s Railway.

About Scotland’s Railway: It is part of the Network Rail family and covers a large geographical area from the Borders to Thurso in the North East of Scotland, accounting for almost 20 per cent of the UK rail network. We provide rapid access along busy commuter routes to seven cities, servicing the varied needs of business and leisure travelers, including cross‑border and rural services. We operate up to 50 freight services every day and are steadily building capacity to grow. Our ambition to be responsive to passengers and freight users drives us daily, and we are empowered to do the right thing for all who use the rail network. We actively challenge unsafe practices and take responsibility for addressing risks, resolving issues, and protecting safety and wellbeing.

Our colleagues are encouraged to work flexibly, and we understand that busy lives don’t always fit around a traditional working pattern. If you need flexibility, let us know and we will do our utmost to help you invest in your career with us while balancing other aspects of your life.

We’re also a Disability Confident Leader employer and will try our best to adapt the process and offer reasonable alternatives to help people with disabilities apply and interview for roles.

We want to help deliver a railway that is safe, reliable, affordable and provides great customer service to everyone.

Brief Description

This is an exceptional opportunity to lead the operations team at Scotland’s Railway, driving delivery against defined safety, performance, and financial objectives while balancing the needs of our diverse customer base. As our Operations Director, you will lead a large, multi‑disciplinary team through divisional leaders in signalling, integrated control, electrical control, staff resourcing, and the two largest stations in Scotland: Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central. Your leadership will be pivotal in driving real‑time train service delivery, improving performance and safety, ensuring seasonal readiness, and maintaining compliance—delivering a seamless experience for all who rely on the railway.

Safety Clearance

• This role is a key safety post which has a mandatory requirement for the incumbent to undergo counter‑terrorist checks. Unless clearance has already been received by Network Rail for you, any offer will be conditional on obtaining clearance prior to a start date being agreed.

If you have lived outside of the UK in the last 3 years and have been invited to interview for this role, please notify us.

Responsibilities

• Direct the management of operational and workforce safety within Scotland’s Railway and act as a role model in the promotion of safety and environmental excellence.
• Lead your team to achieve business objectives and meet key performance measures.
• Create a culture to enable customer and frontline employee feedback to be reflected in policies and procedures to deliver continuous performance improvement.
• Achieve financial, technical, safety and customer satisfaction targets.
• Lead the delivery of operations in compliance with policies, procedures and standards and direct the development of disaster and incident management plans, supporting the on‑site management of recovery from major incidents.
• Act as the Designated Competent Person (DCP) for both formal and local investigations, reporting on accidents/incidents and undertaking investigations as required.
• Manage the development and implementation of safety, train performance and customer satisfaction initiatives. With the Head of Maintenance Delivery, create plans to address customer needs and performance issues.
• Lead real‑time delivery of train performance and implement processes to deliver continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• Chartered member of a relevant professional body or equivalent experience.
• Significant successful experience in operational management in a safety‑critical industry.
• Recognised operational delivery leadership capability.
• In‑depth knowledge and experience of health and safety management and compliance management processes.
• Proven ability to influence decision‑making and build cross‑functional and cross‑company relationships.
• Proven track record of customer relationship management.
• Significant knowledge of the rail industry.
• Successful experience of managing business unit financials.
• Understanding of NR safety management system.

Salary and Benefits

Salary: starting at £116,753 rising to £146,591 per annum plus £8K car allowance.

Network Rail Benefits – To find out about what benefits we offer, click here.

Application Information

Closing date: Midnight of the 17th October 2025. Interviews will take place in person on Thursday 30th October only. This will involve a presentation.

Please get your application in as soon as possible; we may close the advert before the listed closing date if we receive enough applications. Late applications will not be accepted.

You can visit Evenbreaks Career Hive for advice on accessibility support if you’re unsure of the options available. Should you require any reasonable adjustments or modifications, please add a note to your application.

All offers of employment are conditional upon satisfactory completion of pre‑employment checks. Click here for more information.

Some of our roles require face‑to‑face Drugs & Alcohol testing. Further details will be shared with you as part of your formal offer.

Safe Behaviour & Equality

Keeping people safe on the railway is at the heart of everything we do. Safe behaviour is therefore a requirement of working for Network Rail. You should demonstrate your personal dedication to safety on your application.

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