Area Manager - Job Share - (Gillingham/Faversham area)

Are you looking for a career where you can make a real difference in people's days? We are seeking an Area Manager to join our Customer Experience Team on a job share basis. The role is covering the Gillingham and Faversham area group and is an 18.5 hour a week position consisting of the below days:

• Wednesday
• Thursday
• Friday

You will also be expected to be on call on a rota basis of every 2 months.

What you'll do

In this role, you will be responsible for leading, coaching and developing Station Managers at all stations within the group to deliver a safety and customer focused culture, aligning all activities with Southeastern's mission of improving performance and reducing subsidy. Your duties will include, but not be limited to:

Customer Focus:

• Ensuring great customer experiences are considered in everything we do.
• Ensuring Event Plans are created for events in your area that may impact safety or crowding at stations, working with stakeholders to decide staffing levels required.
• Ensuring the rapid and effective response to incidents affecting customers, particularly with the KICC to implement the Service Disruption Procedure.
• Ensuring that gate lines are in operation to agreed compliance hours.
• Ensuring that ticket offices are opened as required by Schedule 17 and that ticket vending machine availability is delivered to ensure customer queuing times are within Charter targets.
• Ensuring compliance within Service Quality Regime targets for your area are adhered to and completed within agreed time frames.
• Delivering delay minutes within agreed forecasts.

People Focus:

• Leading by example with a Be on a 10 attitude, driving the culture through your teams.
• Coaching and developing Station Managers at all stations within the area group to create customer and safety focused teams and setting KPIs to improve performance and reduce subsidy.
• Managing staffing levels at stations within the area group and arranging recruitment and selection as appropriate to ensure effective resourcing of staff to minimise overtime and rest-day working.
• Ensuring regular check-ins with Station Managers and ensuring they are carrying out check-ins with their teams.
• Ensuring compliance to all company policies, procedures and processes are being met as well as carrying out disciplinaries and formal meetings where appropriate.
• Undertaking assessments and selection interviews for teams within your area group.
• Providing a safe workplace for all team members by developing and implementing strategies to reduce lost time injuries, sickness and assaults.
• Developing and maintaining productive working relationships with stakeholders across the business.
• Working with trade unions to develop harmonious and effective working relations, ensuring that quarterly meetings and health and safety walks are conducted throughout the performance year, and actions recorded.

Safety Focus:

• Acting as a Fire Precautions Manager within your area group.
• Ensuring that relevant safety compliance and documentation is maintained and reviewed as required. These include but are not limited to: General safety arrangements, Risk Assessments, Asbestos management, Control of substances hazardous to health (COSHH), Fire precautions, First aid, Local emergency planning, Security arrangements, Review of train dispatch plans, Gate Line Compliance Document, Provision and Use of Personal Protective Equipment, Safety & security of visitors, Workplace safety, Environmental responsibilities.

Other duties will also include carrying out regular financial and business reviews and implementing improvement plans where performance is not in line with objectives as well as being prepared to carry out on call duties as required.

The experience you'll need

To be successful, your application needs to demonstrate the below:

• That you have a proven track record within a multi-site management or area management position, leading by example in a fast-paced environment, motivating and empowering others to reach organisational goals. (essential)
• That you have strong stakeholder experience and are able to quickly build rapports and establish relationships with those around you at all levels. (essential)
• That you are commercially aware with strong business awareness and can understand and apply commercial and financial principles. (essential)
• That you have extensive experience of driving high performance to meet workforce productivity targets. (essential)
• That you are confident and professional and can interact in a sensitive and effective way while having open, honest and productive conversations. (essential)
• That you are a customer champion and have experience of creating a culture where great customer experience is paramount. (essential)
• That you are agile with the ability to creatively adapt to moving demands and conditions. (essential)
• That you have strong interpersonal skills, changing people's views and influencing decisions. (essential)
• That you have a strong safety focus (essential) with comprehensive knowledge of Railway Operations Standards and Rules (desirable).

As proud members of the Armed Forces Covenant and Disability Confident Scheme, we will offer you an interview if you apply under these schemes and meet the minimum criteria for the role.

Other things to know

This vacancy may close early if we receive a large number of applications. So, make sure you get yours in early. All offers of employment are subject to satisfactory references, a right to work verification, a basic criminal record check, and a pre-employment medical assessment. Work visa sponsorship isn't available for this role. If you applied but weren't successful in getting a similar role at Southeastern, please wait six months before applying again.

What you'll get in return

Along with your salary, the rewards you'll get include:

• a final salary pension
• 25 days annual leave allowance (plus bank holidays)
• free rail travel across our networks.

Meaning you can feel secure in your career as well as fulfilled by your work.

A bit about Southeastern

We're one of Britain's busiest train operators, serving London, Kent and parts of East Sussex. We run over 1,700 trains a day, carrying more than 500,000 passengers and serving 180 stations. However, working on our railway is more than getting passengers from A to B. It's about all the little moments that make a difference to their journey. It's also about making our railway a great place to work and building a team that represents the communities we serve. We're committed to creating an inclusive, supportive environment, and we're proud that this continues to be recognised through employer accreditations and our ongoing endorsement as a WORK180 Employer for Women.

Our ways of working are what we expect of everyone at Southeastern. They are powerful. Tiny moments, every day, from every one of us, add up to massive, positive change. Improving how it feels to work here and how it feels to travel with us. At the heart of everything we do, our Safeguarding Team works to keep our customers, colleagues, and the public safe by improving safeguarding measures and knowledge making sure everyone gets home safe, every day.