Station Area Manager

Etihad Rail Operating Companies; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 450,000 - 600,000; Full time

Job summary

Etihad Rail is seeking a Station Area Manager responsible for managing passenger railway stations in the Northern Emirates. This pivotal role involves overseeing operations, ensuring customer service excellence, and building operational processes. The ideal candidate will demonstrate extensive rail knowledge and leadership experience, positioning them to effectively manage a diverse team and enhance service standards.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Training and development opportunities

Performance bonuses

Qualifications

• Minimum 15 years in management, preferably in rail or mass transit.
• Strong leadership skills and experience managing customer experience.
• Proven track record with KPIs, budgets, and safety standards.

Responsibilities

• Develop and deliver the Station Services strategy.
• Oversee station operations to ensure flawless customer experience.
• Manage team performance and set KPIs for staff.

Skills

Leadership

Customer Service Orientation

Interpersonal Skills

Communication Skills

Project Management

Education

Qualification in Transportation or Business Management

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Station Area Manager with a proven track record in managing large, high performing teams in a Customer Service environment. This role will oversee our Northern group of Passenger Railway stations which include Dubai, Sharjah, and Fujairah. The Station Area Manager role will be responsible throughout the Project startup phase for defining and implementing the Operational processes and procedures for Passenger Stations.

The chosen candidate will play an instrumental part in the start-up of stations & customer experience throughout the project delivery phase, including the recruitment of staff, training, testing, & commissioning.

Upon the project completion, the role will evolve, and we are therefore seeking a highly experienced, dynamic and inspirational manager with a proven track record of delivering Customer Service excellence in a mass customer, multi-site environment. The Station Area Manager will be accountable for the daily performance of a cluster of Stations in the Northern Emirates, and therefore the role will require travel on a frequent basis.

The chosen candidate will bring an abundance of detailed and extensive rail knowledge to the design and build, and service implementation phases, with a focus on readiness for Day 1 services, making sure that the customer experience is simple, seamless and of the highest possible standards at every stage of the journey.

This position will require a wide range of experience in people management, services and standards, resource planning, soft services & FM, training and competence management, & the general management of large teams.

Roles and Responsibility

• Develop and deliver the Station Services strategy
• Define Job Descriptions, prepare recruitment, onboarding, and training plans for station staff roles
• Act as the Station Management lead on Fit for Purpose Station review workshops.
• Develop and undertake work processes and test procedures to ensure operational readiness of stations.
• Oversee all station operations to ensure a flawless customer experience
• Manage station resources and maintenance budgets effectively.
• Foster a culture of hospitality and superior customer service. Ensure any customer complaints or concerns are attended promptly and effectively.
• Lead, mentor, and manage a team of front-line customer facing staff working across various functions at the stations. Directly accountable for establishing staff KPIs and monitoring their performance through a Competence Management framework.
• Collaborate with other Station Area Managers and the senior management team to devise policies and strategies aiming to continually enhance station functionality and customer experience.
• Ensure all health, safety, and regulatory standards are adhered to in the stations and its facilities.
• Develop emergency response plans, conduct drills, and coordinate necessary training for staff.
• Work with the senior management team on strategic planning and budgeting.
• Provide regular written reports on station performance metrics and financials.
• Develop strong community relationships and act as the company’s representative in the area. Participate in local events, and stakeholder meetings.
• Act as the local Etihad Rail lead in Event Management ensuring that stations are sufficiently resourced and prepared during major events and national holidays.
• Act as the accountable budget holder for a cluster of stations and oversee the procurement of bought services, equipment and resources.
• Develop a set of requirements for inclusion in the soft cleaning services for stations and onboard
• Perform On-call duties as part of a team of on-call managers, to support the front-line teams during service disruption, incidents and major events
• Liaise with all ER and external stakeholders to ensure that the end-to-end journey service offer is fully supported throughout

Academic or Professional Qualifications:

Qualification in Transportation, Business Management, or related field is essential for this position.

Experience:

Minimum of 15 yrs experience in management, preferably in rail or mass transit environments, or, across multi sites where the suitable candidate has successfully demonstrated managing:

• Customer Experience through operational teams
• 3rd party contract KPI’s
• Budgets and cost controls
• Safety and standards

Strong leadership skills with a proven track record of people management.

High-level customer service orientation with an understanding of the hospitality industry

Excellent interpersonal, communication, and presentation skills.

Demonstrated experience of managing multiple external stakeholders and contractors

High level of experience in developing and executing resource plans

Other Skills:

English speaking with excellent written, verbal and Microsoft office skills

Excellent planning, project management and organisational structuring skills

Exceptional people manager

Experience working with and across multiple internal and external stakeholders