Team Leader Rail Advisory

DNV Group; Madrid; On-site; EUR 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

DNV Iberia is seeking a dynamic Rail Advisory Team Leader to build and lead a European Centre of Competence in rail. You will drive programme delivery, client relationships, and cross-functional collaboration across the European rail landscape.

The role requires 10+ years in rail, global leadership experience, and native Spanish with advanced English. Travel locally and internationally is expected in a fast-growing, cross-functional environment.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in the Rail sector across technical, managerial or operational roles.
• Global exposure with international leadership experience.
• Programme and project management expertise.
• Stakeholder management across industry bodies and clients.
• Strong risk management capabilities.
• Native Spanish and advanced English.
• Willingness to travel locally and internationally.

Responsibilities

• Lead Rail Advisory Team and develop the European Centre of Competence.
• Oversee programme and project delivery on rail projects.
• Define best practices for services delivery, ensuring quality and efficiency.
• Collaborate with regional teams and external stakeholders.
• Drive growth initiatives and client value propositions.
• Support innovation and continuous improvement.

Skills

Rail sector experience

Team leadership

Operational management

Stakeholder management

Risk management

Spanish & English

Job description

About Us

We are the independent expert in assurance and risk management. Driven by our purpose, to safeguard life, property, and the environment, we empower our customers and their stakeholders with facts and reliable insights so that critical decisions can be made with confidence.

We are the independent expert in assurance and risk management. Driven by our purpose, to safeguard life, property, and the environment, we empower our customers and their stakeholders with facts and reliable insights so that critical decisions can be made with confidence. As a trusted voice for many of the world’s most successful organizations, we use our knowledge to advance safety and performance, set industry benchmarks, and inspire and invent solutions to tackle global transformations.

About The Role

Role description:

DNV Iberia already has a strong platform in rail, with established advisory and conformity assessment activity, recognised customer relationships and experience across metro, light rail, infrastructure, signalling, RAMS, safety and systems integration. The next step is to build a strong Centre of Competence that can act as a technical and commercial growth engine for the European region and support global rail project delivery.

We are looking for a dynamic, growth focused Rail Advisory Team leader with proven experience in the Rail sector to join our European Rail Centre of Competence.

Core Responsibilities

• Team Leadership and Development
  • Drive training development, delivery and in the extension of the rail qualification programme.
  • Coordinate within the rail function and regional needs to detect development needs and draft development programs.
• Delivery and operations
  • Own programme and project management and execution.
  • Define and implement best practices for services delivery, ensuring quality, efficiency and consistency.
  • Collaborate with operational teams to ensure optimal resource allocation and project execution.
  • Understand and implement operational processes supporting team to overcome issues
• Client Relationship Management
  • Address and resolve service delivery or customer issues.
  • Act as trusted advisor to key rail clients.
• Stakeholder Management
  • Engage with external stakeholders to gather insights and help develop DNV’s value proposition.
  • Participation in growth initiatives and business improvement activities.
• Sales and Business Development
  • Contribute to country and region to drive sales and revenue growth.
  • Contribute to drafting value propositions and collaborate in the techno-commercial aspects, thereby growing key accounts.
  • Participate in joint events, client meetings and other go-to-market activities.
• Innovation Management
  • Support in the process of detecting and encouraging new ideas to be raised through innovation funnel, particularly when it comes to adding efficiency in service delivery.

Deliverables to the Organization

• Programme and project related KPIs: revenue growth, project margin & EBIT, client satisfaction, team development.
• Implementation of strategy plan – operations, including annual operating plans.
• Team Development Plans: outlining training & qualification programs.
• Innovation Roadmap: detailing upcoming technological and process improvements available.
• Customer / stakeholder follow up in projects: outline of strategies and tactical approaches to grow customer base out of existing portfolio.

What we offer

DNV is an Equal Opportunity Employer and gives consideration for employment to qualified applicants without regard to gender, religion, race, national or ethnic origin, cultural background, social group, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, age or political opinion. Diversity is fundamental to our culture and we invite you to be part of this diversity.

About You

Position Qualifications

• Minimum of 10 years’ experience in the Rail sector across different functions technical / managerial / operational.
• Global exposure: proven track record in team leading / management positions, preferably with international exposure.
• Operational Excellence: expertise in programme and project management.
• Stakeholder management: proven skills in aligning cross-functional teams and engaging with industry bodies and key clients.
• Risk Management: ability to identify, assess and mitigate operational and market risks effectively.
• Native Spanish and advanced English speaker. Other languages will be a plus.
• Availability to travel locally and internationally.

Experience and knowledge in the following fields will be valued:

• Design, implementation, commissioning, and maintenance of Rail Subsystems such as signalling, rolling stock, infrastructure, and energy.
• Consultant/Assessor in rail brownfield/greenfield for Systems Engineering & Systems Assurance.
• Experience in the application of technologies for rail innovation/digital transformation projects, as well as R&D projects.

Competency Requirements

• Loves working in a fast-moving, high-growth environment.
• Innovative & entrepreneurial – ready to work in a fast-evolving environment.
• Proactive, flexible and collaborative work style.
• Demonstrate strong interpersonal skills and the have the ability & willingness to work successfully in cross-functional teams.
• Comfortable with ambiguity and navigating change.
• Optimistic, mission-driven personality with a sense of urgency and "can do" attitude.
• Ability to achieve though others – strong influencing skills.