Earned Recognition & Operational Standards Manager

First Bus Central Services; United Kingdom; Remote; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Simply Health & Smart Health

Employee assistance program (EAP)

Discounts on high street brands

Discounted train travel for you and a

Cycle to work scheme

Up to 25 days holiday + bank holidays

Pension scheme (share purchase option)

Job summary

First Bus is seeking an experienced Earned Recognition & Operations Standards Manager to lead governance, assurance and DVSA-aligned standards across the business. The role reports to the Head of Continuous Improvement and influences operations, engineering and transport teams across the UK.

You will define SOPs, implement audits, monitor ER performance and ensure consistent ways of working while maintaining regulatory compliance and risk control.

Qualifications

• Strong experience in operational compliance, audit, and standards management.
• Understanding of DVSA and Earned Recognition requirements.
• Experience developing governance frameworks and SOPs.

Responsibilities

• Lead the governance, oversight and ongoing development of the DVSA Earned Recognition framework across First Bus, supporting continued compliance and accreditation.
• Monitor Earned Recognition performance, ER112 notifications and action plans, ensuring escalation, reporting and timely resolution.
• Act as the subject matter expert for operational standards, DVSA requirements, driver management, control room procedures and safety-critical activities.
• Develop and maintain clear operational standards and standard operating procedures (SOPs), ensuring alignment with legislative/regulatory requirements.
• Design and implement self-audit and peer-audit frameworks with practical tools, checklists and guidance.
• Review and challenge deviations from agreed operational standards with risk assessments and governance approvals.
• Work with operational leaders, Transport Managers and Engineering teams to ensure standards are understood and applied.
• Chair compliance forums, review performance trends and identify governance improvements.
• Maintain a central repository of SOPs, ensuring documentation is accurate and accessible.
• Communicate regulatory changes to operational teams and embed compliance requirements.

Skills

Operational compliance

Audit

DVSA requirements

Earned Recognition

Governance frameworks

Job description

About First Bus

Are you ready to advance your career with one of the UK's leading bus operators? Join a forward-thinking company that embraces cutting-edge bus technology, from innovative mobile apps to environmentally friendly vehicles. We are passionate about delivering passenger journeys that are sustainable, comfortable, and efficient. We are at the forefront of innovation in the industry, connecting communities and shaping the future of public transport. Location: Remote, with frequent travel required across the UK

About the Role

We're looking for an experienced Earned Recognition & Operations Standards Manager to lead the development, governance and assurance of operational standards across First Bus Regional Bus. Reporting to the Head of Continuous Improvement, you'll play a key role in ensuring our operations remain compliant with regulatory requirements, with clear standards, robust assurance processes and consistent ways of working across all locations. Working closely with Operations, Engineering and Continuous Improvement teams, you'll act as a subject matter expert on DVSA requirements, Earned Recognition and operational standards, providing guidance, oversight and support to strengthen compliance across the business.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Lead the governance, oversight and ongoing development of the DVSA Earned Recognition framework across First Bus, supporting continued compliance and accreditation.
• Monitor Earned Recognition performance, ER112 notifications and action plans, ensuring appropriate escalation, reporting and timely resolution.
• Act as the subject matter expert for operational standards, DVSA requirements, driver management, control room procedures and safety-critical activities.
• Develop and maintain clear operational standards and standard operating procedures (SOPs), ensuring they remain aligned with legislative and regulatory requirements.
• Design and implement self-audit and peer-audit frameworks, providing practical tools, checklists and guidance to strengthen compliance assurance.
• Review and challenge deviations from agreed operational standards, ensuring appropriate risk assessments and governance approvals are in place.
• Work closely with operational leaders, Transport Managers and Engineering teams to ensure standards are understood, consistently applied and effectively monitored.
• Chair compliance forums, review performance trends and identify opportunities to strengthen governance and assurance across the business.
• Maintain a central repository of SOPs, ensuring documentation is accurate, accessible and regularly reviewed.
• Communicate regulatory changes and provide guidance to operational teams, ensuring compliance requirements are clearly understood and embedded.
• Promote consistency and share best practice across depots and regions, working collaboratively with Continuous Improvement and other central teams.

What We’re Looking For

• Strong experience in operational compliance, audit, assurance or standards management
• Understanding of DVSA and DVLA requirements and Earned Recognition frameworks (essential)
• Experience developing and implementing governance frameworks, audit processes, SOPs or compliance tools.
• Ability to interpret regulatory and legislative requirements and translate them into clear, practical operational standards.
• Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the ability to work effectively across operational teams, senior leadership and external regulatory bodies.
• Ability to influence without direct authority across multiple business units
• Strong analytical and reporting skills, with the ability to identify compliance risks, monitor performance and support informed decision-making

Salary - competitive plus up to 15% annual bonus

Rewards

• Simply Health & Smart Health for you and your dependents at no cost to you! This offering includes cash back benefits across optical & dental as well as virtual GP appointments, mental health support and nutrition and fitness advise.
• Our EAP provision offers 24hr, 365 days a year mental health support
• We are also committed to your financial wellbeing, and we offer a platform with many discounts on high street brands and supermarkets etc
• Working at First you also receive discounted train travel for you and your family after 6 months service as well as a free bus pass
• Cycle to work scheme
• Up to 25 days holiday + bank holidays
• Pension scheme and chance to buy discounted First Group shares

Equal Opportunities

Public transport serves everyone, whatever their differences. At First Bus, we want to be an employer open to you, no matter what your differences are. We aspire to be an inclusive organisation because diverse backgrounds, thinking and experiences bring so many benefits to our customers, communities, and people. We welcome applications from all. We are always looking for skilled and talented people to join us across our sixty plus depots from Aberdeen to Truro. It takes a dedicated team of specialists and professionals over just about every type of role you can think of to keep us on the road and creating amazing passenger journeys. We’ve embarked on a journey of major transformation – to make sure we put our people and customers first. Our people are the beating heart of First Bus. Without them, there would be no drivers to take customers to where they need to go and no engineers to keep our buses safely on the road.