Rail Operating Plan & Performance Manager

FirstGroup plc; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Free travel on TfL network

Season ticket discounts

European rail discounts

First Xclusives benefits portal

Employee Assistance Programme

Job summary

First Rail London is recruiting for a senior role to lead strategic, system-wide reviews across key routes, coordinating stakeholders from operations, engineering, fleet and planning to challenge assumptions and drive measurable improvements in reliability and resilience.

You will analyse long-term performance, timetable design and infrastructure constraints to deliver practical operating plans and a single view of performance drivers across the network.

Qualifications

• Experience in railway operations, performance, timetable planning or operational strategy.
• Strong analytical, stakeholder management and report writing skills.
• Ability to challenge existing assumptions and develop practical, evidence-based solutions.

Responsibilities

• Conduct end-to-end reviews of key lines of route to assess whether current operating plans remain fit for purpose.
• Bring together operational, engineering, infrastructure, fleet and planning stakeholders to develop a single view of performance drivers.
• Identify systemic issues that cannot be resolved through conventional performance management activity alone.
• Develop a shared understanding of constraints, dependencies and opportunities across the railway system.
• Analyse long-term performance trends and recurring causes of delay and disruption.
• Assess the contribution of timetable design, infrastructure constraints, resource models and operational processes to performance outcomes.
• Challenge assumptions regarding current operating arrangements and identify areas where accepted practices may no longer support future performance requirements.
• Highlight areas of organisational "TEPID OIL" where historic constraints and workarounds have become normalised.
• Evaluate alternative approaches to stabling, fleet deployment, depot structures and driver resource models.
• Assess infrastructure requirements and dependencies needed to support improved performance outcomes.
• Develop recommendations for future operating plans that deliver measurable improvements in reliability and resilience.

Skills

Railway operations

Performance analysis

Timetable planning

Operational strategy

Job description

First Rail London is recruiting for a senior role to lead strategic, system-wide reviews across key routes, coordinating stakeholders from operations, engineering, fleet and planning to challenge assumptions and drive measurable improvements in reliability and resilience.

You will analyse long-term performance, timetable design and infrastructure constraints to deliver practical operating plans and a single view of performance drivers across the network.