Retail Programme Manager

CONNEX SOUTH EASTERN; Greater London; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Final salary pension

25 days annual leave

Free rail travel across our networks

Job summary

Southern is seeking a Retail Programme Manager to lead the transformation of our retail and digital strategies from concept to daily operations at our London Bridge head office. You will steer multiple projects, manage a team of five Retail Support Officers, collaborate with suppliers, and drive revenue through data-informed decisions across retail channels.

The role emphasizes governance, risk management, and delivering measurable commercial, customer, and operational benefits while maintaining

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience leading complex, high-value programmes and projects from strategy to delivery.
• Experience managing a 24/7 operational team and urgent issue resolution.
• Proficiency in governance, risk management, reporting and multi-million pound budgets; Prince2/CMA desirable.
• Experience with supplier management to prioritise customer and business benefits.
• Experience in retail, rail ticketing systems and digital customer products.

Responsibilities

• Lead delivery of retail transformation programmes from strategy to business as usual.
• Translate strategies into deliverable projects with ROI/NPV; use data-led insights.
• Prioritise subsidy-reducing projects to support business objectives.
• Line manage the Retail Support Team and coach staff.
• Ensure urgent channel issues are managed per SLAs with minimal revenue impact.
• Maintain programme governance, risk management, reporting and budgeting.

Skills

Programme management

Stakeholder management

Leadership

Data-driven decision making

Governance & risk management

Project budgeting

Job description

Job Introduction

Are you looking for a career where you can shape the future of retail, lead transformation, and make a real commercial impact?

We are seeking a Retail Programme Manager to join our team based from our Head Office in London Bridge.

As our Retail Programme Manager, you will turn our retail and digital strategies into programmes that deliver real results. You will lead retail and digital transformation from the first idea through to everyday operation, making sure every programme delivers clear commercial, customer and operational benefits.

You will also lead our team of 5 Retail Support Officers, supporting multi-million pound digital and physical retail channels. Working closely with suppliers, you will make sure all retail system issues are resolved as quickly as possible.

In this role you will use data and customer insight to help us make better decisions and drive revenue. Working closely with colleagues across operations, commercial and digital, and our digital and physical retail suppliers, you will help shape and deliver the future of retail at southeastern.

What You’ll Do

• Lead the delivery of retail transformation programmes and projects, from strategy through to business as usual
• Translate digital and retail strategies into deliverable projects. Write robust business cases which include ROI and NPV, using data-led insights to drive real customer benefits
• Prioritise subsidy-reducing projects to support business objectives
• Line manage, develop and coach the Retail Support Team, setting clear objectives and priorities
• Work with Retail Support Team and suppliers to ensure all urgent retail channel issues are managed according to agreed SLAs, with minimal impact to revenue
• Responsible for strong programme governance, risk management, reporting and budget control
• Develop and maintain retail and digital project reporting and management information
• Manage multiple linked workstreams to deliver agreed outcomes
• Make sure programmes deliver measurable commercial, customer and operational benefits
• Analyse customer feedback and data to improve revenue, customer experience and operational performance
• Provide insight, recommendations and performance updates to senior stakeholders and support business planning
• Prioritise resources across programme and support work, keeping Retail Support aligned to strategic priorities
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement, accountability and customer focus
• Build strong relationships across operational, commercial, digital and external stakeholders
• Assess and mitigate risks

The Experience You’ll Need

• You deliver change Minimum 5 years experience leading complex, high value programmes and projects from strategy to delivery
• You know the importance of what you do Experience managing a 24/7 operational team, ensuring urgent issues are dealt with quickly to minimise impact to revenue
• You keep it on track Proficient on governance, risk management, reporting and multi-million pound project budget control. Prince 2 / CMA desirable.
• You manage suppliers well Experience of supplier management to prioritise customer and business benefits
• You know retail Experience of rail retail, ticketing systems and digital customer products
• You bring people with you Coach and develop teams, setting clear priorities and expectations
• You turn data into decisions You analyse customer feedback and performance trends and turn them into clear recommendations
• You influence with confidence You build strong relationships with senior, commercial, digital, customer and external stakeholders
• You challenge the status quo You spot better ways of working and drive continuous improvement
• You understand the procurement landscape Familiar with latest regulations and working cross functionally with relevant teams to onboard new suppliers

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 Southern, 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 Southern

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 Southern. 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.

SE Trains Limited

Attached documents

• Retail Programme Manager JD MG2 2026.pdf