Team Leader (Service Operations)

Network Rail; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Maternity/Paternity/Adoption leave

Flexible/hybrid working

Annual leave up to 28 days

Job summary

Network Rail is seeking a seasoned Major Incident Manager to lead a 24/7 team, coordinating incident response and service restoration across IT operations. You will influence across the organisation, balance priorities, and drive improvements with partners and suppliers.

The role emphasises leadership, coaching and ensuring SLAs are met while maintaining a customer-focused mindset in a dynamic railway technology environment.

Qualifications

• Ability to positively influence across the organisation.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to work collaboratively within the Service.
• Operations leadership experience or role.
• Strong customer focus with drive to improve service and satisfaction.
• Motivates and inspires people to achieve high performance.
• Experience in leading, coaching and developing teams.
• Knowledge of planning and resource modelling techniques in operations.
• Solid knowledge of operating systems, desktop software and large network topologies.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a 24/7 Major Incident Management team to meet business objectives and service standards.
• Provide day-to-day leadership and pastoral support across the 24/7 team.
• Set objectives, monitor performance and coach for continuous improvement.
• Apply strong Major Incident Management knowledge to assess impact and priorities.
• Lead during significant incidents with SMEs and Incident Managers to restore service.
• Participate in the Duty Manager on-call rota and take escalation duties.
• Build relationships with customers, suppliers and partners to meet SLAs.
• Analyse service performance data to drive improvements in availability and satisfaction.
• Advise Digital, Data and Telecoms teams on Service Operations processes.
• Champion continuous service improvement and knowledge sharing.

Skills

Stakeholder influence

Communication

Operations leadership

Customer focus

Team motivation

People leadership

Resource planning

IT foundations

Job description

About Network Rail...

Join Network Rail - Where People and Connections Matter

At Network Rail, we're dedicated to keeping passengers and freight moving safely and efficiently across the country. When you join us, you're not just part of a team - you're part of something that matters to millions. We believe that our people are at the heart of what we do, and every role plays a vital part in building a better, more connected railway.

Click here to learn more.

We're committed to creating a diverse, inclusive workplace that reflects the communities we serve. To discover more about our ED&I commitments

Who We Are

About Network Rail...

Join Network Rail - Where People and Connections Matter

At Network Rail, we're dedicated to keeping passengers and freight moving safely and efficiently across the country. When you join us, you're not just part of a team - you're part of something that matters to millions. We believe that our people are at the heart of what we do, and every role plays a vital part in building a better, more connected railway.

Click here to learn more.

We're committed to creating a diverse, inclusive workplace that reflects the communities we serve. To discover more about our ED&I commitments click here. We value flexibility and understand the importance of a healthy work-life balance. As a Disability Confident Leader, we'll do everything we can to accommodate any needs throughout the recruitment process. You can visit Evenbreaks Career Hive for advice on accessibility support.

If you're ready to make a real difference, we'd love to hear from you!

Some Of Our Great Benefits:

• We offer generous maternity, paternity, and adoption leave to support our employees during significant life moments
• Flexible/hybrid working arrangements considered
• Generous annual leave up to 28 days plus statutory days (role dependant), with the option to buy/sell days
• Discounts at selected stations with your Network Rail pass
• Defined benefit pension scheme
• 75% off leisure train tickets for you and your dependents (subject to T&Cs)
• Interest-free travel loan for train and car park season tickets
• Volunteer leave to make a positive impact

Plus more....

About The Role

The railway has seen nearly 200 years of technology and innovation that has transformed how we provide services to passengers and freight customers. Technology is continuing to transform the railway industry. Imagine an exciting environment where Digital, Data, and Technology (DDaT) are not just buzzwords but the driving force behind every operation, every decision, and every solution.

As part of the DDaT directorate, you have a unique opportunity to enable our customers and industry partners with modern and transformative technology. From the day-to-day IT operations that keeps a national railway running, to the extensive delivery programmes that are helping to reshape the railway - we are at the forefront of all of it. We operate with a talented and passionate workforce, fostering empowered individuals and teams who understand that technology is not just a tool - it's the catalyst for progress, especially in an ever-demanding industry where change is a constant.

Get ready to embark on a journey where your skills will not just be utilised; they'll be honed and expanded. You're not just joining a team; you're becoming part of a collective force helping to build and operate a railway fit for the next 200 years!

About The Role

• Lead, inspire and develop a high-performing 24/7 Major Incident Management team, creating a positive and motivating environment that enables individuals to achieve business objectives, service standards and their full potential.
• Provide visible day-to-day leadership and pastoral support across the 24/7 team, creating an environment where colleagues feel supported and valued, while maintaining clear expectations, accountability and a consistent approach across shifts.
• Set clear objectives, monitor performance and provide regular coaching, mentoring and constructive feedback to support continuous improvement, career growth and professional development.
• Apply a strong working knowledge of Major Incident Management, with the ability to understand and simplify complex IT problems, assess service and business impact, establish priorities and recognise what effective incident management looks like.
• Provide leadership and escalation support during significant and major IT incidents when required, working alongside the Major Incident Management SME and Incident Managers to bring together the right technical teams and suppliers, challenge where appropriate, remove blockers and maintain momentum through to service restoration and resolution.
• Participate in the Duty Manager on-call rota, providing leadership, decision-making and escalation support for significant IT service issues outside normal working hours and stepping into the incident response when circumstances require it.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with customers, suppliers and partners, ensuring service delivery meets agreed Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and proactively addressing performance gaps through effective improvement plans.
• Analyse operational and performance data to generate meaningful management information, identify trends and drive improvements in service efficiency, availability and customer satisfaction across Network Rail Information Technology services.
• Act as a trusted advisor to Digital, Data and Telecoms teams on Service Operations processes, serving as a key point of contact for stakeholders, suppliers, projects and support teams and providing effective guidance, challenge and escalation where required.
• Champion continuous service improvement and knowledge sharing across the team, identifying opportunities to improve processes, ways of working and operational capability while ensuring lessons and experience from major incidents are embedded into future service delivery.

Your Experience And Skills

Who are we looking for?

Meet the essential criteria/ Apply today to join our team!

Essential

• Ability to positively influence across the organisation.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to work collaboratively within the Service
• Operations leadership team.
• Strong customer focus with personal drive to improve customer service and satisfaction.
• Highly self-motivated and energetic with a natural talent for enthusing and motivating people to achieve high performance standards.
• Experienced in or able to demonstrate the ability to lead, coach and develop people in an operational environment.
• Familiar with planning and resource modelling techniques and their application in an operational environment.
• Sound knowledge of Operating Systems, Desktop Software and network topologies used within large scale organisations.

Desirable

• ITIL qualified to Practitioner's or Manager's level.

Contact: [e-mail] If you have any questions or reasonable adjustments.