Who are we?

South Western Railway (SWR) operates over 1,500 services each weekday across the network and employs more than 5,000 people. We provide easy and convenient mobility, connecting people and communities in South West London, southern counties of England, and the Isle of Wight.

Join our team and help us continue to improve quality of life, by bringing people together to get the most out of life.

SWR is part of FirstGroup, the largest rail operator in the UK and second largest bus operator in the UK outside London. FirstGroup operates services throughout the UK and Ireland, with over 30,000 employees providing services that make travel smoother and life easier.  FirstGroup works hard to reduce its impact on the environment, introducing cleaner and more environmentally responsible methods of transport.

About the job

Develop and lead a team of Duty Station Managers to deliver excellence in customer service, safety, train running performance, station retailing and on board train presentation at your stations. Maximise efficiency at your locations through effective budget management and ensure that all staff under your control recognise and actively display the South Western Railway, Vision, Values and Behaviours. 

Your main responsibilities will be:

• Inspire and empower your team of Duty Station Managers to deliver and where appropriate challenge local working practices and staff performance to achieve optimal results.
• Through providing the relevant support, training and resources, and by recruiting the best people, ensure that all staff at your locations adopt The South Western Railway Vision, Values and Behaviours.
• Provide of a safe environment at all times for customers, staff, tenants and contractors at your stations and ensure that all staff under your control are competent to carry out their duties in a safe and efficient manner
• Meet and where possible make savings against your annual budget through effective management of basic and enhanced pay whilst maintaining a safe and efficient station operation.
• Motivate your team to deliver a reliable customer experience measured through continual improvements to train running performance, National Passenger Survey satisfaction scores and other customer feedback channels.
• Work closely with key internal and external stakeholders to create the best possible environment at your stations for staff and customers
• Deliver effective management of all retailing activities at your stations, ensuring the security of all South Western Railway monies and revenue at all times.
• Work closely with the local Revenue Protection Manager to ensure that ticketless and fraudulent travel is minimised and the Revenue Protection strategy is adhered to at your stations.
• Undertake additional duties as required by the Regional Manager
• Act as a positive role model at all times in all matters relating to Customer Service and Health and Safety.
• Works directly with the Regional Manager to help create the local area strategy
• Completely owns the delivery of the local area strategy at their locations, adapting it where appropriate to best suit the needs of their stations.
• Holds the freedom to make local change and challenge current business practice in all aspects of the role whilst working within set safety guidelines.
• Makes decisions that effect their own locations but defers to the Regional Manager for advice and authority where needed
• Makes decisions using formalised company processes (using the South Western Railway Attendance Procedure and disciplinary sanctions)
• As delegated by the Regional Manager (for example when on call) will make tactical decisions on behalf of the Area
• This role is responsible for the development and safe execution of any plan for special events that may impact on their stations. (Not applicable to all)

As a minimum, you will need to have:

• Whilst a background in station management is desirable, the post holder must have proven experience in a relevant customer service industry
• An understanding of staffing costs and rostering is highly desirable
• Must have a proven experience of being in a position of trust, potentially around security, key holding and cash handling.
• Proven experience in demonstrating leadership and coaching skills is essential.
• A proven ability to change behaviours around customer service and safety is desirable
• Must have a good standard of education, preferably to a higher education standard eg. A-Level, college or equivalent.
• Proven ability to lead and inspire teams of people whilst managing multiple tasks
• Proven written and verbal communication skills are essential
• On application for the role, a good understanding of relevant products, policies and services is desirable. This is essential once in post.
• A good understanding of railway safety standards is looked for.

Applicants who require a visa must have 6 months remaining at the time of their appointment. Training is full time and you must be able to commit to this.

Working pattern

Working an average of 37 hours over 5 days

Monday - Friday a combination of earlies and lates, plus the occasional weekends.

On call commitment 

The Reward

In return we offer a competitive salary and a variety of valuable benefits, including:

• Free duty and leisure travel on SWR services for employees
• Free leisure travel for spouse/partner and dependants (criteria dependent)
• 75% discount on many other train operating companies
• Full training and support with development
• Large range of exclusive retail offers
• Excellent pension scheme

We all belong at SWR. FirstGroup's vision is to provide an inclusive environment for all colleagues, across its group of businesses, ensuring all candidates have an equal opportunity to access meaningful employment.

We value our differences such as age, gender, LGBTQIA+, ethnicity, religion, and disability. We maintain a zero tolerance towards any form of prejudice towards our colleagues, customers, and future talent.

We celebrate and encourage diversity of thought, progressive ways of working and seeing all our colleagues grow and thrive.

We review all roles and job descriptions to ensure they are accessible and, where possible, we support and provide flexible working options; we recommend that you refer to each vacancy description for further details.

If you require additional support to complete your application due to a disability or neurodivergent condition, for example, dyslexia, dyspraxia, or autism, please follow the links below.  We encourage you to share any additional needs you may require so we can provide a fair and equal process for all who apply.

https://exceptionalindividuals.com/neurodiversity/

https://www.healthassured.org/blog/neurodiversity