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 team:

As a Gateline Assistant, you will work with the whole station team to deliver a safe and welcoming experience for all of our customers. 

About the Job:

You will be overseeing the Ticket Gates to ensure all travellers have the correct ticket for their journey and helping them navigate their way safely around the station. You will be the first port of call for many customers and will need to be able to offer help and advise quickly and effectively, to ensure everyone's journey stays on track.

Your main responsibilities will be:

• Often the first port of call for our customers, whether that be for information, or help with their tickets, your job is to make sure the customer has everything they need to travel confidently by train.
• You will ensure the safe operation of ticket gates and manage the flow of customers through the gates during busy times.
• If there is disruption, you will be instrumental in helping direct customers, keeping them safe and informed.
• You'll keep customers updated about their journeys in your face-to-face interactions and importantly bring your own personality along to make it a truly personal welcoming experience for our customers.
• As your experience grows, you will become the font of all knowledge about not only the customer's SWR journey, but about key destinations, attractions and London transport.
• You will need to be flexible in your approach and not afraid to get stuck in with a variety of tasks as you are responsible for your part of the station and making sure it meets the quality and safety standards our customers expect. Whether this be checking everything is working and safe, to clearing up rubbish, or providing a helping hand to a customer, you are the face of SWR and can make a difference to someone's day.

You'll need to be:

Organised, efficient and able to cope with repetitive tasks under pressure. You love people, you are a great communicator and can talk to anyone and are passionate about doing the right thing – nothing is too much trouble. You are alert and flexible in your approach to tasks and the day, or night, ahead.

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:

As our customers need us all day, every day (except Christmas day) you will need to able to work shifts at all times of the day and on every day of the week.

On average you will work 37 hours across 5 days per week, including early, late and weekend shifts.

Early shift 0600-1400 Monday - Saturday

Late shift 1400-2200 Monday - Saturday

Sunday shift 0900-1900

Rotation of early and late shifts including weekend working

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 employee
• Free leisure travel for spouse/partner and dependants (criteria dependant)
• 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/