Who are we?

First Rail is one of the UK's most experienced rail operators, carrying more than 345m passengers across franchises (Great Western Railway and Avanti West Coast) and our open access operators (Hull Trains and Lumo). We operate all types of passenger railways - intercity, commuter, regional and sleeper services.

Lumo and Hull Trains are 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

Reporting into the Head of Digital and Marketing and working across Open Access Businesses, you will support the marketing function across both Lumo and Hull Trains. The role will be a 12- month placement as part of a university course and supporting the Digital Marketing team in their daily duties. Some travel will be required between all sites, however the role will be based in our Newcastle Office.

Your main responsibilities will be:

• Social media support including engaging with posts, responding to comments and content gathering
• Respond to customer feedback across the website and app
• Content writing such as blogs and developing new pages to drive both traffic and engagement
• Support the team with improving SEO content on our websites
• Support the team with developing our CRM programme with performance reporting and analysis
• Conduct competitor research across our sector
• Visual tasks such as image resizing and some editing skills would be useful
• Supporting the team with website and app testing
• Assist in daily administration tasks including dealing with enquiries via social and email
• Support responsible, efficient use of AI, aligned with industry ethics and the business's sustainability goals

You'll need to have:

To apply for this placement, you must be currently studying a Marketing based Undergraduate Degree Course and be able to undertake 12 months in industry as part of your course. The role will be an excellent introduction to marketing and e-commerce, you will play a key role in a small, dynamic and multi-functional team that is playing a key part in a growing business. You will work with both our in-house team and external agencies.

About the location

You must live within a 60-minute commute of Newcastle upon Tyne, with regular travel to Hull and Preston offices.

Working pattern

Monday to Friday 37.5 hours per week

The Reward

• Defined Contribution Pension Scheme – We will pay in a minimum of 10% (5% employee contribution and 5% employer contribution) to a maximum total contribution of 20%.
• Incentive Scheme/Bonus of up to 10% of your annual salary
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Travel Offers – Free travel on Lumo services and travel offers for bus and rail tickets and Day Rover Rail tickets at a discounted price for friends and family (after 6 months of service).
• Shopping & Lifestyle Discounts
• Discounted Gym Membership
• Employee Share Plans (Save as you Earn and Buy as you Earn)
• NEXUS – Tyne and Wear Metro Discount
• Life Assurance Cover 4 x your annual salary
• Income Protection Scheme
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• Access to a digital GP 24/7
• Tax Benefit Bike Scheme
• Health Cash Plan delivered to Health Assured 

We all belong at Lumo. 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/