Who are we?

GWR is the proud custodian of Brunel's railway - one of the most prestigious networks in the world.  We have some of the newest trains in the country and exciting plans to extend our services.   With more than one hundred million passenger journeys each year, we carry people to over 275 stations in the South West, from Cornwall and South Wales to London, passing through beautiful country and some of the UK's top tourist destinations. 

We are transforming the way people think about train travel, empowering our team of over 6,000 people from all different backgrounds to make it a great experience for our customers.  Together, we will revalue rail as a very special way to travel – relaxing, fast, efficient, friendly and fun.

If you share our passion for the railway then we would love to hear from you.

About the team:

Regional Driver Manager is an exciting, diverse and critical role within the Head of Drivers function. As RDM, you will lead a team of Driver Depot Managers covering Exeter, Plymouth, Penzance & Par.

The West region also has 26 Driver Standards Managers and over 450 Drivers. Covering a diverse network including HSS services and Devon and Cornwall metro, the West Drivers team have a successful track record in delivering many projects, including assisting with the opening of the Okehampton route and will being involved in the introduction of new tractions and infrastructure schemes in the coming years.

About the job: main responsibilities will be:

Acting as a figurehead for a growing team, delivering a strong, well identified operational strategy.

* Managing a team of approximately 500 colleagues, across 4 train crew depots, that span a wide geographical area.

* Building and developing safe, proactive and successful teams

* Implementing a people centric approach across your teams

* Rigorously ensuring that all competence assessments and training, are the highest quality and consistently deliver a reliable, well-resourced train service for our customers

* Keeping your team up to date at all times, as a matter of priority

 You'll need to be:

• Passionate about reducing operational Incidents
• Exhibit and demand high standards
• A self-motivated outward looking individual
• Keen to ensure that you and your team operate in the wider industry, gaining best practice from others and sharing yours
• Keen to work with other operators, Network Rail and our Trade Union colleagues to deliver the best solution.
• Able to supply subject matter expertise relating to the development of company standards and working practices.

 As a minimum you'll need to have:

• An understanding of the issues involved in extensive transformation of company operations and infrastructure, including traction.
• Experience in understanding the issues and the ability to plan for smooth transition
• Extensive experience of operations within a large company
• Experience in dealing with complex people/incident investigations.
• A proved track record of improving safety statistics
• Train Driver competencies are desirable, with experience/knowledge of AC operation

About the location:

As the role has the responsibility for the West Region, the role can be located at the various depot locations in the region, however, as part of the wider Driver Leadership team, travel to other locations within the company is also required.

Working Pattern:

We are all about a 24 hour 7-day railway.  There are on-call requirements for this role. 

The Reward

As well as a great team environment and comprehensive training, all GWR colleagues enjoy a range of benefits including on-going development, defined benefit pension scheme, free rail travel across the GWR network for you and your family, company-sponsored health care plan, discounted shopping and gym membership and an employee assistance programme.

We all belong at GWR. This is our vision for providing an inclusive environment for all our colleagues, 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/