Who are we

First Rail London (FRL) is the train operating company responsible for running the London Overground network under a concession agreement with Transport for London (TfL). The concession began in May 2026.

First Rail London is part of FirstGroup, one of the leading rail operators and one of the largest bus operators in the UK.  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

First Rail London is on the hunt for a new Route Performance Manager. In this key role, you will work with stakeholders to deliver the reliability and punctuality strategy across the London Overground Windrush Route, supporting the delivery of a consistently high-performing railway for our customers.

A key aspect of the role will be navigating the challenges associated with the increase from 16 to 18 trains per hour on the ‘Windrush' line in December 2026, ensuring performance risks are identified early and mitigated effectively to maintain service performance. You will also lead investigations into sub-threshold delays across the London Overground network, identifying underlying causes and implementing targeted interventions to prevent recurrence.

You will play a key role in shaping the performance of one of London's most important rail networks and be part of a collaborative and forward-thinking team, with the chance to make a tangible impact on customer experience every day. This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced performance improvement professional who thrives in a multi-stakeholder environment and is looking for their next challenge. If you're ready to take the next step in your career and help drive London Overground's performance to the next level, we'd love to hear from you.

Responsibilities:

• You will be tasked with the identification of opportunities to improve performance by building resilience into future timetable specifications
• Working closely with the On Time Performance Leader, you will play an activate role in our daily and weekly internal performance management process, working closely with managers across the business to gain insight and drive continuous improvement, mitigating future risk
• The Route Performance Manager will lead the development and embedding of a robust and credible company performance plan for nominated routes and business functions
• You will also be responsible for the identification of the root causes of adverse performance and proposing corrective action plans to be incorporated within the performance strategy
• Development of strong stakeholder relationships on behalf of the Performance team both internally and externally, will also be a key part of this role
• You will also be responsible for providing consistent support to improve On-Time Performance as required by the business.

Experience and skills:

• This individual will need to have a proven track record of leading performance improvement in a multi-stakeholder environment
• Experience of timetable planning is desirable
• The ideal individual will have an understanding of the London Overground, but this isn't essential
• You will need to have had strong stakeholder management experience, working within a multi-stakeholder environment, and will also need to have excellent IT literacy including excel and the ability to influence others and work effectively under pressure
• Lead the development and embedding of a robust and credible company performance plan for nominated routes and business functions, gaining effective engagement of other functions through relevant forums
• Identify root causes of adverse performance and proposing corrective action plans to be incorporated within the Performance Strategy and Line of Route plans
• Provide the business with data-led assessment of performance, and identify opportunities for improvement
• Take personal accountability for leading the development of the performance strategy and Line of Route delivery for nominated routes
• Foster a strong relationship between Performance and all stakeholders for nominated Lines of Route
• Work with stakeholders to develop department specific dashboards and generate subsequent business cases for investment in initiatives that improve punctuality or reliability
• Develop strong relationships with external stakeholders including Network Rail to challenge and collaborate to improve performance
• Take a leading role in identifying innovation and best practice within the industry which can be effectively applied to First Rail London
• Establish and foster a culture of continuous improvement by identifying improvements across the business and challenging stakeholders in a positive and constructive way
• Represent the company at industry Performance forums
• Deputise for the On Time Performance Leader (as required)
• To provide support to improve On-Time Performance as required and defined by business need.

We all belong at First Rail London. 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/