Job title: Safety Director         

Team: Safety

Reporting to: Managing Director, First Rail

Date: November 2025

 

Purpose & Objectives

• To lead the strategic development and operational delivery of safety and security management across all of FRH.
• The Safety Director oversees FRH's DfT and Rail Services businesses ensuring compliance with UK H&S / rail / security legislation.
• The Safety Director is responsible for ensuring compliance with UK H&S / rail / security legislation in Open Access.
• The Safety Director will promote and drive a proactive safety culture, safeguarding the wellbeing of passengers, colleagues, and the public with the business executive teams.
• Safety / security risk management using available tools and horizon scanning to ensure the business is aware of risks, and mitigations are in place.
• This role acts as the Safety Director for FRH's Open Access businesses.
• This role is pivotal in driving continuous improvement in safety and security performance and risk mitigation across our businesses.

 

Key Accountabilities

Safety Strategy & Leadership

• Oversee the development and implementation of the rail businesses safety and security strategies, provide advice, guidance and challenge where required.
• Implementation of proactive safety culture initiatives / campaigns covering key risk areas for operations, colleagues and customers, specifically within Open Access.
• Model visible safety and security leadership, engaging with colleagues across the business / businesses.
• Report safety performance, risks, and strategic priorities to the executive leadership team.
• Lead internal safety meetings as required, setting up short-term working groups as the need arises.
• As and where required participate in bid work, projects and the set up new businesses (i.e. for open access, applying for a new Safety Certificate, leading the Safety Validation process and all this entails).
• Engage with stakeholders both within FRH / FG and the wider industry such as RDG, RSSB and ORR.

 

Regulatory Compliance

• Assure the businesses are compliant with UK H&S and rail safety and security regulations (e.g., ORR, ROGs, RSSB standards).
• Maintain and update FRH's safety management systems, policies, procedures and legal register, as required.
• This role along with the Strategic Safety Support Manager will receive notifications of any accidents / incidents within the FRH businesses.
• Assuring external safety audits are undertaken as and when required.
• Provide assurance to the FRH executive team that the businesses are completing actions from investigations, audits etc in a timely manner.

 

Risk Management & Incident Response

• Provide advice, guidance and challenge where required to the businesses following significant incident / accidents / near miss events.
• Work with the Compliance team to ensure the FRH safety risk register is maintained up to date.
• Working with HR ensure suitable safety training is available for those that need it e.g. Strategic Safety Management, DSE, First Aid training, Emergency Response etc.

 

Performance Monitoring

• Monitor safety KPIs, trends, and report findings from the businesses, as well as reviewing these directly with the businesses where required, assessing them against industry peers.
• Work with the businesses to set safety KPIs.
• Use data-driven insights to inform safety improvements.
• Use available data to assess the safety culture of the businesses, identifying where culture is strong and how this can be transferred, as well as where there are opportunities to improve.
• Provide reports as required for both FRH and FG meetings, these include but are not limited to REM, BRM, RBC etc.
• With the Strategic Safety Support Manager undertake deep dives into safety trends.

 

Stakeholder Engagement

• Liaise with regulatory authorities, emergency services, and industry partners.
• Represent the organisation in rail safety forums.
• Work cross-functionally to ensure safety and security is embedded within the business / businesses.
• As and when required liaise with Rail Transportation Claims Ltd on rail accidents affecting FRH / FG.

 

Person Specification

Education & Qualification

• Must have NEBOSH Diploma, or equivalent safety qualification.
• Must be a member of a relevant safety body e.g. IOSH, IIRSM etc.

Knowledge, Skills & Experience

• Must have been in a senior safety related role for at least three years.
• Excellent communications skills, with the ability to interpret and explain complex safety legislation and guidance.
• Must be a team player.
• Must have good interpersonal skills.
• Strong safety leadership skills, with the ability to take people on the journey.
• High level of attention to detail.
• Experience of writing bids and applying for ORR safety certification would be advantageous.
• Ability to determine how decisions impact the bigger picture and any potential issues

 

Direct Reports: 3

Strategic Safety Support Manager

Head of Safety, Security & Sustainability, Open Access

Head of Operational Safety, Open Access

 

 

First Rail competencies (shown for salary grading purposes)

 

This section contains the level of competency required to carry out this role, as per the First Rail Holdings Competency Framework - please refer to the framework for more information.

Competency

Level (1-3, with 3 being highest)

Leadership/Management

3

Strategic Thinking

3

Impact and Influence

3

Creative and Analytical Thinking

3

Problem Solving and Decision-Making Skills

3

Communication

3

Change & Adaptability/Flexibility

3

Building Partnerships & Customer Focus

3

Planning and organising

3

Continuous Improvement

3

Teamwork

3

 

About First Rail Holdings

 

 The First Rail team is one of the most experienced in the industry; we run every type of train service – long distance, regional, commuter and sleeper services. We have two franchises – Avanti West Coast (AWC) and Great Western Railway (GWR) plus our open access passenger services, Hull Trains and Lumo. We also operate Tramlink in Croydon on behalf of Transport for London and Heathrow Express with Heathrow Airport.

 

In addition to our Train Operating Companies (TOCs), First Rail includes:

 

First Rail Holdings – a number of specialist teams such as finance, property, IT and human resources, all of which provide expertise and support to the rail division.

 

First Customer Contact Centre (FCC) in Sheffield, delivering a huge range of support services for our passengers, from handling group bookings, ticket sales and requests for travel assistance to managing complaints and customer compensation claims;

 

First Rail Consultancy – providing specialist services across the public transport sector, particularly in the rail industry, ranging from commercial, customer experience, human resources, marketing, and programme and project management to bid writing, analysis, engineering, operations, and performance and planning;

 

Evo-rail – supplying data connectivity solutions for the international rail market; and

 

Mistral Data – supplying innovative data analytic systems for the rail market.

 

FirstGroup's values, known as

 

Values

1

Committed to Customers

2

Supportive of each other

3

Accountable for performance

4

Dedicated to safety

5

Setting the highest standards

 

Location:

First Rail Holdings Ltd, 8th Floor, The Point, 37 North Wharf Road, London, E2 1AF

 

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/