Driving you to First Bus Careers

About Us

FirstGroup plc is a leading provider of transport services in the UK and Ireland, and a member of the FTSE 250. Our 30,000 colleagues work across the UK to provide easy and convenient mobility, improving quality of life by connecting people and communities.
 

As part of our transformation programme, we are strengthening operational leadership across the business to match leadership capacity with the scale and complexity of our markets. The Senior General Manager role plays a critical part in delivering that ambition.

About the role

The Senior General Manager leads the delivery of safe, reliable and high-performing bus operations across a complex operating area or cluster of depots.

Reporting to a Service Delivery Director, this role provides senior operational leadership across multiple locations, integrating operational and engineering performance while leading service recovery and sustained performance improvement where required.

You will oversee depot leadership teams, providing clear direction, coaching and intervention in complex or high-risk environments. The role also acts as a key escalation point for operational, safety and people matters, ensuring consistent standards, strong governance and high-quality customer outcomes across the area.

Key responsibilities

• Own end-to-end service delivery performance across the operating area, ensuring safe, punctual and reliable services across multiple depots.
• Lead recovery and stabilisation in complex or underperforming locations, addressing systemic operational and engineering issues.
• Integrate operational and engineering planning to ensure fleet reliability, compliance and service continuity.
• Provide leadership, coaching and direction to depot management teams, strengthening capability and building succession for future operational leaders.
• Use operational and customer insight to identify performance risks, prioritise interventions and drive sustained service improvement.
• Ensure strong governance, safety and regulatory compliance across all operational activity within the area.
• Support delivery of regional operational improvement initiatives and transformation programmes.
• Make operational decisions with a clear understanding of commercial impact, protecting revenue performance, cost efficiency and customer outcomes.

About you

• Senior operational leader with experience managing complex, multi-site operations in safety-critical or regulated environments.
• Proven track record of delivering operational performance and leading recovery or improvement across multiple locations.
• Strong experience working closely with engineering or technical teams to deliver fleet reliability and operational performance.
• Highly capable people leader with experience developing senior managers and building leadership capability.
• Commercially aware, able to balance operational decisions with financial and customer outcomes.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capability, able to use data and insight to drive improvement.
• Resilient and visible leader who builds trust, drives accountability and role models strong leadership behaviours.
• Passionate about delivering safe, reliable services that support customers and local communities.

Salary - Competitive, plus up to 30% annual bonus

Public transport serves everyone, whatever their differences. At First Bus, we want to be an employer open to you, no matter what your differences are. We aspire to be an inclusive organisation because diverse backgrounds, thinking and experiences bring so many benefits to our customers, communities and people. We welcome applications from all.

Applicants are advised that background checks will be conducted as a standard part of our recruitment process.

The closing date for external applications is 6th April however, we reserve the right to close the vacancy early should we receive a high volume of suitable applications.

Equal Opportunities

We aspire to be a diverse and inclusive employer because we believe that diversity brings benefits for our customers, communities and our people. Valuing our differences and drawing on our collective knowledge and experience helps us develop new services, open up new markets and broaden our customer base. We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome everyone regardless of social background, gender or gender reassignment, pregnancy or maternity, marriage or civil partnership status, race, religious beliefs, disability, sexual orientation, sex or age.