Who are we?

First Rail is 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 team

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 three franchises – Avanti West Coast (AWC), South Western Railway (SWR) 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.

About the job

FirstGroup is a complex organisation of largely independent transport and associated businesses. This is a newly created pivotal role in FirstGroup's Group-wide IT Service Transformation, an exciting initiative to unify, simplify and optimise IT service management across our diverse businesses.

We operate in a highly regulated, distributed business model where influence and collaboration will be the skills needed to harmonise and streamline the provision of IT services across the Group.

Your main responsibilities will be:

IT Service Transformation & Best Practice Implementation

• Be at the heart of FirstGroup's IT Service Transformation, working with IT teams across multiple businesses to embed ITIL best practices.
• Act as a champion for ITSM standardisation, ensuring a common and effective approach to Change, Release, and Problem Management across the Group.
• Work closely with IT leadership to drive service maturity improvements, aligning processes with business needs.
• Support the adoption of Freshservice as the Group-wide ITSM platform, ensuring consistency, governance, and best practice.

Continuous Improvement Practice

• Establish and lead a Continuous Improvement framework, ensuring ITSM processes evolve in line with business priorities and industry best practices.
• Work with IT teams to identify opportunities for proactive problem resolution, process optimisation, and automation.
• Develop and maintain dashboards and reporting mechanisms to track service performance and highlight areas for improvement.
• Develop a culture of data-driven decision-making, using Freshservice analytics and insights to drive service enhancements.
• Lead cross-business collaboration efforts, ensuring shared learning and adoption of successful improvement initiatives across the Group.

Change & Release Management

• Own and manage the Change Management process, ensuring standard, normal, and emergency changes are clearly defined and followed.
• Chair CAB (Change Advisory Board) and TDA (Technical Design Authority) meetings, ensuring the right level of governance and oversight.
• Collaborate with IT teams, project managers, and third-party suppliers to ensure change-related risks are managed and that releases are successful.
• Define and improve change models, workflows, and templates to streamline operations.
• Ensure business stakeholders are well-informed of upcoming changes and potential impacts.

Problem Management

• Design and lead the Group problem Management practice, ensuring root cause analysis (RCA) is conducted effectively.
• Work with technical teams to implement permanent fixes and preventative measures, reducing recurring incidents.
• Drive problem resolution efficiency by leveraging Freshservice data and analytics.
• Work proactively to identify and mitigate underlying service risks, reducing the likelihood of future issues.

Freshservice ITSM Platform & Tooling

• Be comfortable being hands-on in Freshservice, configuring and optimising workflows to support Change, Release, Problem, and Continuous Improvement.
• Drive adoption of ITSM best practices within Freshservice, ensuring alignment with business needs and regulatory requirements.
• Define reporting and dashboards to measure service performance, improvement initiatives, and process efficiency.

You'll need to be:

• Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills, able to explain complex technical issues in business-friendly language.
• Highly organised, able to balance operational tasks with strategic initiatives.
• Ability to influence and collaborate across multiple teams and business units.
• Analytical mindset, with a focus on problem-solving and decision-making.
• Hands-on ITSM tool administration skills, ideally within Freshservice

As a minimum, you will need to have:

• 5+ years in IT Service Management, with strong experience in Change, Release, and Problem Management.
• Experience implementing and operating ITIL-aligned Change and Release processes in a multi-business, regulated environment.
• Hands-on experience with Freshservice (or similar ITSM platforms), including configuration and workflow optimisation.
• Experience establishing and leading a Continuous Improvement practice, embedding a culture of proactive service enhancements.
• Proven ability to influence at all levels, from technical teams to IT leadership, ensuring alignment and adoption of best practices.

About the location

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

We all belong at First Rail. 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/