Job Title: Sustainability Coordinator                                

Reports to: Sustainability Director, First Rail

Direct Reports: None                      

Function: First Rail Engineering

Location: The Point, Paddington (hybrid working)                     

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.  Our FirstBus division is one of the largest bus operators in the UK, serving two thirds of the 15 largest cities.  We are also one of the country's largest and most experienced rail operators, running five train companies, GWR, SWR, Avanti West Coast, Hull Trains and Lumo and other rail businesses as part of our FirstRail division. Our ambition is to accelerate the transition to a zero-carbon world and be the partner of choice for innovative and sustainable transport.

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 or age.

We consider all requests to work flexibly in line with our established Flexible Working Policy and other related policies and guidance that may be in force from time to time. We are committed as a Disability Confident employer to making appropriate reasonable adjustments to address a disadvantage you may be facing at work as a result of a disability.

Main Purpose

We have an exciting opportunity for a Sustainability Coordinator to join our team.  Reporting to the Sustainability Director, you will support the Sustainability Director and two Carbon and Environmental Leads in delivering projects within First Rail, our train operating companies, as well as other internal and external consultancy opportunities. You will provide your sustainability and analytical expertise, to a wide variety of projects across a range of First Rail Holdings projects. Typical projects include bidding for new business opportunities, mobilising new businesses and providing sustainability consultancy services to our train operating companies, other First Rail businesses and non-FirstGroup businesses. You will be required to work within cross-functional teams, supporting delivery of projects. You will build a strong network of contacts throughout First Rail Holdings operating companies and actively seek out opportunities. This is an exciting opportunity for someone to progress their career in sustainability within the rail sector.

Main Duties

Key responsibilities of the role will also include, but are not limited to:

• Supporting the Carbon and Environment Leads on sustainability when bidding for new business opportunities, undertaking research and analytical tasks as required.
• Supporting the Carbon and Environment Leads on mobilisation of new rail businesses as and when acquired.
• Supporting the Carbon and Environmental leads on implementation of ISO 14001 Environmental Management System.

• Supporting the Carbon and Environmental leads on gathering and analysing social value data for social value reporting.
• Providing sustainability consultancy support for our train operating companies as required. This may cover a range of topics such as supporting development of decarbonisation strategies, developing noise and air quality strategies and gathering data on social value impact.
• Work closely with the FirstGroup corporate responsibility team and train operating company sustainability teams to coordinate activities such as internal and external sustainability reporting.
• Actively seek out assignments.
• Tracking First Rail's contribution to FirstGroup's science based targets.

Other Responsibilities

• To support the Group's Vision, strategy, and Values.
• To comply with all Group safety policies, and role-model the principles and behaviours of our Be Safe programme.
• To maintain a comprehensive knowledge of the Group's objectives and business plans.
• To establish and maintain effective working relationships with colleagues throughout the Group, industry and the supply base.

Special Working Conditions

• To travel throughout the UK and work away from home on occasion.

Personal Behaviours

Skills, Experience and Qualifications

Essential:

• Educated to relevant degree level (or equivalent professional experience).
• A passion for sustainability.
• Proven ability, and confidence, to successfully engage with key stakeholders across a complex business structure, including peers and senior leaders.
• Keen understanding of how data is used to identify opportunities for improvement, to support business cases and drive change.
• Persuasive in the presentation of analysis, trends, results, and forecasts.
• Results driven; a problem solver; proactive; a finisher.
• Excellent written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills.
• Self-starter, with the ability to work independently within a fast-paced team, and to tight deadlines.
• The ability to inspire confidence at all levels by demonstrating resilience, mature judgement and calmness under pressure.

Desirable:

• Experience of working in a consultancy role.
• Experience of the transport sector (or similar) and its sustainability agenda.
• Membership of a relevant professional body (e.g., IEMA / IES) or a desire to progress membership.

Performance Measures

• Positive feedback on performance from peers and colleagues.
• Delivery of commitments to time, quality, and budget.

• High quality outputs, consistently setting the highest standards.

Nothing in this job description restricts our right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time. This job description reflects our assessment of essential functions but does not prescribe or restrict the duties that may be assigned.