Head of Operations

Head of Operations- Caledonian Sleeper 
Glasgow, G2 1HG
Competitive Salary plus corporate benefits 
Full time/ Permanent Monday- Friday 37 hours per week

Caledonian Sleeper forms a vital part of Scotland's transport network, regularly moving over 220,000 passengers per year. Serco manage all aspects of the Sleeper service including marketing, sales, the on-train hospitality service, vehicle maintenance and the provision of facilities at stations for Sleeper guests. Serco have an exciting role for a Head of Operations to join our team based in Glasgow. This role forms part of the Caledonian Sleeper Operations Team headed by the Operations Director and will support an operational business ensuring its smooth and successful delivery.
Reporting into the Operations Director this role will be responsible for the performance of the Caledonian Sleeper fleet direction of an operations team that supports the safe, continual, and efficient provision and operation of the Caledonian Sleeper Franchise.

You will be responsible for management of the £10m pa Network Rail contract across the UK and the £9.5M pa Traction Provision with GB Railfreight taking a high-level view to ensure all component activities, reports and controls are in place for consistent, predictable, and efficient operational delivery. You will be responsible for ensuring that Both GB Railfreight perform at a level that is acceptable to Caledonian Sleeper and extract maximise value from the contract.

Main Accountabilities:

• Direct the Operations team to meet defined safety, performance and financial objectives, stabilising the interests of all customers. 
• Act as operational lead for Caledonian Sleeper in agreeing key priorities with partners.
• Direct the management of safety within the Operations team and act as a role model in the promotion of safety and environmental excellence across all areas of control. 
• Encourage excellence in the quality of service provided to Caledonian Sleeper customers. 
• Direct the team to achieve business / functional objectives and meet key performance measures. 
• Create an engaged, motivated working environment in line with our values.
• Create a culture to enable customer and frontline employee feedback to be reflected in policies and procedures to deliver continuous performance improvement.
• Achieve financial, technical, safety and customer satisfaction targets in co-operation with the Caledonian Sleeper Operations Director. 
• Lead delivery of Operations in compliance with policies, procedures and standards and direct the development of disaster and incident management plans. Support the on-site management of recovery from major incidents. 
• Lead the development and implementation of safety, train performance and customer satisfaction, initiatives. With the Head of Safety, Security & Quality, Head of Engineering and Head of Depot (Contracts), create plans to address customer needs and performance issues. 
• Lead real-time delivery of train performance and implement processes to deliver continuous improvement. 
• Provide input to business plans, policies, standards and network strategies.
• Act as the Designated Competent Person (DCP) for both formal and local investigations. Report on accidents/incidents and undertake investigations as required.
• Undertake safety tours and set the framework for safety and work quality check within the team.

What you'll need to do the role 

• Previous operational experience in rail 
• Knowledge of different business functions / disciplines (i.e. finance and commercial, legal, operations, safety, risk, HR, operational excellence, IT, sales, marketing and communications)
• Advanced communication skills particularly with senior stakeholders; exceptional good networking and influencing skills
• Educated to degree level (or equivalent experience)
• Evidence of relevant and up to date CPD

What we offer

• Competitive salary 
• 25 days annual leave 
• Up to 6% contributory pension scheme or opportunity to join Rail final salary pension scheme
• Serco discounts which include cinema, merlin entertainment and online shopping discounts, cycle to work scheme and discounts on mobile phone plans and leisure centre memberships.
• Employee Assistance Programme
• A safe and supportive culture
• A company passionate about diversity and inclusion
• Rail staff travel benefits including complimentary travel on Caledonian Sleeper service and complimentary Rail Travel on all Scotrail services

About Serco
At Serco, not only is the nature of the work we do important, everyone has an important role to play, from caring for vulnerable people to managing complex public services.  We are a team of 50,000 people responsible for delivering essential public services around the world in areas including defence, transport, justice, immigration, healthcare and citizen services. We are innovators, committed to redesigning and improving public services for the benefit of everyone.

By joining Serco you will have unlimited access to our Global Employee Networks - SercoInspire (Gender), SercoEmbrace (Multicultural), SercoUnlimited (Disability) and In@Serco (LGBT & Networks). Serco Employee Networks, led by colleagues who are passionate about diversity, inclusion and belonging. 

Apply
Please click on the apply button to complete your application. Occasionally we receive a large volume of applications for our roles and when that happens we sometimes bring the closing date forward, so please apply promptly to avoid disappointment. 

At Serco, we see people first and foremost for their performance and potential. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organisation that supports the needs of all. As such we will make reasonable adjustments at interview through to employment for our candidates and strongly encourage applications from a diverse candidate pool. We are open to discussions around flexibility and flexible working. We operate a hybrid work structure in many of our business areas. We are proudly Disability Confident Leader employers and holder of the Silver Inclusive Employer Standard. Disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job will be given the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities at an interview.  For help with your application please contact 0345 010 4000.
 

At Serco we support fair access to employment for those with unspent criminal convictions through the 'Ban the Box' pledge (some may be exempt due to the nature of the role and the security clearance required). Please contact our recruitment team directly on 0345 010 4000 to discuss.