Job Description

At Network Rail, our passengers and freight users are at the heart of everything we do. We help connect people to their friends and families and get goods to their destination safely and efficiently. We're an organisation where people matter.
Scotland's Railway is part of this large family and it covers a large geographical area from the Borders to Thurso at the far tip of the North East of Scotland, accounting for almost 20 per cent of the UK rail network. We provide rapid access along busy commuter routes to our seven cities, servicing the varied needs of our business and leisure commuter services, including cross border services and rural services. We have up to 50 freight services operating every day and we are steadily building capacity for this to grow. Our ambition to be responsive to passengers and freight users, drives us every day and we're empowered to do the right thing for those who use the rail network. We actively challenge unsafe practices and take responsibility for addressing risks, resolving issues and protecting safety and wellbeing.
Our colleagues are encouraged to work flexibly as we know that busy lives don't always fit around a traditional working pattern, if you need flexibility to complete your role just let us know and we will do our upmost to help you to invest in your career with us while balancing other aspects of your life.
We're also a employer and we'll try our best to adapt the process and offer a reasonable alternative to help support people with disabilities access, apply and interview for roles.
We want to help deliver a railway which is safe, reliable, affordable and that provides great customer service to everyone. .
Brief Description
This is an exceptional opportunity to lead the operations team at Scotland's Railway, driving delivery against defined safety, performance, and financial objectives while balancing the needs of our diverse customer base.
As our Operations Director, you will lead a large, multi-disciplinary team through divisional leaders in the sphere of signalling, integrated control, electrical control, staff resourcing, and the two largest stations in Scotland: Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central. Your leadership will be pivotal in driving real-time train service delivery, improving performance and safety, ensuring seasonal readiness, and maintaining compliance-all to deliver a seamless experience for all who rely on the railway.
Success in this role demands exceptional leadership and communication skills. You'll need to inspire and motivate teams, foster collaboration across departments, and build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders. A strategic mindset and deep understanding of railway operations are essential, as is the ability to navigate complex challenges with confidence and clarity.
**This role is a key safety post which has a mandatory requirement for the incumbent to undergo counter terrorist checks. Unless clearance has already been received by Network Rail for you, any offer will be conditional based on obtaining clearance prior to a start date being agreed.
If you have lived outside of the UK in the last 3 years and have been invited to interview for this role, please notify us. **
About the role (External)
Here's some of the responsibilities you will expect to carry out in this role.

• Direct the management of operational and workforce safety within Scotland's Railway and act as a role model in the promotion of safety and environmental excellence.
• Lead your team to achieve business objectives and meet key performance measures.
• 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.
• Lead the 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.
• Act as the Designated Competent Person (DCP) for both formal and local investigations. Report on accidents/incidents and undertake investigations as required.
• Manage the development and implementation of safety, train performance and customer satisfaction, initiatives. With the Head of Maintenance Delivery, create plans to address customer needs and performance issues.
• Lead real-time delivery of train performance and implement processes to deliver continuous improvement.

To excel in this role, we require you to have the following:

• Chartered member of relevant professional body or equivalent experience
• Significant successful experience in operational management in a Safety Critical Industry
• Recognised operational delivery leadership capability.
• Able to demonstrate in depth knowledge and experience of health and safety management and compliance management processes.
• Proven ability to influence decision making and build cross functional / cross company relationships.
• Proven track record of customer relationship management
• Significant knowledge of rail industry
• Successful experience of managing business unit financials
• Able to demonstrate understanding of NR safety management system.

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How to apply (External)
Salary: starting at 116,753 rising to 146,591 per annum plus 8K car allowance
Network Rail Benefits -
Closing date: Midnight of the 17th October 2025. Interviews will take place in person on Thursday 30th October only. This will involve a presentation.
Please get your application in as soon as possible, we may close the advert before the listed closing date if we receive enough applications. Late applications will not be accepted.
You can visit for advice on accessibility support if you're unsure of the options available. Should you require any reasonable adjustments/modifications, please add a note to your application.
All offers of employment are conditional upon satisfactory completion of pre-employment checks.
***Some of our roles require face to face Drugs & Alcohol testing. Further details will be shared with you as part of your formal offer.****
Keeping people safe on the railway is at the heart of everything we do. Safe behaviour is therefore a requirement of working for Network Rail. You should demonstrate your personal dedication to safety on your application.

Skills Required