Job Ref: DOH1246
Branch: DFT Operator
Location: London, Leeds or Birmingham
Salary/Benefits: Up to £77503
Contract type: Fixed Term
Hours: Full Time
Hours per week: 37.5
Posted date: 08/07/2026
Closing date: 22/07/2026
Programme Manager
About DFT Operator
DFTO is the government’s public sector rail owning group. Its purpose is to bring all currently privately-owned train operators into public ownership in advance of the creation of Great British Railways in 2027 - and deliver improvements in the here and now by unifying and integrating train operations under common public ownership.
DFTO has over 30,000 employees, runs over 8,500 services a day and delivers over 640 million customer journeys across its networks every year. 7,000 people joined the railway family in the last year
Major improvements are being delivered by DFTO train operators (TOCs) that are already under public ownership - these are LNER, Northern, TransPennine Express (TPE), Southeastern, South Western Railway (SWR), c2c, Greater Anglia and WM Trains.
We work closely with the DfT but operate independently with our own governance and leadership teams. Our priority is ensuring efficient, dependable rail services for everyone.
Primary Purpose of Job:
To organise, manage, monitor and control the DFTO transition into GBR to enable stand up for GBR Day 1 and beyond, including pre-GBR preparation and transition activities. To receive and apply the outturn of GBR design activities, facilitating integration with other functions and DFTO’s PMO.
Come and join our PMO and Programmes teams, playing a key role in turning ambition and strategy into delivery. You'll help drive projects and programmes that make a real difference for customers and the rail industry as we work together to deliver a better railway for everyone in Britain.
Key Responsibilities:
- Establish and lead the programme of transition activity that will see DFTO evolve into GBR, ensuring that all preparatory and delivery work packages are defined and delivered.
- Manage the pre-GBR integration programme including transfers of personnel and capability, associated organisation development and readiness for GBR.
- Provide input on the frameworks and methodologies appropriate to deliver a comprehensive and consistent approach to achieve the successful stand up of GBR on day 1 and beyond.
- Establish and cultivate of effective working relationships with the DFTO Executive, senior stakeholders in the rail industry and the teams across the partner organisations to the delivery of GBR.
- Establish a programme delivery structure to drive consistent, high value and effective processes to suit all needs.
- Develop, manage and maintain appropriate documentation relating to the programme and produce Board-level management information as required.
- Work collaboratively with Human Resources (HR) and other DFTO functions to plan and monitor the transitional structure and resources so budgets are used most efficiently.
- Identify requirements for additional resource and lead the recruitment for industry secondments and delivery partner remits for the transition programme.
- Own and lead the analysis of functional business data to provide intelligence and insight to the Functional Director, DFTO PMO and ExCo, in particular, reporting on progress, performance and inform decision-making, especially where intervention/additional support that may be necessary.
- Provide project management and project control standards and advise on best practice for DFTO in order to establish successful delivery of targeted benefits and outcomes.
- Establish and maintain the complicated functional activities of the transition programme, managing dependencies and interfaces with the PMO and lead the proactive identification and resolution of keys risks, dependencies and resource requirements to deliver key outputs and benefits.
- Support the Head of Programmes to deliver a coherent, integrated and trustworthy planning base for executive review, tracking and decision-making.
- Develop, own and maintain the functional level Risk Register, planning and implementing responses and mitigations with identified Risk Owners and escalating risks that remain a threat to delivery of the integrated schedule.
Knowledge, Skills, Experience Technical Qualifications:
Essential:
- Degree level with Chartered APM status or equivalent
- Comprehensive experience and skills in leading and managing complicated programmes in multi-stakeholder environments
- Strong leadership skills, with the vision and ability to establish cross-industry relationships and drive cultural / organisational change
- Excellent communication and influencing skills
- Exceptional interpersonal skills, possessing the ability to interact and maintain credibility with people at all levels across the business and industry stakeholders
- Demonstrable experience of leading and motivating large teams within a large complex/ matrix management organisation
- Proven ability to effectively lead, coach, mentor and motivate at all levels within the organization
- Experience advising and working in conjunction with senior staff at Executive and Board level
- Familiarity with agile methods of programme management (Desirable)
Vacancy Details
Duration: FTC or Secondment until October 2027
Reports to: Head of Programmes
Location: Waterloo/Leeds/BirminghamHybrid
Salary: Up to £77,000
Closing Date: 22nd July 2026
DFTO Benefits:
Annual Leave: Starting at 25 days and rising to an additional day per year of service completed within the first 5 completed years up to a maximum of 5 additional (30 days)
DC Pension Scheme: 10% Employer contribution, 5% Employee contribution
Opportunities to learn and network across the wider industry
Additional Information…
We are planning to commence interviewing as soon as suitable candidates apply, we will not wait until the closing date to commence the recruitment. If you are interested in this opportunity please apply early and do not wait.
Disclaimer: Candidates applying for this position on a secondment basis must inform their line manager prior to submitting their application. This is to ensure transparency and facilitate any necessary discussions regarding workload and responsibilities.
About our people and the recruitment process - We're an inclusive employer of choice and we welcome applications from everyone! We encourage our colleagues to work flexibly, as we know traditional working patterns don't always fit. If you want to consider working flexibly, just let us know and we'll do our best to help and invest in your career with us, whilst you have a healthy work life balance.
Contact: If you have any questions or reasonable adjustments, please contact [email protected].
Please do not email any CV's to us, your application must be made by clicking the 'Apply' button.
