Job Ref: DOH1266
Branch: DFT Operator
Location: London
Salary/Benefits: Salary up to £42,000
Contract type: Permanent
Hours: Full Time
Hours per week: 37.5
Posted date: 10/08/2026
Closing date: 24/08/2026
About DFT Operator
Join Our Team at DFTO
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 11,000 services a day and delivers over 930 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, WM Trains and GTR.
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:
Support the successful delivery of customer experience performance, helping to drive high standards of service, accountability, and passenger satisfaction across Train Operating Companies.
Contribute to the effective oversight and continuous improvement of customer experience across the rail industry by providing high-quality analysis, insight, and stakeholder engagement. Play a key part in translating customer experience strategy into measurable outcomes, supporting evidence-based decision-making, performance management and contract oversight.
With the transition towards Great British Railways underway, the role is critical in bringing greater coherence to industry data and insight, influencing more joined-up approaches across industry. It supports the development of a consistent, group-wide approach to customer experience performance as the rail system moves towards a more integrated, whole-system operating model.
The postholder will work closely with DFTO colleagues, Train Operating Companies, DfT, Network Rail, and wider sector partners to shape insight, challenge performance, and drive continuous improvement. Through this, the role helps embed a culture of accountability and evidence-based decision-making, so that customer experience priorities are reflected in both operational delivery and strategic planning.
Key Responsibilities:
- Support the delivery of customer experience regimes by working within the Customer Experience Regimes Team to embed consistent and effective implementation across Train Operating Companies (TOCs) (both DFTO Operators and those on NRC contracts), helping to drive high standards of passenger service.
- Lead the monitoring, analysis and reporting of customer experience performance across allocated contracts, using a suite of key metrics and regime measures (including objective indicators such as service quality and perception-based insights such as the Rail Customer Experience Survey (RCXS)).
- Take ownership of end-to-end data analysis to produce accurate, high-quality, and tailored insights for DFTO leadership, policy teams, and Train Operating Company (TOC) stakeholders, supporting performance oversight and evidence-based decision-making
- Provide expert, data-led advice and guidance on management of customer experience performance to internal and external stakeholders, identifying trends, risks, opportunities and emerging issues across allocated contracts.
- Support effective commercial and operational decision-making, contract management, and performance improvement activity by translating customer experience data into clear recommendations, driving targeted interventions and continuous improvement in customer experience outcomes.
- Contribute to target setting and calibration activities undertaking targeted deep dives to support the development and calibration of robust, evidence-based service quality and customer satisfaction targets that are stretching but achievable. This includes analysing historical trends, assessing performance drivers, and modelling data-led scenarios to inform negotiations during business planning, assessment periods, and in-life changes.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of customer experience performance measures and methodologies by identifying trends, risks, and opportunities for improvement based on practical experience of their application. Support ongoing policy development and wider improvement initiatives, offering flexible analytical support to meet emerging priorities across the team.
- Develop and enhance analysis and reporting capability across a broad range of customer experience metrics (including customer service, accessibility, complaints, and performance during disruption), supporting a more holistic view of customer experience as the rail system evolves towards Great British Railways.
- Undertake targeted assessments to validate data quality and integrity, including on-the-ground engagement through station and onboard Service Quality inspections where appropriate.
- Build strong, collaborative relationships across organisations, working closely with Train Operating Companies, Network Rail, and wider stakeholders to share insight, challenge performance, and drive continuous improvement in customer outcomes.
Knowledge, Skills, Experience Technical Qualifications:
- Strong analytical capability with the ability to interpret and draw insights from complex data sets to support performance monitoring and decision-making, including proficiency in data interrogation and handling large, varied data sources.
- Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to present complex information clearly and adapt messaging to suit a range of audiences and stakeholder needs.
- Ability to build and maintain effective working relationships across teams and organisations, including influencing and collaborating with internal and external stakeholders such as Train Operating Companies, Network Rail, local transport authorities and the Department for Transport.
- Experience working in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment, with the ability to prioritise and deliver high-quality work to tight deadlines.
- Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities and coordinate work across multiple activities or stakeholders.
- High level of proficiency in using data analysis and Microsoft Office tools (particularly Excel and PowerPoint), enabling the production of robust reporting, clear insight generation, and effective performance tracking.
- Demonstrated commitment to customer-focused outcomes, ensuring that service users or passengers are at the heart of decision-making and delivery
Vacancy Details:
Duration: Perm
Location: We currently have offices in London Waterloo, Leeds, Birmingham/ Hybrid
Salary: Range £38,000 to £42,000
Closing date: 24th August 2027
DFTO Locations:
DFTO currently have office locations in London, Birmingham and Leeds and individuals can be based from any of the three locations. Whilst we do offer hybrid working there are sometimes demands to travel to the other office locations.
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…
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.
