Duty Controller - Bus & Tram Operations
Salary: Starting from £33,000 per year
Location: Blackpool
Hours: 5 days per week on a rotating shift pattern, including evenings, nights, weekends and bank holidays.
Help Keep Blackpool Moving
Every day, thousands of people rely on our buses and trams to get to work, school, appointments and home safely. As a Duty Controller, you'll play a vital role behind the scenes, ensuring our services run as smoothly as possible.
This is an exciting opportunity for someone with strong leadership, organisational and decision-making skills who enjoys working in a fast-paced environment where no two days are the same.
Whether you're already working in transport, operations, customer service management or another operational role, if you enjoy solving problems, leading people and making decisions under pressure, we'd love to hear from you.
About the Role
As a Duty Controller, you'll be based in our main control centre (Service Delivery Centre) where you'll monitor and coordinate the day-to-day operation of our bus and tram services.
Working closely with drivers, conductors, supervisors, engineers and managers, you'll help keep services running safely and efficiently. You'll respond to incidents and unexpected disruption, make operational decisions in real time, support frontline colleagues and help deliver an excellent experience for our customers.
This is a leadership role where you'll combine operational decision-making with people management, helping colleagues perform at their best while ensuring our services remain safe, reliable and customer focused.
What You'll Be Doing
Your responsibilities will include:
- Monitoring the day-to-day operation of bus and tram services.
- Responding quickly to incidents, delays and disruption to minimise the impact on customers.
- Making real-time decisions to keep services running safely and efficiently.
- Supporting drivers, conductors and operational teams throughout their shifts.
- Monitoring service performance and identifying opportunities to improve reliability.
- Preparing reports following operational incidents and making recommendations for improvement.
- Using a range of computer systems to monitor vehicles, allocate resources and track service performance.
- Conducting probation reviews, performance discussions and employee welfare meetings.
- Managing attendance, investigations and disciplinary processes in line with company procedures.
- Ensuring all operations comply with legal requirements, company policies and safety standards.
Working with Others
You'll work closely with colleagues across the business, including:
- Engineering teams to ensure enough buses and trams are available for service.
- Customer Experience and Training teams to help deliver excellent customer service.
- Human Resources to support employee wellbeing, attendance and performance.
- Operational Supervisors during service disruption and incidents.
About You
We're looking for someone who has:
- Experience leading or supervising people.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
- The ability to remain calm and make sound decisions under pressure.
- Strong organisational and problem-solving skills.
- Confidence using computer systems and learning new technology.
- A flexible approach to shift work, including nights and weekends.
- A commitment to safety, teamwork and delivering excellent customer service.
Experience in transport or public transport is helpful but not essential. We also welcome applications from candidates with operational leadership experience in sectors such as logistics, emergency services, manufacturing, retail, hospitality, facilities management or customer operations.
What You'll Bring
You'll be someone who:
- Enjoys working in a busy, fast-changing environment.
- Can balance the needs of customers, employees and the business.
- Leads by example and supports colleagues to succeed.
- Is confident making decisions and taking responsibility.
- Wants to help deliver a safe, reliable and high-quality public transport service.
Safety Comes First
Safety is at the heart of everything we do. As Duty Controller, you'll promote safe working practices, ensure company procedures are followed, identify and report risks, and help create a safe environment for customers, colleagues and visitors.
Why Join Us?
This is a fantastic opportunity to build a rewarding career in operational management with one of Blackpool's most recognisable organisations.
In return, you'll enjoy:
- A varied and rewarding role where every day is different.
- The opportunity to lead operational teams and make real-time decisions.
- Ongoing training and professional development.
- A supportive management team and opportunities to progress your career.
- The chance to make a real difference to the people who rely on our bus and tram services every day.
Apply Now
We welcome applications from both internal and external candidates.
If you're an organised, people-focused leader who enjoys problem-solving, thrives under pressure and wants to play a key role in delivering a vital public service, we'd love to hear from you.
Proudly serving Blackpool, Fleetwood, Thornton Cleveleys, Lytham St Anne’s and Poulton-le-Fylde with friendly and reliable transport for over 100 years
