Who are we?
South Western Railway (SWR) operates over 1,500 services each weekday across the network and employs more than 5,000 people. We provide easy and convenient mobility, connecting people and communities in South West London, southern counties of England, and the Isle of Wight.
Join our team and help us continue to bring people together to get the most out of life.
About the job:
To lead a section of the station team at London Waterloo, providing a safe environment while delivering excellent customer service and smooth operations at all times. To ensure excellent train performance is maintained, passengers are kept well informed about train services, and assistance is provided whenever necessary. To ensure all station areas are maintained to a high standard, remaining clean, safe and well presented.
The London Waterloo Customer Service Team Leader will proactively support the management team in delivering punctual train departures, maintaining security and safety compliance, and ensuring an excellent customer experience at this major London station.
Your main responsibilities will be:
- Lead the team on shift to deliver excellent customer service, resolving customer issues relating to disruption, ticketing, train service enquiries, mobility assistance and station facilities.
- Ensure the "Every Second Counts" principles are consistently followed by all team members.
- Motivate and support the team to deliver a reliable customer experience through continual improvements to train performance, passenger satisfaction scores and customer feedback measures.
- Ensure your personal safety and that of colleagues, customers, visitors and contractors at all times.
- Take the lead in managing incidents that occur at, or have an impact on, the station and customer service delivery, working closely with the Duty Station Manager to ensure effective resolution.
- Provide feedback, guidance and coaching to team members to enhance performance and support development.
- Comply with all applicable Rules, Network Rail Group Standards, South Western Railway policies and procedures.
- Undertake regular inspections of station facilities to ensure they are safe, well maintained and fit for purpose.
- Ensure that all staff under your supervision are competent to undertake their duties safely and effectively through regular monitoring, observation and support.
- Undertake additional duties as required by the Duty Station Manager.
- Act as a positive role model in all matters relating to customer service, safety and professional standards.
Decision making
- Make day-to-day decisions that directly impact customer service delivery and staff support.
- Make decisions affecting their own area of responsibility, referring to the Duty Station Manager for guidance and authority when required.
- Make operational decisions in line with established company policies and procedures.
- Where delegated, and particularly outside normal business hours, make tactical decisions on behalf of the Duty Station Manager and wider station management team.
As a minimum, you will need to have:
- Proven track record of effective decision making under pressure.
- Excellent customer service skills with experience of resolving and actioning customer concerns and complaints.
- Experience with railway systems to gather, communicate and provide information.
- Previous experience of managing or supervising busy operational environments.
- Good standard of education, together with the ability to lead and inspire teams while effectively managing multiple priorities.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- An understanding of relevant products, policies and services is desirable at application stage and essential upon appointment.
- An understanding of railway safety standards and operational requirements is desirable.
Working pattern:
Working an average of 37 hours per week
Early 0645-1430, 0800-1615, 1100-1745, 1100-1900, Late 1400-2200, 1400-2230.
Average 5 day week, Monday to Saturday plus rostered Sundays 0800-1600 & 1400-2200, although Sundays are outside the average 37 hour working week.
The Reward:
In return we offer a competitive salary and a variety of valuable benefits, including:
- Free duty and leisure travel on SWR services for employee
- Free leisure travel for spouse/partner and dependants (criteria dependant)
- 75% discount on many other train operating companies
- Full training and support with development
- Large range of exclusive retail offers
- Excellent pension scheme
We all belong at SWR. Our vision is to provide an inclusive environment for all colleagues, ensuring all candidates have an equal opportunity to access meaningful employment.
We value our differences such as age, gender, LGBTQIA+, ethnicity, religion, and disability. We maintain a zero tolerance towards any form of prejudice towards our colleagues, customers, and future talent.
We celebrate and encourage diversity of thought, progressive ways of working and seeing all our colleagues grow and thrive.
If you require additional support to complete your application due to a disability or neurodivergent condition, for example, dyslexia, dyspraxia, or autism, please follow the links below. We encourage you to share any additional needs you may require so we can provide a fair and equal process for all who apply.
https://exceptionalindividuals.com/neurodiversity/
https://www.healthassured.org/blog/neurodiversity/
