DfT Operator
Customer Experience Modelling Manager
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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
This is a rare opportunity to establish a new analytical discipline at the heart of how the rail industry understands and improves customer experience.
As Customer Experience Modelling Manager, you will develop and lead a modelling framework for rail customer satisfaction, using the Rail Customer Experience Survey and wider industry evidence to support forecasting, target setting and better decision-making. Your work will help DFTO and the wider industry understand how improvements to customer experience affect satisfaction over the short, medium and long term.
You will bring together survey data, existing modelling, research and operational evidence to create a robust, practical framework for industry use. You will also build and maintain an industry-level model capable of forecasting customer satisfaction and helping decision-makers focus investment and improvement activity where it will make the greatest difference.
For the right candidate, this is an opportunity to shape an emerging area of industry practice, develop a nationally significant analytical capability and help create a more customer-focused railway.
Key Responsibilities
- Provide analytical leadership for customer satisfaction modelling, translating complex evidence into clear frameworks, forecasts and practical guidance that can be applied across the rail industry.
- Work with stakeholders across DFTO and the wider rail industry to define requirements, agree priorities and establish effective governance.
- Collaborate with industry partners to gather, assess and synthesise empirical evidence on how customer experience changes influence satisfaction.
- Build and maintain an industry-level model to forecast customer satisfaction across short-, medium- and long-term horizons.
- Design and deliver appropriate assurance so that the framework and model are robust, credible and fit for industry use.
- Lead the procurement and client-side management of third-party modelling, research and analytical support where required.
- Produce clear guidance and outputs that enable industry colleagues to apply the framework, use central model outputs and develop local models confidently where needed.
- Support the adoption of consistent, evidence-based approaches to customer satisfaction forecasting and decision-making across the industry.
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What You’ll Be Responsible For
- Establishing subject-matter expertise in existing customer satisfaction and demand modelling, including the Customer Impact Model, so future development is grounded in relevant evidence and learning.
- Engaging stakeholders across DFTO and the wider rail industry to define modelling requirements, agree priorities and establish effective programme governance.
- Developing a clear modelling framework for customer satisfaction that supports industry forecasting and target setting.
- Collating and documenting an evidence base drawing on the Rail Customer Experience Survey, previous modelling and wider industry research.
- Defining how customer satisfaction modelling should interact with the Passenger Demand Forecasting Handbook, including how satisfaction and revenue impacts are understood and linked.
- Translating complex analysis into clear insights and recommendations for technical and non-technical audiences.
- Supporting the adoption of consistent, evidence-based approaches to customer satisfaction forecasting and decision-making across the industry.
Essential
What we’re looking for:
- Strong analytical capability, including experience working with complex and diverse data sets and leading others in analytical work.
- Sound understanding of analytical best practice and the ability to apply it in practical business or policy contexts.
- Familiarity with statistical methods, research techniques and evidence-based decision-making.
- Advanced spreadsheet modelling skills and the ability to develop clear, robust and reusable analytical tools.
- Ability to translate complex analysis into clear insights, recommendations and outputs for non-technical audiences.
- Strong stakeholder engagement skills, including the ability to work collaboratively across organisational boundaries and influence senior stakeholders.
- A strategic and innovative mindset, with the ability to create a new analytical approach in an emerging area of practice.
- Strong communication skills and the ability to present technical concepts clearly and credibly.
- Ability to work independently, manage priorities and maintain analytical quality in a complex and changing environment.
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Desirable
- Experience analysing survey data, particularly customer experience or satisfaction data.
- Working knowledge of the Passenger Demand Forecasting Handbook or related rail industry forecasting approaches.
- Experience working with rail industry data sets and evidence sources.
- Experience procuring, commissioning or clienting analytical projects delivered by third parties.
- Advanced understanding of statistical modelling approaches.
- Experience communicating analytical findings to senior, technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Vacancy Details
- Duration: Fixed Term up to 31st October 2027 contract/secondment
- Location: We currently have offices in London Waterloo, Leeds, Birmingham
- Salary Range: £56,338 to £62,598
- Closing date: 23rd September 2026
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 Jason.blakemore@dftoperator.co.uk
Please do not email any CV's to us, your application must be made by clicking the 'Apply' button.
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