DfT Operator
Leadership and Management Development 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
The Leadership and Organisational Development Manager holds lead accountability for designing, commissioning and embedding the leadership and management capability strategy across DFTO and, where required, the wider group. Operating at the intersection of organisational development, learning, design and cultural transformation, the post-holder translates complex organisational priorities — including the rail integration agenda, matrix operating model, and GBR transition — into high-impact, evidence-based development interventions that measurably improve performance.
The role carries significant strategic influence, exercising independent professional judgement to assess organisational capability needs, commission and quality-assure provision from internal and external providers, manage development budgets, and drive cross-industry collaboration to eliminate duplication and establish best-in-class leadership development at scale. The post-holder plays a defining role in shaping the culture and leadership behaviours that will underpin DFTO's performance and GBR's success.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Needs Analysis and Capability Planning
- Lead organisation-wide leadership and management capability assessment, using appropriate diagnostic tools, data analysis and coaching-based approaches to identify development requirements, learning outcomes and success measures at individual, team and system level.
- Translate business strategy, cultural ambitions and GBR transition requirements into a coherent, multi-year leadership development plan, exercising autonomous professional judgement to prioritise investment and sequence interventions for maximum organisational impact.
- Commission and interpret research, employee insight, engagement data and industry intelligence to continuously refine the development strategy, so that provision remains ahead of organisational need.
Design, Commissioning and Delivery
- Lead the end-to-end design and commissioning of the organisation's leadership and management development portfolio — including face-to-face programmes, action learning sets, coaching, mentoring, online learning and embedded learning in the flow of work so that each intervention is evidence-based, experiential and directly connected to business outcomes.
- Exercise full creative and professional authority over the methodology, sequencing and quality of development provision, holding both internal facilitators and external providers to exacting standards of design excellence and delivery effectiveness.
- Personally facilitate high-impact, complex and senior leadership development sessions where specialist expertise is required, adapting design and approach in real time to maximise learning transfer.
- Embed the leadership framework, cultural pillars and matrix working behaviours into all development activity, so that learning accelerates the cultural transformation DFTO and GBR require.
Transfer of Learning, Evaluation and Impact Measurement
- Design and implement a robust evaluation framework that measures the impact of leadership and management development at four levels: delegate experience, learning acquired, behavioural change on the job, and organisational performance improvement.
- Lead the production of timely, high-quality management information and insight reporting that demonstrates return on investment, informs resourcing decisions, and provides the Director and HR Leadership Team with a clear evidence base for strategic decision-making.
- Work closely with the Culture, Engagement and EDI lead to integrate development evaluation with broader cultural and engagement measurement, so that leadership capability data informs diversity, inclusion and wellbeing outcomes across the organisation.
- Apply continuous improvement methodology to the development portfolio, using data, customer feedback and evaluation insight to iteratively raise programme quality and effectiveness.
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Cross-Industry Leadership and Talent Development
- Exercise strategic leadership across the rail industry to identify existing leadership and talent development provision, broker partnerships with Network Rail, Train Operating Companies and GBR transition bodies, and co-create a shared industry development portfolio that eliminates duplication and delivers at scale.
- Contribute to the Industry Talent Development Forum, influencing the strategic direction of talent development interventions and enabling cross-group alignment from frontline to senior leadership levels.
- Represent DFTO externally as a thought leader in leadership and organisational development, building the organisation's reputation and influence within the broader sector and professional community.
- Maintain and apply deep expertise in contemporary learning design, leadership development best practice and organisational development frameworks, proactively identifying and integrating emerging methodologies that offer measurable performance improvement.
Stakeholder, Supplier and Commercial Management
- Build and sustain highly effective strategic relationships with HR Business Partners, operational leaders, Executive Team members, subject matter experts, trade unions and external partners — influencing without authority across complex, multi-organisational stakeholder landscapes.
- Lead supplier selection, contract negotiation, performance management and due diligence for the full portfolio of external learning provision, driving service quality, commercial value and continuous improvement across all suppliers.
- Proactively promote the leadership and management development offer across DFTO, commissioning compelling communications and engagement activity that builds awareness, motivation and participation.
Programme Governance, Financial Management and Risk
- Hold full accountability for leadership and management development budgets — making autonomous resource allocation decisions, managing financial risk and delivering value for money at all times.
- Provide authoritative and regular management information on programme delivery, financial performance, supplier quality and apprenticeship funding utilisation to the Director and the HR Leadership Team.
- Maintain rigorous governance across all leadership and talent development provision, including supplier due diligence, contract compliance, data quality assurance, safeguarding obligations and risk and issue management, so that DFTO's legal, regulatory and reputational obligations are fully met.
Knowledge, Skills, Experience & Technical Qualifications
Essential Skills and Experience
- Substantial and demonstrable experience leading the design and delivery of complex, high-impact leadership and management development programmes at senior and executive level in large, multi-site organisations.
- Proven ability to exercise autonomous professional judgement in needs assessment, strategy development and investment prioritisation, operating credibly with and influencing Executive-level stakeholders.
- Advanced expertise in experiential and blended learning design, including face-to-face facilitation, action learning, coaching integration, digital learning and embedded in-flow development methodologies.
- Significant experience managing complex stakeholder landscapes across multiple organisations, including commercial partners, trade unions, funding bodies and industry networks, with a track record of building coalitions and influencing without authority.
- Financial management capability, including experience managing multi-strand budgets, externally funded provision, with a rigorous approach to value for money and commercial accountability.
- Advanced data literacy: able to design evaluation frameworks, commission and interpret management information, and produce evidence-based reporting that directly informs strategic decisions.
- Demonstrated experience of operating in complex, ambiguous and fast-moving environments, exercising sound judgement independently and delivering to high standards under pressure.
- Experience of working within or closely alongside matrix operating environments, with an understanding of the leadership behaviours and development requirements that matrix working demands.
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Stakeholder and Partner Management
- Proven ability to build trusted, influential relationships at the most senior organisational levels, including Executive Teams, Boards and cross-industry leadership bodies.
- Experience engaging with trade unions and works councils on workforce development strategy, navigating complex industrial relations environments constructively.
- Track record of developing and sustaining cross-organisational partnerships, particularly across multi-employer or group structures where alignment requires sustained relationship investment.
Desirable Skills And Qualifications
- CIPD Level 7, ILM Level 7 or equivalent postgraduate qualification in Learning and Development, Organisational Development or Human Resources.
- Accreditation or substantial practice experience in one or more psychometric or coaching tools (e.g. DiSC, MBTI, Hogan, Insights, GROW-based coaching frameworks).
- Experience in or substantive knowledge of the rail industry, transport sector or a similarly safety-critical, regulated operating environment.
- Familiarity with NSAR frameworks, the Civil Service Skills Agenda, Government Campus provision and public sector apprenticeship targets.
- Project management qualification (e.g. PRINCE2, APM) or equivalent experience managing complex, multi-workstream development programmes at pace.
Behaviours & Values
The Post-holder Will Be Expected To Consistently Demonstrate The Following Behaviours Aligned To The Civil Service Success Profiles At Senior Leader Level
- Seeing the Big Picture — Maintaining a clear view of how leadership capability drives GBR transition outcomes; shaping development strategy that is oriented to the long-term needs of the organisation and the rail industry, not just current priorities.
- Changing and Improving — Leading evidence-based, ambitious change in how DFTO develops its leaders; actively challenging existing approaches, commissioning innovative provision and embedding a culture of continuous improvement.
- Making Effective Decisions — Exercising confident, independent professional judgement in complex and ambiguous situations; using data and insight to inform decisions and taking clear accountability for outcomes.
- Working Together — Building effective, trusting networks across DFTO, the wider group and the rail industry; modelling the collaborative, matrix-working behaviours the organisation is seeking to embed.
- Communicating and Influencing — Engaging and inspiring action at all levels of the organisation through authoritative, authentic and compelling communication; building commitment to development and cultural change.
- Developing Self and Others — Acting as an organisational role model for learning and growth; championing psychological safety, inclusive development practice and the belief that leadership capability is the foundation of organisational performance.
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