DfT Operator
Project Manager Change (GBR Brand roll-out)
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(Secondment or FTC opportunity)
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 8,500 services a day and delivers over 640 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 and WM Trains.
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.
Reporting to: Industry GBR Brand Lead
About The Role
Help make Great British Railways visible to millions of passengers.
Great British Railways (GBR) is one of the most significant changes to Britain’s railway in a generation — bringing track and train closer together, simplifying a fragmented system and creating a railway that is easier for passengers to recognise, understand and trust. The GBR brand will be one of the most visible parts of that change: appearing across stations, trains, signage, wayfinding and passenger-facing environments across the country.
We are now moving from strategy into delivery. The national visual identity roll-out will be led by organisations across the industry — including Network Rail, train operators and integrated railways — with support from the Central Brand Team. We are looking for three experienced Project Managers to help make delivery happen at scale, working as trusted delivery partners to organisations across the railway.
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For the right candidate, this is a rare opportunity to build a standout delivery story: a nationally significant programme, senior stakeholder exposure, complex supplier and industry engagement, and work that passengers will actually see and experience.
The Role
You will take ownership of a defined portfolio within the national GBR brand roll-out programme, working directly with operators, Network Rail, integrated railways, suppliers and senior stakeholders to turn plans into visible change on the ground. Depending on your portfolio, this could involve supporting delivery across a geography, operator group or asset category — including stations, train livery, signage, wayfinding and other customer-facing assets.
This is a hands-on project delivery role for someone who enjoys working through complexity, building relationships and turning plans into visible change. You will bring structure, pace and confidence to complex delivery — helping organisations sequence activity, manage dependencies, resolve blockers and maintain momentum in a fast-moving environment.
What You'll Be Responsible For
- Supporting the end-to-end delivery of GBR brand roll-out across your portfolio, managing dependencies, sequencing risks and blockers proactively
- Developing and maintaining detailed programme plans, including critical path, milestones and RAID logs
- Tracking spend against individual organisations project budgets
- Facilitating collaborative cross-functional teams across operators, suppliers and internal stakeholders
- Producing clear, concise reporting for senior stakeholders and governance boards
- Capturing lessons learned and sharing best practice across the wider Brand team so that successes in one area can be replicated elsewhere
Essential
What We're Looking For
- Proven experience leading complex, large-scale change or roll-out programmes through to delivery.
- Experience managing suppliers.
- Ability to navigate multi-stakeholder environments with confidence, including at senior level.
- Ability to work confidently with technical, design, operational or safety standards, with support from subject matter experts.
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Desirable
- Strong understanding of how brand identity is applied to real-world, customer-facing assets.
- Experience in the UK rail or other complex, customer-facing, regulated or asset-intensive environments where delivery depends on multiple organisations working together.
- Commercial and financial awareness, including investment processes.
- Relevant professional experience, qualifications or training in project, programme, change or delivery management.
Vacancy Details
Duration: This is a fixed-term contract or secondment opportunity as we head towards the stand up of GBR - ideal for someone who wants to step into a high-profile national delivery environment, broaden their rail/change experience, and make a visible contribution to the creation of Great British Railways.
Location: London Waterloo, with hybrid/flexible working arrangements available subject to business need.
Salary: Up to £56,963
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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