Network Rail
Systems Thinking Specialist
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Who We Are
Join the Southern Region where your work truly matters.
Covering Wessex, Sussex, and Kent, the Southern Region is one of the busiest and most dynamic parts of the railway. Our teams keep some of the UK's most vital passenger and freight routes moving every single day.
This is a place where collaboration, innovation, and resilience are key and where your contribution will directly impact millions of journeys. We are entering an exciting new chapter as we integrate with train operating companies under one national leadership, creating even greater opportunities to shape the future of rail.
From supporting major modernisation programmes to improving performance for local communities and enhancing safety across complex operational environments, Southern offers a fast-paced, rewarding environment to grow your career and make a real difference.
About The Role
Systems Thinking Specialist
Help shape the future of Britain's railway
The rail industry is entering one of the most significant periods of change in its history.
As the industry evolves towards Great British Railways and greater public ownership, Network Rail Southern Region is building a new Systems Thinking team dedicated to helping leaders tackle complex challenges, improve performance and create lasting organisational change. This is a rare opportunity to join a team at the beginning of its journey and influence how the railway operates during a transformative period for the industry.
We're looking for people who are curious, influential and comfortable working in complex environments. Whether your background is in transformation, business improvement, organisational development, operational excellence, consulting or change management, you'll bring the ability to work with senior leaders and help organisations solve difficult problems from a systems perspective.
This is not a traditional project management or continuous improvement role.
As a Systems Thinking Specialist, you'll work alongside frontline teams, managers and senior leaders to understand how complex systems operate, identify the factors influencing performance, and design interventions that create sustainable improvements.
You'll spend time embedded within the business, building relationships, observing how work is done and gaining a deep understanding of the challenges facing operational teams. Through coaching, facilitation and analysis, you'll help leaders understand challenges systemically and develop solutions that improve outcomes for colleagues, customers and the wider railway.
Working Across Southern Region, You'll:
- Lead and deliver systems thinking interventions focused on complex organisational and operational challenges.
- Work closely with senior leaders to understand business priorities and build support for new approaches.
- Analyse complex systems, operating models and ways of working to identify opportunities for improvement.
- Facilitate workshops, discussions and interventions that help teams see challenges from different perspectives.
- Coach leaders and teams to develop their understanding and application of systems thinking.
- Design and test new approaches, operating models and performance frameworks.
- Build capability within the business so teams can continue applying systems thinking long after interventions have concluded.
- Influence change across a diverse range of functions and operational environments.
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Why join now?
This is an opportunity to have a real impact at a unique point in the railway's history.
You'll be joining a new team with a clear purpose: helping Southern Region and the wider industry respond to change, improve performance and develop more effective ways of working.
The work is varied, visible and challenging. One project may focus on operational performance, while the next could involve working with senior leaders to redesign an organisational system or address long-standing business challenges.
Your work will influence decisions, shape future operating models and help the organisation build capability for the future.
About You
Your experience and skills
You'll be an excellent communicator with the ability to establish credibility and influence at all levels of an organisation.
You may currently work in systems thinking, business transformation, organisational development, consulting, business improvement, operational excellence or change management.
We're Particularly Interested In People Who Can Demonstrate:
- Experience leading complex organisational change or transformation initiatives.
- Outstanding stakeholder management and relationship-building skills.
- The ability to influence, challenge and coach senior leaders.
- Strong facilitation, consulting and problem-solving skills.
- Experience working in complex organisations with multiple stakeholders and competing priorities.
- A track record of helping teams understand and resolve difficult business challenges.
- The ability to analyse information, identify patterns and support evidence-based decision-making.
- A genuine interest in systems thinking and improving organisational performance.
Experience Within Rail Is Not Essential.
We welcome applications from candidates working in sectors such as utilities, transport, infrastructure, public services, emergency services, defence, manufacturing and other complex, operational or highly regulated environments.
Location and travel
This is a hybrid role, but success in this position depends on being present within the business.
Depending on the intervention or project, you may spend several consecutive days on site facilitating workshops, coaching leaders, observing operations and leading systems thinking activities. This could involve being based at a project location for three or four days at a time before moving to the next phase of delivery.
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Regular travel across the Southern Region, attendance at Puddle Dock and overnight stays will therefore form a routine part of the role rather than an occasional requirement.
What You'll Get In Return
- The opportunity to join a new and growing Systems Thinking team.
- Exposure to senior leaders across Network Rail and the wider industry.
- Industry-leading training and development.
- Excellent career progression opportunities.
- The chance to influence high-profile change during a significant period of industry transformation.
- Hybrid working arrangements.
- Annual performance-related bonus.
- 75% discounted leisure rail travel.
- A competitive pension scheme and comprehensive benefits package.
If you're excited by the idea of understanding complex challenges, influencing senior leaders and helping shape the future of Britain's railway, we'd love to hear from you.
Salary: £55,596 to £67,813 plus £3,270 London office location allowance
Vacancy type: Permanent
Location: London Blackfriars
Closing date: 26th August 2026
Interviews will be held in London
We Offer Excellent Benefits, Including:
- Generous annual leave with the option to buy/sell days.
- Defined benefit pension scheme.
- 75% subsidy on rail and underground season tickets.
- Up to 75% off leisure travel.
- Carer's leave to support those who matter.
- Healthcare Scheme, GymPass discounts, Cycle to work plus more.
- We offer generous maternity, paternity, and adoption leave to support our employees during significant life moments
Discover all our benefits and what life is like at Network Rail.- click here
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We're proud to champion a diverse and inclusive workplace that reflects the communities we serve. To explore our ED&I commitments, https://www.networkrail.co.uk/who-we-are/diversity-and-inclusion/.
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Some of our roles require face to face Drugs & Alcohol testing. Further details will be shared with you as part of your formal offer.
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