Senior Rail Strategy Officer

Reference:

Closing date:

12:00 Monday 30th May 2016

Location:

Flexible across the North of England, but with a requirement to regularly work from our offices in Manchester and Leeds.

Salary:

£45,000 per annum

Attachments:

Transport for the North (TfN) has been formed as part of the strategic response to the changing transport and infrastructure needs of the whole of the North of England. It incorporates the city regions of Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield connecting these cities and the wider regional towns and cities across the North of England, to drive better connectivity, economic growth and better opportunity for all. It is crystal clear that “the cities of the North together can be greater than the sum of their parts”.

The Government has committed to establishing TfN as a statutory body, with statutory powers and duties, and is now delivering on this important commitment. Amendments to the Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill will provide for the creation of sub-national transport bodies (STBs), which would be established through secondary legislation at the request of local areas in England. STBs will initially advise the Secretary of State for Transport on strategic transport schemes and investment priorities in their own area. The Secretary of State may grant individual STBs additional responsibilities around the decision-making and delivery of strategic transport schemes and significant cross-regional schemes such as smart ticketing. TfN will be the first of these.

Devolving strategic transport planning powers through STBs via this amendment to the Bill demonstrates the Government’s clear commitment to the Northern Powerhouse and rebalancing the economy outside of London.

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), on behalf of TfN, is looking to recruit the following role:

The role Two Year Fixed Term Contract / One Year Secondment (public sector bodies only):

Lead the development of rail strategy approaches across the Transport for the North (TfN). Support the rail strategy input required to meet the needs of multiple TfN work-streams reflecting changing requirements and external context to support strategic development in the North. Establish positive working relationships with other TfN functions and with TfN partners

The successful candidate will be responsible for the development of the policy aligned to the national frameworks. Take the lead in coordinating strategy policies and cutting across a breadth of opposing challenges in the region.

What we’re looking for:
The successful candidate will have senior policy officer experience in transport strategy and policy development within a transport orientated or local authority organisation. You will be experienced in working with transport strategy initiatives and urban policy development and in devising clear consultancy commission briefs. Excellent communication and negotiation skills are required along with the ability to balance the needs of stakeholders.

Provisional Interview Dates:        9^th & 10^th June 2016

In return, as well as a competitive salary, our other benefits are:

• 27 days holiday per annum
• Access to the local government pension scheme

For more information on the role and the kind of person we’re looking for please refer to the role profile and person specification.

If you believe you have the skills and experience we’re looking for please apply online, ensuring that in your application you provide evidence in the form of specific examples of how you meet the essential criteria in the role profile (e.g. E1,E2,E3,E4..).