Suffolk County Council

Regional Rail and Mass Transit Lead
£40,455 - £51,631 per annum (pro rata if part time)
37 hours per week
Permanent
Closing date: 11.30pm, 3 May 2022
Reference: 4439

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join Transport East as a Regional Rail and Mass Transit Lead.

• Are you an experienced, self-motivated, and strategically minded individual with demonstrable experience in strategic transport matters?
• Can you work closely with a range of partners across the public and private sector to deliver results?
• Would you like to work in an incredibly varied, challenging and rewarding role?
• Are you passionate about making a difference for transport in the East region and supporting the transition to Net Zero?

Transport East is an independent partnership of local authorities and other bodies, covering Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock. As one of seven Sub national Transport Bodies in England, our role is to speak with a single voice on the region’s transport strategy and investment priorities. The Transport East region is of huge importance to the UK. It is home to 3.5 million people and 1.7 million jobs. With a vibrant economy worth £73 billion, it is already one of the fastest growing regions in the UK outside of London.

The draft Transport East Strategy and supporting documentation can be found here, https://www.transporteast.org.uk/

Investment in better rail and mass transit is vital for the future success of the East, and our transition to Net Zero.

Within our regional transport strategy, Transport East has prioritised the urgent need to produce Rail and Mass Transit Plans for the East, to identify and make the case for the next generation of rail and mass transit projects to help people and goods travel more sustainably and support economic growth.

The staff of Transport East are hosted by Suffolk County Council, on behalf of the wider partnership.

Your role
As the Regional Rail and Mass Transit Lead, you will be an experienced, self-motivated and strategically minded individual with demonstrable experience in strategic transport planning. You will have a track record of solving complex, unstructured problems and anticipate issues by working collaboratively with partners from across the region, Government departments and associated organisations.

You will:
• Develop a Rail and Mass Rapid Transit evidence base and strategic plans for the East Region, ensuring cross-boundary connectivity and integration with other modes
• Develop the Transport East Rail Programme and produce a pipeline of activity for rail and mass transit to provide an evidence base to support the delivery of Transport East’s strategic objectives
• Work collaboratively at the political and officer level across all of our partners to ensure the work of Transport East captures their expectations and ambitions
• Lead the work programme for the recently formed Transport East Rail Group, and support the work programme of existing rail task forces in the region
• Be a single point of contact for strategic rail matters for the Transport East partnership, developing Transport East’s future relationships with DfT, Network Rail, Great British Railways, Transport operators and other partners
• Commission and manage studies and business case development to progress our strategic rail and mass transit priorities.

You will be part of a dynamic and motivated team, operating in a high energy and professional environment: creativity and innovative thought are encouraged and allows the team to develop their own capabilities and ambitions.

You will need:
• Substantial relevant experience of working in a relevant technical/professional field, with evidence of work responsibilities appropriate to the role and appropriate specialist expertise
• Excellent technical and/or professional knowledge and understanding of the wider policy connections at both national and local level; good knowledge of wider sector/external influences
• Proven ability of leading the development of a strategy
• Experience of partnership working and of establishing, maintaining and developing effective working relationships at all levels across partner organisations operating at the regional level
• Highly developed verbal and written skills to interpret complex legislation, guidelines and technical information to produce reports, recommendations and advice for a wide range of audiences using a variety of media. Also, able to demonstrate political awareness and good understanding of local government.

You can view a full list of requirements in the Job and Person Profile (link below). If you think you have what it takes to be successful in this role, even if you don’t meet all the requirements, please apply. We would appreciate the opportunity to consider your application.

We will offer you:
• Flexible working -?we currently operate digitally day-to-day, and whilst we anticipate returning to the office more frequently in the?future, we are likely to retain a hybrid working style. You will be expected to travel to the office in Ipswich Suffolk, a couple of times a week. Travel to London, across the East or to other regions will also be expected on an occasional basis.
• Career growth – a varied work profile across all areas of communications in collaboration with regional and national organisations.

Travelling requirements for your role
We positively encourage the use of technology to communicate, but in this role you will need to travel to locations away from your contractual base, so you must either hold a full and current driving licence and have access to personal transport or meet the mobility requirements of the role through other reasonable and suitable means. If you require a reasonable adjustment due to a disability to meet the travel requirements of this role, please speak with the contact detailed below.

To find out more
For an informal discussion about this role, please contact Suzanne Buck on (01473) 260443.

How to apply:
To apply and for further details, please click here.

Closing date: 11.30pm, 3 May 2022.

Due to the continued situation relating to COVID-19 and reduced occupancy in our buildings we are starting to explore and trial new hybrid and remote working practices. If you wish to discuss how that might impact your working arrangements, please contact the recruiting manager listed above.

This authority is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. DBS checks or police vetting will be required for relevant posts.