People & Culture Director
Posted 11 days 2 hours ago by Govia Thameslink Railway Ltd.
Permanent
Full Time
Executive Jobs
London, United Kingdom
Job Description
GTR and Network Rail Sussex are bringing track and train closer together to create an integrated, high-performing railway for our customers, colleagues and communities.
We are now seeking an exceptional People & Culture Director to join the Integrated Executive Team and lead the people, culture, and organisational transformation agenda across the railway.
Reporting directly to the Managing Director, this is a significant Executive appointment with responsibility for shaping the workforce, leadership, culture and organisational capability required to support the future integrated railway.
You will lead a People & Culture function of around 90 colleagues across Employee Relations, people Services, Culture, EDI, Learning & Development, Talent Acquisition, Internal Communications and Business Partnering, supporting a workforce of more than 9,000 people.
Our newly created railway will become part of Great British Railways (GBR) as the rail industry is set for a once in a generation transformation with the aim of building a railway for everyone in Britain.
The opportunity This is a pivotal role at a defining point in the development of the railway. GTR and Network Rail Sussex bring together different organisations, employment frameworks, cultures, systems and ways of working. The People & Culture Director will play a central role in creating a more joined-up organisation: breaking down boundaries, reducing duplication, strengthening leadership capability and creating the conditions for teams across track and train to work effectively together.
You will be a key adviser to the Managing Director, Executive Team and Board, shaping decisions on workforce strategy, organisational design, industrial relations, culture, leadership and transformation.
This is not simply a functional People leadership role. It is an Executive role with direct influence over how the integrated railway is organised, led and equipped to deliver safe, reliable and high-performing services.
What youwill be responsible for You will:
What we are looking for We are looking for a senior People leader with the credibility, judgement and experience to operate at Executive and Board level in a large, complex organisation.
You will bring:
Tonderai Matizha Johnson
Area Operations Manager
"When I saw that GTR was advertising places for its apprenticeship scheme I looked into it straight away because I thought it was a great opportunity to learn whilst getting real life experience in a 9 5 job. I applied for a level three business administration apprenticeship and was thrilled to find out I had a place on the course! I was so excited that I didn't even mind it was based 250 miles away from where I lived."
"Working for GTR is very rewarding and fulfilling. You really feel like you're making a difference to customers, no matter what role you're in as at the end of the day they're the heart of our business. I've had lots of opportunities to explore other aspects of the business including supporting our station staff and gaining my Train Dispatch Licence which has been enriching for my experience here."
"If you've always had an interest in rail, or maybe you're just curious to find out what working in the railway might look like, GTR is the operator to go for. Not many companies do an official work experience program and this unique opportunity will give you a good grounding with varied activities to help you find the best place in the railway for you. It certainly did it for me."
Nathaniel Owen
Station Manager
"I work as part of the Fleet Infrastructure team, which means ensuring our 18 Engineering locations operate safely and efficiently. We oversee all building and track maintenance works as well as various minor and major projects across the network."
"I started in a small ticket office back in 1996 and have continued to work my way up ever since. A previous manager told me about a job he'd seen advertised for a trainer. 'd never considered a job in HR or mentoring before then, but he said I'd be perfect for it and I haven't looked back since!"
Zoey Hudson
Head of Talent, Diversity and Inclusion
"Since April, I've helped to support our Kickstart Scheme. It's been a really rewarding process to be part of because I know first hand how tough it can be to find work once you're out of it."
"I'm a Thameslink passenger host and team leader based at Luton station and I'm currently doing a Level 3 Supervisor apprenticeship so that I can improve my skills even further. I was hesitant to do the apprenticeship at first because of my age - I left school over 60 years ago without any qualifications! It's been hard to get back into the routine of learning again."
"It was my brother's suggestion to join the railway. He was already working in the industry and knew I had some university bills to pay off so told me to give it a go, get out of debt and see what I wanted to do next. After a while, it just felt like actually - this is exactly where I'm meant to be. I'm part of a great team and the on board department as a whole are brilliant to work with. I feel at home here."
Tonderai Matizha Johnson
Area Operations Manager
"When I saw that GTR was advertising places for its apprenticeship scheme I looked into it straight away because I thought it was a great opportunity to learn whilst getting real life experience in a 9 5 job. I applied for a level three business administration apprenticeship and was thrilled to find out I had a place on the course! I was so excited that I didn't even mind it was based 250 miles away from where I lived."
"Working for GTR is very rewarding and fulfilling. You really feel like you're making a difference to customers, no matter what role you're in as at the end of the day they're the heart of our business. I've had lots of opportunities to explore other aspects of the business including supporting our station staff and gaining my Train Dispatch Licence which has been enriching for my experience here."
"If you've always had an interest in rail, or maybe you're just curious to find out what working in the railway might look like, GTR is the operator to go for. Not many companies do an official work experience program and this unique opportunity will give you a good grounding with varied activities to help you find the best place in the railway for you. It certainly did it for me."
Nathaniel Owen
Station Manager
"I work as part of the Fleet Infrastructure team, which means ensuring our 18 Engineering locations operate safely and efficiently . click apply for full job details
We are now seeking an exceptional People & Culture Director to join the Integrated Executive Team and lead the people, culture, and organisational transformation agenda across the railway.
Reporting directly to the Managing Director, this is a significant Executive appointment with responsibility for shaping the workforce, leadership, culture and organisational capability required to support the future integrated railway.
You will lead a People & Culture function of around 90 colleagues across Employee Relations, people Services, Culture, EDI, Learning & Development, Talent Acquisition, Internal Communications and Business Partnering, supporting a workforce of more than 9,000 people.
Our newly created railway will become part of Great British Railways (GBR) as the rail industry is set for a once in a generation transformation with the aim of building a railway for everyone in Britain.
The opportunity This is a pivotal role at a defining point in the development of the railway. GTR and Network Rail Sussex bring together different organisations, employment frameworks, cultures, systems and ways of working. The People & Culture Director will play a central role in creating a more joined-up organisation: breaking down boundaries, reducing duplication, strengthening leadership capability and creating the conditions for teams across track and train to work effectively together.
You will be a key adviser to the Managing Director, Executive Team and Board, shaping decisions on workforce strategy, organisational design, industrial relations, culture, leadership and transformation.
This is not simply a functional People leadership role. It is an Executive role with direct influence over how the integrated railway is organised, led and equipped to deliver safe, reliable and high-performing services.
What youwill be responsible for You will:
- Be a member of the Leadership team of the largest railway in the country.
- Lead the People & Culture strategy to create a more integrated and inclusive railway, ensuring alignment with business, operational and financial priorities.
- Act as principal adviser to the Managing Director, Executive Team and Board on workforce strategy, organisational capability, culture, leadership and industrial relations.
- Lead the people aspects of integration and major organisational transformation across GTR and Network Rail Sussex.
- Shape organisation design and workforce plans to ensure the right capability, skills and leadership are in place for the future
- Create a coherent cultural approach across the integrated railway, building trust, collaboration and accountability across organisational boundaries and helping to ensure that our railway becomes purpose driven delivering key outcomes such as driving economic growth and enabling social mobility
- Lead the Industrial Relations strategy, developing constructive relationships with trade unions and employee representatives
- Provide senior leadership on complex employee relations matters
- Lead leadership, talent succession, and capability development across the business.
- Shape recruitment and talent acquisition priorities to support long-term growth plans, workforce resilience and critical skills requirements
- Lead learning and development strategy and strengthen capability across the organisation
- Overseeculture, engagement, equity, diversity and inclusion
- Ensure effectivePeople governance, policy and employee lifecycle processes.
- Lead internal communication strategies that support employee engagement and organisational change.
- Build strong relationships with Network Rail Group, DFTO, DfT, trade unions, industry partners and other senior stakeholders.
- Contribute to the widerdevelopment of the GBR People & Culture agenda
- Participate in theExecutive on-call rota for significant business issues
What we are looking for We are looking for a senior People leader with the credibility, judgement and experience to operate at Executive and Board level in a large, complex organisation.
You will bring:
- Significant senior People leadership experience in a large, complex, or matrix organisation.
- A strong track record of leading major organisational change and transformation.
- Substantial industrial and employee relations experience, including senior trade union relationships.
- Strong organisation design and workforce planning capability.
Tonderai Matizha Johnson
Area Operations Manager
"When I saw that GTR was advertising places for its apprenticeship scheme I looked into it straight away because I thought it was a great opportunity to learn whilst getting real life experience in a 9 5 job. I applied for a level three business administration apprenticeship and was thrilled to find out I had a place on the course! I was so excited that I didn't even mind it was based 250 miles away from where I lived."
"Working for GTR is very rewarding and fulfilling. You really feel like you're making a difference to customers, no matter what role you're in as at the end of the day they're the heart of our business. I've had lots of opportunities to explore other aspects of the business including supporting our station staff and gaining my Train Dispatch Licence which has been enriching for my experience here."
"If you've always had an interest in rail, or maybe you're just curious to find out what working in the railway might look like, GTR is the operator to go for. Not many companies do an official work experience program and this unique opportunity will give you a good grounding with varied activities to help you find the best place in the railway for you. It certainly did it for me."
Nathaniel Owen
Station Manager
"I work as part of the Fleet Infrastructure team, which means ensuring our 18 Engineering locations operate safely and efficiently. We oversee all building and track maintenance works as well as various minor and major projects across the network."
"I started in a small ticket office back in 1996 and have continued to work my way up ever since. A previous manager told me about a job he'd seen advertised for a trainer. 'd never considered a job in HR or mentoring before then, but he said I'd be perfect for it and I haven't looked back since!"
Zoey Hudson
Head of Talent, Diversity and Inclusion
"Since April, I've helped to support our Kickstart Scheme. It's been a really rewarding process to be part of because I know first hand how tough it can be to find work once you're out of it."
"I'm a Thameslink passenger host and team leader based at Luton station and I'm currently doing a Level 3 Supervisor apprenticeship so that I can improve my skills even further. I was hesitant to do the apprenticeship at first because of my age - I left school over 60 years ago without any qualifications! It's been hard to get back into the routine of learning again."
"It was my brother's suggestion to join the railway. He was already working in the industry and knew I had some university bills to pay off so told me to give it a go, get out of debt and see what I wanted to do next. After a while, it just felt like actually - this is exactly where I'm meant to be. I'm part of a great team and the on board department as a whole are brilliant to work with. I feel at home here."
Tonderai Matizha Johnson
Area Operations Manager
"When I saw that GTR was advertising places for its apprenticeship scheme I looked into it straight away because I thought it was a great opportunity to learn whilst getting real life experience in a 9 5 job. I applied for a level three business administration apprenticeship and was thrilled to find out I had a place on the course! I was so excited that I didn't even mind it was based 250 miles away from where I lived."
"Working for GTR is very rewarding and fulfilling. You really feel like you're making a difference to customers, no matter what role you're in as at the end of the day they're the heart of our business. I've had lots of opportunities to explore other aspects of the business including supporting our station staff and gaining my Train Dispatch Licence which has been enriching for my experience here."
"If you've always had an interest in rail, or maybe you're just curious to find out what working in the railway might look like, GTR is the operator to go for. Not many companies do an official work experience program and this unique opportunity will give you a good grounding with varied activities to help you find the best place in the railway for you. It certainly did it for me."
Nathaniel Owen
Station Manager
"I work as part of the Fleet Infrastructure team, which means ensuring our 18 Engineering locations operate safely and efficiently . click apply for full job details