Retail and Product Specialist

What is the purpose of this job?

Help Shape the Future of Britain's Railway

Rail Delivery Group (RDG) partners with Britain’s train operators to put customers at the heart of everything we do, delivering essential services and dedicated experts who keep the nation’s railway running efficiently. 

From journey information, reservations and Railcards to improving performance, safety and accessibility, we drive the services and people that keep the railway moving. Anyone who has travelled by train or booked a journey for friends or family, will have used our services. We are integral to the running of the railway and play a crucial part at every stage of the customer journey – making sure we are delivering a better railway for all our customers, now and in the future.

As we embark on a new era for rail, we are now looking for a Retail and Product Specialist to join us. If you are motivated by meaningful work and want to play a role in the future of Britain's railway, we'd love to hear from you!

We believe that the art of project and programme management is the balance of inspiring a shared strategic vision with co-ordinating multiple workstreams and providing direction and specialist knowledge and support across project teams.

This role is required to provide programmes, projects and other industry initiatives being managed, or delivered, by RDG with product & retail expertise (Subject Matter Expertise). This role will support the project and operational teams with decision making and problem solving sharing their extensive retail knowledge to successfully deliver the objectives within scope, time, and budget across the whole project lifecycle. This role will be measured by the successful delivery of projects and programmes within both our organisation, and where appropriate our member organisations too.

What can I expect to do in this job?

• Provide knowledge, experience, and support across fares, ticket and retail solutions; both customer facing (e.g., webTIS, retailing websites and mobile apps, and TVMs) and those for staff use (e.g., handheld devices and staff apps), the retailing of rail tickets and products, customer experience, and the associated back office industry systems (e.g. fares engine and reservations). 
• Lead on the Product and Retail aspects of the programmes and projects you are assigned to and support the Project and Programme Managers with strategic decisions and the implementation/delivery of those decisions.
• Engage with external stakeholders, including DfT, DfTO/FTR, TOCs and suppliers as required.
• Represent and champion programmes within RDG and with external stakeholders, resolve blockers, working with the Programme or Project Manager to develop a strong and capable team and where necessary, support multiple projects and programmes simultaneously.
• Ensure projects and programmes remain aligned with the overall strategic goals and objectives of RDG.
• Assist the Programme or Project Managers with the creation of Business Cases, including costs, cost savings and other benefits, supporting with the presentation of these to the RDG Exec and other Governance bodies to gain approval for procurement of services and delivery of associated projects.
• Adhere to RDG Project Delivery Framework standards and procedures and identify and implement improvements to these standards and procedures. This includes supporting the Programme and Project Managers with the RDG Risk Management process.

What experience, skills and knowledge do I need?

We are less interested in ticking every box and more interested in finding someone who can make a positive contribution to our team.

We are looking for someone with extensive experience of working across product and retail channels, within TOCs, or owning groups.  You will be able to demonstrate a strong aptitude for the role and good retail and product knowledge within the rail industry. Some of the specific skills and knowledge we are looking for include:

•  Prior roles in Retail, Product and Customer Experience (for example within eCommerce, website and / or mobile app development, UX, supplier management, station retail, or fares and ticketing), ideally within Rail.
• Experience of working on both short-term project delivery, and longer-term industry retail or commercial strategies.
• Support of the delivery of multiple concurrent projects within the agreed constraints of time, budget and demonstrating alignment to strategic objectives.
• Ability to make decisions relating to project product priorities and communicating the rationale for those decisions.
• Experience of identifying risks, issues, dependencies, assumptions.
• Ability to form good working relationships with all internal Governance teams.
• Excellent communication skills, liaising with all relevant stakeholders across industry and participating in all relevant forums.  

Benefits

Why Work for RDG?

We offer a highly competitive package, including:

• 75% discount on rail travel (for work and leisure), plus international rail discounts
• 30 Days annual leave (plus buy/sell options and additional leave for key life events)
• Two Personal Development Days are granted to employees annually
• Interest-free Season Ticket Loan for commuting costs
• Enhanced family leave – 30 weeks full pay for maternity, adoption, surrogacy, and shared parental leave
• Pension scheme – up to 8.64% employer contribution
• Subsidised Private Medical Insurance (Vitality PPP) and Health Cash Plan (Healthshield)
• Access to our flexible benefits portal - a central hub for accessing retail discounts, shopping, dining, travel, and entertainment perks
• Flexible working arrangements available