Track Access and Charging Reform Lead

The Government has committed to overhauling the railways in Great Britain, putting passengers at the heart of the service by bringing passenger services into public ownership as existing contracts expire. Great British Railways (GBR) will deliver a unified system that focuses on reliable, affordable, high-quality, and efficient services; along with ensuring safety and accessibility. A vital part of this will be reform of the existing rules, regulations and processes for how operators such as freight and open access get onto the GBR managed infrastructure and how much they pay to access it. A new Access and Charging Reform Team sitting within the Financial, Commercial and Access Reform division in the Rail Reform Directorate has been established to deliver this important part of the rail reform programme, a key Ministerial ambition for a simpler, more efficient and integrated railway under GBR. This is a core policy team that leads on policy central to the Governments vision for rail reform including the end state model for delivering passenger services in public ownership model, working with the private sector, network access and the financial framework, charging and incentives for Great British Railways and the wider system that will ensure best outcomes for passengers, freight customers and taxpayers. In this role you will lead on reform of the Office for Rail and Road (ORR) in access and charging. This is a complex policy area working to time limits for the development of policy for inclusion in the proposed Rail Reform Bill. You will work collaboratively with colleagues across the Directorate, Great British Railways, the Rail Regulator and can expect to engage and present, what will potentially be seen as controversial policy proposals and ideas, to senior industry stakeholders. This is a fantastic challenging and rewarding opportunity to influence policy, and to shape a key part of a major Government programme. ResponsibilitiesWill include but not be limited to: Leading and delivering reforms to the role of the regulator within the access and charging framework, that meet Ministers ambitions for a simpler, more efficient and integrated publicly owned railway under the new Great British Railways, that maximises value for both its customers and taxpayers. Lead, manage and develop your team, setting a clear direction and empowering and supporting them to identify and deliver the most appropriate options and outcomes for those reform workstreams your team is responsible for. Lead the development of policy from initial development through to preparation of your teams section of the public consultation on reforms, ensuring cross-Government agreement and the subsequent Government response. Lead on their own parts of the primary legislation to deliver reforms, ensuing they have anticipated the likely controversial parts of the legislation and prepared appropriate responses, so Ministers are well prepared for Parliamentary debates. Manage stakeholder relationships and maintain these throughout the policy development process, communicating our position with confidence, impact and influence, and creating an open, honest environment for industry to engage with government.For full details see the attached role profile.If you would like to find out more about what it's like to work at DfT Rail, please click here. Further information on policy roles in the Department can be found here https://careers.dft.gov.uk/policy/.