Job Purpose

This is an exciting opportunity for you to lead Railway Safety Directorate’s (RSD) monitoring of Network Rail's delivery plan for health and safety.

Periodic reviews are one of the principal mechanisms by which ORR holds Network Rail to account and secures value for money for users and funders of the railway.  We have recently set out our decisions on Network Rail’s outputs and funding for control period 7 (CP7), which runs from 2024 to 2029. This role will be responsible for ensuring Network Rail meets the commitments set out in its health and safety delivery plans for CP7 and future control periods.

Safety was one of our four key objectives for the 2023 period review (PR23). This role will ensure Network Rail delivers the outputs expected to maintain health and safety performance. You will be expected to assess and monitor Network Rails plans and progress to ensure they are delivering on time and achieving the desired outcomes for priority safety programmes. 

Key Responsibilities

Your key responsibilities, although not exhaustive, will include:

• Leading and monitoring Network Rail’s delivery plan for current (April 2024 to 2029) and future control periods. Checking progress against the most critical items in in the delivery plan – and flag any early signs of failure to deliver/inadequate performance.
• Influence, persuade, support and challenge Network Rail as necessary to ensure maintained focus on delivering health and safety priorities for Control Period 7 (CP7), especially effective adoption of the safety risk bow tie framework.
• Identify any gaps in RSD scrutiny and input into work planning with suggested ways to fill gaps or to highlight emerging priority topics.
• Be RSD’s lead representative in processes to examine any changes Network Rail proposes to its plans, including financial reforecasting.
• Collaborate with colleagues across ORR to ensure safety is integrated effectively within existing forums for scrutiny of Network Rail in CP7, by attending a range of central and regional meetings where progress is checked, and Network Rail is held to account.
• Support RSD colleagues. Share intelligence from the range of meetings with colleagues in operational, specialist and policy teams as appropriate, via a regular forum and succinct written communication.
• Ensure effective two-way communication – seeking and taking account of the views of others in RSD and taking account of other work being done relevant to our priority areas for CP7.
• Provide regular reports to RSD’s senior team.
• Act as liaison between RSD and RPP Asset Management – working collaboratively to shape the Targeted Assurance Review (TAR) programme and use of independent reporter work so that it includes our priorities.
• Lead and co-ordinate the next periodic review (PR28) by liaising with Railway Safety colleagues and other parts of ORR to draw up plans.

Essential Criteria

When assessing your application, these are the criteria that you are assessed against:

This job description provides an overview of key duties and responsibilities and is not exhaustive. You may be expected to undertake other duties and responsibilities within the scope of your role and as appropriate for your grade.

This role can be based at any of our office locations: London, Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, York, Glasgow.

This is an exciting opportunity for you to lead Railway Safety Directorate’s (RSD) monitoring of Network Rail's delivery plan for health and safety. 

At ORR we have adopted hybrid working and are currently expected to work from a workplace location for a minimum of two days per week.

From £52,344 to £61,039