Rail Franchise Commercial Manager

The salary range for this post is £56,488 - £67,660 (pro rata for part time).

Transport Scotland is the national transport agency for Scotland and is accountable to Parliament and the public through Scottish Ministers, with a budget of around £2 billion per year. Transport is a vital feature of the Scottish Government's focus on increasing sustainable economic growth, and transport investments and policies have major impacts on the economy, people, and the environment.

Transport Scotland is starting a period of transition, with the completion of a number of major infrastructure projects and a greater emphasis on the promotion of air quality, active travel, accessibility, and the development of the low carbon economy. This is underpinned by the development of a new National Transport Strategy covering Scotland’s transport needs and priorities for the next 20 years. The recent Programme for Government and the agency’s corporate plan set out a range of associated activities.

Our challenge is to make sure that we have an organisation that is structured and operates as efficiently, flexibly, and creatively as possible. This post is part of that transformation.

The post holder will be responsible for overseeing the management of the current rail franchises – ScotRail and the Caledonian Sleeper, with specific emphasis on leading complex contractual negotiations and variations on behalf of Scottish Ministers. The post holder will lead our negotiations in the event we progress the contract provisions to negotiate a rebasing of the ScotRail contract by March 2020, which may result in the contract term fulfilling a 10 year duration (to March 2025). Where this has not been directed, the post holder will play a key role in developing and delivering on a procurement strategy for potential future franchise awards.

The role will also require the postholder to lead on continued agency preparedness and contingency planning, in the event Scottish Ministers are required to utilise their powers under Section 30 of the Railways Act (as amended 2005). This ensures the operation of passenger services in the event a franchise agreement is terminated or otherwise comes to an end but no further contract has been entered into in respect of the services.

For further candidate information and an application form please click the 'Apply' button.

Closing date: Sunday 18 March at midnight