Refranchise Project Directors

Role: Refranchise Project Directors (x2)
Location: Central London
Type: Contract
Duration: 2 years
Rate: £700 - £740 per day

Our Central London-based client is looking to recruit two Refranchise Project Directors to be responsible for the successful delivery of a specific refranchising project, accountable for leading all aspects of the project.

You will have at least three direct reports and will also be supported by a Programme Management Office and range of personnel from external consultancies covering legal, technical and financial matters. They will form part of a senior leadership team within the programme to improve the Department's capabilities and capacity to successfully deliver the Refranchising Programme.

Key challenges
The key challenges faced by the role holder include:
o Working closely across the rail industry at a senior level to evaluate and develop market interest in the franchise;
o Developing, testing and implementing a new approach to refranchising specification and procurement;
o Ensuring that processes for evaluating bids are systematic, robust, consistent and that the outcome delivers best value for taxpayers;
o Understanding and best meeting the needs of a range of stakeholders with a vested interest in the re-franchising programme, through astute and effective, highly complex, multi-faceted engagement across all levels;
o Ensuring the project is in a timely state of readiness for a range of high profile scrutiny reviews and that the project team responds to the findings of those reviews and learns for future programmes;

The role
o To lead the project to its successful conclusion, with a franchise that is enabled to deliver agreed benefits to passengers and tax payers;
o To own the project's commercial strategy, ensuring that the commercial proposition is marketable, affordable and compliant with the specification agreed with the Programme SRO;
o To ensure that best practice governance approaches are in place for the stewardship of the refranchising process;
o To represent the Department externally by leading engagement with pre-qualified bidders through to contract award.

Experience required
o Extensive experience of leading the development and implementation of significant, complex, high risk, high value projects and programmes;
o Strong commercial track record, including considerable experience of conducting complex negotiations with third parties;
o Experience of assessing complex changes and managing a change control system;
o Track record of providing strategic challenge on projects to improve development and delivery;
o Track record of successfully managing the complexity of interdependencies across multiple programmes;
o Experience of working in a political environment and ability to handle sensitive issues with tact;
o Experience of working with multiple senior stakeholders with competing interests;
o Highly developed leadership skills as part of a senior leadership team;
o Ability to demonstrate significant impact in order to be professionally credible both externally and internally and with major delivery partners;
o A figure who is quickly able to command confidence with experience at negotiating at the most senior level within a particular sector;
o First class communication skills with the ability to build strong networks and influence across sectors and ability to work well in a political environment;
o Ability to analyse complex and inter-related issues in order to deliver effectively.
o A strong understanding of the UK rail industry, including the complex interfaces between different bodies and the operational and commercial environment within which it functions.

If you possess the above skills and experience necessary to deliver this fantastic opportunity - please apply before 28th March to be considered.

Badenoch & Clark - Let's find the career that connects with your life. Badenoch & Clark is acting as an Employment Business in relation to this vacancy. Badenoch & Clark is an Equal Opportunity Employer and a registered Disability Symbol User.