Regional Manager

Description

We are recruiting a Regional Manager for our West Midlands Railway stations.

You will provide senior leadership, vision and drive with the station leadership team, engaging colleagues and setting clear standards for performance and behaviour. Reporting directly to the Head of Stations, you will play a key role in stakeholder engagement and work collaboratively across the business to support revenue protection initiatives, property projects, commercial opportunities, train performance improvements and the successful management of special events across the WMR network.

The role is formally based at Head Office in Birmingham, with a regular presence across the network to ensure effective management of resources and WMR stakeholder relationships continue and the needs of WM Trains are represented at all times.

Our ideal candidate will be commercially minded with a strong understanding of station operations, experience of operating within a unionised environment, and a proven track record of building and managing stakeholder relationships.

Key Responsibilities

Provide strategic leadership to station teams, ensuring strong engagement, capability, workforce planning, and positive employee relations.

Ensure that the Strategy for WMR compliments that of the rest of the organisation, working collaboratively with fellow Regional Managers.

Build and maintain strong relationships with internal teams, industry partners, community groups, and external stakeholders.

Drive continuous improvement in customer experience by embedding customer insight, cross‑functional collaboration, and real‑time issue resolution.

Ensure full compliance with safety, operational standards, and regulatory requirements while fostering a proactive safety culture.

Oversee operational performance, contingency planning, and disruption management to deliver right‑time departures and minimise customer impact.

Manage commercial performance at the stations, including ticketing availability, revenue protection support, and retail innovation.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

Excellent interpersonal skills and proven record in building, coaching and developing teams at all levels.

A high level of influence and proven record at a senior level in leading teams to deliver positive results.

A proven record in leading and delivering a customer experience cultural change programme.

Experience of successfully delivering to BAU Budgets and complex projects to deadlines.

Experience of Trade Union negotiations.

Proven track record in managing development and delivery of £multi-million operation with P/L accountability.

The ability to lead change and a passion for innovation.

Proven track record of delivering targets and projects within budget and on time.

Experience of safety management systems and regulatory compliance.

To ensure continuity and an effective delivery of service, successful candidates will be required to commit to a minimum 14-month period in role after achieving competence. This also includes existing colleagues who move by internal promotions and transfers. This time allows our future colleagues to support personal career development by allowing time to build strong knowledge and expertise.

Benefits

A defined benefit pension from day 1 – one of the best in the UK.

Free travel on all London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway services for you, your spouse/partner, and dependents.

Private Healthcare.

75% off all other train operating companies for you, your spouse/partner, and dependents.

8 Friends and Family Day passes to gift per annum on our network.

A 24/7 Virtual GP service for you and your household.

Our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)- A confidential employee benefit that supports you with personal or work-related issues affecting your home life, work life, health, or wellbeing

Our cycle to work scheme with Evans Cycles.

A retail discount portal- offering savings, discounts and cashback at over 800 retailers and restaurants.

About WM Trains

London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway operate rail services across the Midlands, the Northwest and London, with Birmingham at the heart of our network.

West Midlands Railway provides most of the local services across the region, offering direct connections to towns and cities including Redditch, Stratford‑upon‑Avon, Worcester, Hereford, Shrewsbury, Telford and Northampton. Our London Northwestern Railway brand serves the route between London and Liverpool via key locations such as Crewe, Birmingham, Milton Keynes and Northampton.

On 1st February 2026, London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway entered public ownership and both services are now part of WM Trains Limited operated by DFTO. Our mission remains unchanged: to provide a safe, comfortable and reliable service for passengers across 235 miles of track and 150 stations, from London to Liverpool and Hereford to Lichfield.

We expect over 80 million journeys to be made this year, that’s more than 1,252 services every day, and we remain committed to delivering the rail experience our passengers expect.