Lead Customer Systems Contract Manager

Who are we

First Rail London (FRL) is the train operating company responsible for running the London Overground network under a concession agreement with Transport for London (TfL). The concession began in May 2026.

First Rail London is part of FirstGroup, one of the leading rail operators and one of the largest bus operators in the UK. FirstGroup operates services throughout the UK and Ireland, with over 30,000 employees providing services that make travel smoother and life easier. FirstGroup works hard to reduce its impact on the environment, introducing cleaner and more environmentally responsible methods of transport.

About the job

The post holder will act as the responsible person to ensure the robust consistent delivery of digital assets within the Customer Experience Function within First Rail London. They will be responsible for the line management and delivery of the Asset Management team and ensuring station colleagues have a point of escalation for underperforming assets.

They will be delivering our digital strategy in relation to customer facing assets. They will pro-actively manage the maintenance contracts of our digital assets, ensuring that contractual obligations are fulfilled, or penalties applied.

The post holder will be responsible for the delivery of Telent, Worldline and other third party contractors in relation to tracking KPI penalties as a result of systems failures and escalating where appropriate.

Your main responsibilities will be:

Act as the subject matter expert on retail related subjects

Manage and motivate the Asset Management team to support all aspect of customer facing asset delivery.

Minimise KPI penalties incurred because of SISS, retail systems and gateline failures.

Responsible for the contractual delivery of Telent to maintain assets across our estate and work with procurement to identify opportunities within contract

Responsible for the contractual delivery of Worldline for assets at station

Liaise with control over requirements from the Worldline system and manage contractual delivery of provider in line with this.

Proactively manage and monitor the CCTV estate and escalate issues where identified with proposals for consideration

Use data and intelligence provided by analysts' team to identify fault/reliability trends with assets and use this to manage the supplier maintenance contracts.

Specify digital requirements, identifying improvement opportunities and working with relevant stakeholders to bring these improvements to life.

Maintain productive relationships with suppliers and contractors to ensure system performance targets are met and any emerging problems are resolved swiftly through robust management.

Keep staff and managers updated by reporting product developments in an engaging way that translates complex issues into a readily understandable message.

Provide expertise to line managers and front-line staff for digital assets.

Provide updates to the Customer Experience management team and wider business on upcoming developments with fares and retailing.

Work with the peer training and strategy team to create systems related training packages / coaching materials for staff as required.

Produce and communicate a regular communication that addresses key learning areas, industry best practice and updates working in partnership with suppliers.

Work alongside Systems Strategy Manager to identify areas for continuous improvement and innovate our approach to customer service system delivery.

Support the delivery of Infrastructure and Facilities projects

Alongside L&D and Strategy Delivery Manager, lead the development and content of ticket office training modules

Coordinate, manage and monitor retail audit reports, track remedial actions and address Improvement areas in partnership with the station team.

Ensure that ticket offices processes are compliant with the Rail Settlement Plan (RSP) and assist Internal Audit / other functions, where required, to ensure robust processes exist within ticket offices.

Support and coach the service delivery team on retail processes including surplus and loss policy, error log items and ticket office security.

Ensure the live projects are following governance and programme management processes - providing necessary project updates and support PMs in their respective governance processes and documentation

You will need to have:

Essential

SISS experience

Contract management experience

Experience of managing or using retail systems

Line Management experience

Detailed knowledge of railway systems (Telent, Worldline, Blackbox)

Detailed knowledge of railway fares and ticketing systems

Detailed knowledge of Retail Standards

Experience of managing or using retail systems

Good interpersonal skills

Good communication skills both written and spoken

Good ability to prioritise effectively

Ability to work flexibly

Desirable

Detailed understanding of railway operations

Good commercial acumen

Working towards/achieved APM accreditation

Educated to A Level or equivalent level

Highly analytical to understand complex data which can lead to action

About the location

Redmond Place - Hybrid Working

The Reward

Free Travel for you and a nominated person at your address on TfL Network - this alone is worth a potential total of £5,200 per annum

75% discount off season tickets and leisure travel on other Train Operating Companies

Discounts on European rail services after 1 year of service

First Xclusives - a benefits portal offering a wide range of benefits and discounts

Employee Assistance Programme - 24hr helpline, covering a multitude of subjects

We all belong at First Rail London. FirstGroup's vision is to provide an inclusive environment for all colleagues, across its group of businesses, ensuring all candidates have an equal opportunity to access meaningful employment.

We value our differences such as age, gender, LGBTQIA+, ethnicity, religion, and disability. We maintain a zero tolerance towards any form of prejudice towards our colleagues, customers, and future talent.

We celebrate and encourage diversity of thought, progressive ways of working and seeing all our colleagues grow and thrive.

We review all roles and job descriptions to ensure they are accessible and, where possible, we support and provide flexible working options; we recommend that you refer to each vacancy description for further details.

If you require additional support to complete your application due to a disability or neurodivergent condition, for example, dyslexia, dyspraxia, or autism, please follow the links below. We encourage you to share any additional needs you may require so we can provide a fair and equal process for all who apply.