Network Rail, the owner and operator of most of Great Britain’s rail infrastructure, are delivering the c£11bn TransPennine Route Upgrade (TRU), one of the most ambitious rail modernisation projects in the country.
Network Rail, the owner and operator of most of Great Britain’s rail infrastructure, are delivering the c£11bn TransPennine Route Upgrade (TRU), one of the most ambitious rail modernisation projects in the country.
Network Rail, the owner and operator of most of Great Britain’s rail infrastructure, are delivering the c£11bn TransPennine Route Upgrade (TRU), one of the most ambitious rail modernisation projects in the country. As a public sector body operating under the Department for Transport (DfT), Network Rail are transforming the route between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds, and York to create a faster, more reliable, and more sustainable railway for the future.
For this role, Network Rail were looking to recruit the TRU Alliance Managing Director to establish a new operating model and structure within the alliance. With this, the successful candidate would need to cultivate a culture that would drive the successful delivery of projects in the W3 & W4 region. This pivotal leadership role required integrity and efficiency in overseeing all disciplines, ensuring the creation of a highly effective delivery team responsible for c£3bn of multidisciplinary capital works.
The TRU programme is a nationally significant programme that will have an unprecedented impact on transport links in the North. This was therefore a unique opportunity to leave a lasting legacy in the North of England.
The successful candidate would collaborate closely with the Programme Director and the West of Leeds Alliance Board, ensuring project objectives were met across three key delivery vehicles within a hub-and-spoke model: civils, signalling, and track & electrification.
Given the scale and complexity of the TransPennine Route Upgrade (TRU), this role demanded a highly experienced leader with a proven track record in major infrastructure and engineering programmes, ideally within rail.
Recognising the project’s significance, it was essential for the chosen candidate to have experience with a Tier 1 infrastructure contractor, major client organisation with sizeable capital delivery programmes, or an EPC contractor. Rail experience was not essential for this role, so research encompassed all major programmes within regulated infrastructure.
The key to succeeding in this process was to find candidates with significant experience working on collaborative, major programmes. Ideally candidates would have some experience in leading change or transformation programmes alongside programme delivery, as implementing the new structure was a key element to this role.
Many of the candidates we sourced for this role were already known to us, so we utilised our extensive internal database and networks as a first port of call. We also conducted a wider global search to highlight collaborative alliances and enterprises internationally that had worked on large infrastructure programmes.
Location was a key issue faced for this role it was difficult to attract candidates to a role where the majority of the time would be spent working in the North. Particularly international candidates were reluctant to relocate to the North of England rather than London. To overcome this, we focused on candidates with a link to the north or candidates with lots of transient major programmes experience who were well traversed in relocating for exciting opportunities.
Due to the exceptional calibre of our candidates, the preferred candidate was highly sought after and received multiple counteroffers. Through our strategic guidance and strong relationships, we successfully navigated these challenges to secure the best outcome for both our clients and the candidate who secured the role.
From a longlist of 74 candidates, we presented a shortlist of 6 candidates. The successful candidate had over 20 years of experience including delivery of £multi-billion contracts within rail. Additionally, their background in the British Army and expertise in defence provided them with a unique skill set, further strengthening their leadership capabilities and ability to manage the organisational change.
