Head of People Services and Systems
Northern Trains
Europe, United Kingdom, Leeds
Oops! You need to have an account to use this feature
Sign up to access features including all filters, job matching, dashboard, apply service, etc.
Compatibility Score
Compatibility Score / Job Matching
This unique feature shows a score indicating how closely this job matches the preferences you set in your profile.
Access to this feature requires signing up.
Salary
$115,604 - $122,404 Per Year
Rank
Director
Responsibility
Functional Tower Lead
Scope
Regional
Workplace
100% in office
Functions
HR
IT
Reports to
Level
N-2
Travel Max:
0%
Posting Date
07-11-2025
Description
We’re on the lookout for an exceptional leader to join Northern as Head of People Services and Systems – a critical role driving forward service excellence, digital optimisation and data-led decision-making across our People function.
We’re open to both permanent and fixed-term applicants. The timing couldn’t be more important – we’re in the middle of modernising how we work, and this role is central to our journey.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead and modernise our Shared Services function – embedding a performance- and customer-focused culture
- Drive excellence in service delivery – defining SLAs, improving responsiveness, and championing colleague experience
- Own the people data and analytics agenda – turning insights into action that influences business decisions
- Oversee our people systems optimisation – including supporting the implementation of Workday and collaborating closely with IT
- Lead strategic continuous improvement – re-engineering end-to-end process to drive efficiencies in service and ways of working
- Shape our future shared services model – playing a key role in contributing to the evolving Great British Railways (GBR) shared services strategy
- Oversee the programme management of our people strategy – collaborating with the People Leadership team to deliver our plan
Qualification & Requirements
- Experience leading people shared services or customer-facing operations in a complex, fast-paced organisation
- A strong track record in service transformation, HR systems (ideally including implementation or optimisation), and data-led decision making
- Excellent stakeholder engagement skills – calm, focused and confident in navigating competing priorities
- A practical, customer-first mindset with the ability to connect insight to action
- Resilience, curiosity, and the drive to challenge the status quo in a traditional industry
- Exposure to unionised environments and public sector or politically influenced settings would be a bonus, but not essential.
Benefits
- Insurance Benefits
- Retirement Benefits
- Vacation Policy
- Other Perks and Benefits…
Company Profile
Northern Trains
Industry
Rail Transportation
Revenue
$2.3B
Employees
7,000
Fortune 500 Rank
NA
Global 500 Rank
NA
Clicking the link below will open a new window in your browser where you can apply directly to this role. Please check out our Pricing Plans if you’d like us to apply to jobs on your behalf.
