Appointment details

Great British Railways - Chair

Summary
About the appointment
Person specification
Application and selection process
Additional information for candidates
Attachments

Summary

Organisation
Sponsor department: Department for Transport
Location
Sectors: Transport
Skills: Business, Communication, Transformation
Number of vacancies: 1
Time commitment: 10 day(s) per month
Remuneration: £200,000 to £300,000 per annum
Length of term: 3 years
Application deadline: Midday on 23 February 2026

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Timeline for this appointment

Opening date

26 January 2026
Application deadline

Midday on 23 February 2026
Sifting date

13 March 2026
Interviews expected to end on

3 April 2026

Timeline dates are only an estimate and can change

About the appointment

Introduction

About Great British Railways

Great British Railways (GBR) will be a new publicly owned company that will unite responsibility for providing safe and reliable passenger services with efficiently managing and optimising infrastructure as a critical UK asset.

GBR will provide a service that touches millions of lives daily. It will be

charged with improving train performance, growing revenue, unlocking new house-building opportunities, and increasing the use of rail freight.

GBR will bring together track and train to deliver a railway that is:

Reliable Affordable
Efficient
High quality
Accessible
Safe

At its heart, GBR is about transforming the passenger experience – making every journey seamless, safe, and satisfying. Being the inaugural Chair is your opportunity to lead that transformation.

Great British Railways Board

The Great British Railways Board will be key to improving the rail journeys of millions of people through taking a customer-first mindset and managing and optimising its infrastructure assets to improve the resilience and performance of the network. It will also steer cultural transformation across a workforce of over 100,000 people, integrating multiple organisations into one unified, customer-focused entity.

The Great British Railways Board will support the executive to oversee approx. £20 billion expenditure and drive a more financially sustainable railway which takes a whole system approach to market development, retailing, and revenue and efficiency.

This is a leadership challenge of national importance – requiring

resilience, influence, and the ability to inspire confidence in a

complex and challenging stakeholder environment. As the Great British rail network is devolved, the Board, led by the Chair, will need to take into account the views of the Scottish Government.

The role of the board in the initial stage will be focused on the smooth transition to GBR ahead of focusing on what needs to be delivered. It will require a balance between drawing on Network Rail and DfT Operator expertise and the additional skills and experience needed to ensure GBR can deliver on its priorities from Day 1.

This will be subject to change as GBR evolves over time and different skills become more relevant. The board will be the first line of assurance, supporting and challenging the executive, so that GBR is meeting its strategic priorities.

We would expect the Chair of Great British Railways to help shape the board.

Introduction from the Minister

Dear Applicant,

Thank you for your interest in the role of Chair of Great British Railways.

This is not just a job – it’s a once in a generation leadership opportunity to transform Britain’s railways into a world-class service that relentlessly puts passengers and customers first.

Great British Railways will be one of the UK Government’s most significant public bodies with c. £20 billion expenditure and over 100,000 employees.

It will also oversee one of the biggest retail operations in the UK, with annual ticketing turnover at a scale that demands sharp commercial acumen and an unwavering focus on customer experience.

As the inaugural Chair, you will lead a bold mission to reimagine how rail serves the nation, driving transformational and cultural change and commercial excellence across one of the UK’s largest public bodies, whilst being responsible for the safety of the railway and everyone who interacts with it; staff, passengers and the public.

You will do this by shaping GBR’s culture and strategy, managing and optimising infrastructure assets, being a powerful advocate for

passengers and freight customers, and championing safety, reliability, and accessibility. You will ensure GBR delivers an excellent service for passengers – now and for generations to come, delivers value for the tax and fare payer, and unlocks economic growth and innovation.

We are seeking an excellent leader with deep strategic insight, strong governance experience, and a commitment to delivering for the public. This is a role for someone who can inspire confidence, navigate complexity, work closely and confidently with senior stakeholders in a complex and challenging landscape, and champion customers.

We very much welcome applications from proven leaders of all

backgrounds - from both within and outside the rail sector. We are

committed to diversity and believe our public appointments should reflect our customers - the travelling public - who come from all walks of life. We welcome fresh talent, and perspectives, to help us better understand the needs of the communities we serve. This includes people who never have applied for a public appointment – but could bring new ideas, insights, and energy.

If you share our ambition to build a world-class railway that is reliable, safe, sustainable, and responsive to the people it serves, I encourage you to apply. This is your chance to transform the future of one of our most important national assets.

Thank you once again for your interest. I wish you the very best in your application.

GatenbySanderson are happy to talk through the process and answer your questions.

Heidi Alexander

Secretary of State for Transport

Appointment description

About the role

Chair role

This is a high-profile, high-impact role for a leader who thrives on complexity and transformation. You will be the visible champion of GBR – in the media, in UK government, and across industry – driving a relentless focus on passengers and customers while safeguarding safety and operational integrity. You will provide external advice and expertise to inform the Minister’s decisions.

You will work with a vast array of stakeholders including Devolved

Administrations and Mayoral Combined Authorities, ensuring a high-quality network and tailored public service is delivered for their area’s specific needs. You will champion freight to encourage more businesses and customers to move their products by rail on a reliable and punctual service. You will play a leading role in the UK Government’s growth objectives, ensuring connectivity across Britain as well as utilising railway land for the development of new homes and creating new job opportunities.

GBR design:

Shape GBR’s design and culture to put users at the centre of every decision, including recruiting the GBR CEO and non-executive directors.
Keep safety at the heart of GBR design.
Working closely with the Network Rail and DfT Operator chairs, lead the integration of infrastructure, assets, and operations into a single, agile organisation.
Drive transformation across a complex workforce and embed a culture of excellence and accountability.

Once GBR is stood up:

Be the passionate advocate for passengers and customers, ensuring GBR delivers a retail and travel experience that rivals the best in the world.
Be a visible leader of GBR from Day 1 (including in the media), leading the cultural change of bringing together multiple established organisations, championing GBR, and setting it up to transform the passenger experience of the railways.
Provide oversight of performance and financial position.
Improve customer satisfaction and increasing passenger usage.
Champion innovation and commercial growth while maintaining world-leading safety standards.
The Chair will be responsible for safety and sit on the safety committee.

You will assist the Chief Executive in taking forward the strategic direction of Great British Railways and provide expertise. You will be responsible for:

Guiding, advising, and providing scrutiny on strategy, and supporting the
CEO in delivering Great British Railway’s strategic plan.
Reporting to UK, Scottish, and Welsh Ministers.
Setting the board agenda and chairing the board.
Carrying out annual performance reviews of the non-executive directors.
Acting as an ambassador for Great British Railways to promote its work.

Person specification

Essential criteria

An unwavering customer-first mindset with the ability to instil a customer and public service focused approach across a large and complex consumer-facing business, which supports the delivery of wider UK government objectives.
Exceptional relationship-building and advocacy, with the ability to establish direction in a complex and challenging landscape.
Comprehensive experience of leading complex organisations and major programmes at board or equivalent level, including experience of building and leading a complex, diverse workforce and implementing transformational and cultural reform in sensitive contexts.
A strong understanding of the leadership necessary to ensure the safe operation of the business, and the ability to inspire a culture of shared responsibility for safety throughout the company.
Skilled at overseeing and improving large-scale assets or systems to ensure reliability, efficiency, and performance, with a demonstrable track record of improving user experience.
Commercially and financially astute, with a strong focus on value for money, a whole-system approach to market development, retailing and revenue, and efficiency.

Candidates’ suitability for the role will be assessed against criteria 1- 6 above.

Application and selection process

About this appointment

Some public appointments are made by the Prime Minister, or the Crown on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. Others are made by Secretaries of State or other ministers and are of interest to the Prime Minister.

Public appointments made by or of interest to the Prime Minister

How to apply

Before to apply:

You will need to create an account on the UK Government's Public Appointments website or sign in to your account.

How to apply:

To apply, you must provide the following information by creating an account or signing in:

equality information
information relating to any outside interests or potential reputational issues

We will ask you to check and confirm your personal details to ensure your application is accurate. You will also have the opportunity to make a reasonable adjustment request or apply under the disability confident scheme before you submit your application.

After you have completed the steps above, please visit: www.gatenbysanderson.com/job/GSe126714 to complete the rest of the application.

Any applications submitted after the closing date, or that are missing any of the following documents, will not be accepted.

A CV or equivalent biographical information (maximum two sides A4, minimum 12 font) setting out your career history and including details of any professional qualifications.
Provide a summary of why you are interested in the role and how you meet the specification and essential criteria. This can be in a form that allows you most ably to present your interest and credentials, for example a short, bullet-point slide presentation, a short video (no more than 2 mins) or supporting letter (no more than two A4 pages, minimum 12 font). Make sure you refer to the contents of this document and provide specific examples.
You will also be asked to provide diversity data, and to declare any potential conflicts of interest or reputational issues.

For a confidential conversation about this role, please contact our recruitment partners at GatenbySanderson:

Principal Researcher, Zoe Bennett

zoe.bennett@gatenbysanderson.com

Consultant, Olivia Robinson

olivia.robinson@gatenbysanderson.com

Partner, Julie Myers

julie.myers@gatenbysanderson.com

Overview of the application process

Public appointments are made on merit following a fair and open competition process which is conducted in accordance with the Governance Code for Public Appointments. We will deal with your application as quickly as possible and will keep you informed at key stages. We aim to conclude the appointment process within three months of the deadline for applications – this is in accordance with the Governance Code.

The assessment process

Ministers are responsible and accountable to Parliament for the public appointments made within their department. As a result, they must be consulted at every stage of the appointments process.
An Advisory Assessment Panel (“Panel”) is appointed by Ministers to assist them in their decision making. The role of the Panel is to decide, objectively, which candidates meet the eligibility criteria for the role.
At the shortlisting meeting the Panel will assess applications against the eligibility criteria and decide which candidates have best met the criteria, who should be recommended for interview. Ministers will then be consulted on the Panel’s recommended shortlist. If you have applied under the Disability Confident Scheme and you meet all the essential criteria, then you will also be invited for an interview.
Once the shortlist has been agreed by Ministers, you will be advised (by e-mail) whether you have been shortlisted. Those shortlisted will be invited to an interview.
The Panel will meet again to interview candidates and determine who is appointable to the role. The Panel may invite you to make a brief presentation at the start of the interview and will go on to question you about your skills and experience, including asking specific questions to assess whether you meet the criteria set out for the post. The Panel will also explore with you any potential conflicts of interest or any other issues arising from your personal and professional history which may impact on an appointment decision.
Details of the panel’s assessment of interviewed candidates are provided to Ministers, including whether they have judged a candidate to be appointable to the role. It is then for Ministers to determine merit and decide who should be appointed. In some circumstances, Ministers may choose not to appoint any candidates and re-run the competition.
Ministers may choose to meet with candidates before deciding the outcome. Candidates should therefore be prepared for a short time gap between interview and a final appointment decision being made. Candidates who have been interviewed will be kept informed of progress.
Once the decision on the appointment has been made, interviewed candidates will be advised of the outcome of their application, including whom they may approach for feedback. Successful candidates will be issued with their Terms & Conditions and a letter of appointment should they agree to take up the position.

Further information about appointments, including tips on applying, can be found on our guidance pages on gov.uk.

Advisory Assessment Panel (AAP)

Advisory Assessment Panels (AAP) are chosen by ministers to assist them in their decision-making. These include a departmental official and an independent member. For competitions recruiting non-executive members of a board (apart from the Chair), the panel will usually include a representative from the public body concerned.

AAP’s perform a number of functions, including agreeing an assessment strategy with ministers, undertaking sifting, carrying out interviews in line with the advertised criteria and deciding objectively who meets the published selection criteria for the role before recommending to ministers which candidates they find appointable. It is then for the minister to decide who to appoint to the role.

Eligibility criteria

In general, you should have the right to work in the UK to be eligible to apply for a public appointment.

There are a small number of specialist roles that are not open to non-British citizens. Any nationality requirements will be specified in the vacancy details.

The Government expects all holders of public office to work to the highest personal and professional standards.

You cannot be considered for a public appointment if:

you are disqualified from acting as a company director (under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986);
have an unspent conviction on your criminal record;
your estate has been sequestrated in Scotland or you enter into a debt arrangement programme under Part 1 of the Debt Arrangement and Attachment (Scotland) Act 2002 (asp 17) as the debtor or have, under Scots law, granted a trust deed for creditors.

When you apply, you should declare if:

you are, or have been, bankrupt or you have made an arrangement with a creditor at any point, including the dates of this.
you are subject to a current police investigation.

You must inform the sponsor department if, during the application process, your circumstances change in respect of any of the above points.

When you apply you should also declare any relevant interests, highlighting any that you think may call into question your ability to properly discharge the responsibilities of the role you are applying for. You should also declare any other matters which may mean you may not be able to meet the requirements of the Code of Conduct of Board Members (see Outside interests and reputational issues section below)

Security clearance

The successful candidate will be required to undertake Baseline Personnel Security Standard checks in line with the Civil Service guidelines. Additional Security Clearance may also be required for certain roles. However, where this applies, candidates will be notified during the appointment process. Further information on National Security Vetting can be found on the Gov.uk website here.

Additional information for candidates

Equality and diversity

We encourage applications from talented individuals from all backgrounds and across the whole of the United Kingdom. Boards of public bodies are most effective when they reflect the diversity of views of the society they serve.

We collect data about applicants’ characteristics and backgrounds, including information about people’s educational and professional backgrounds, so that we can make sure we are attracting a broad range of people to these roles and that our selection processes are fair for everyone. Without this information, it makes it difficult to see if our outreach is working, if the application process is having an unfair impact on certain groups and whether changes are making a positive difference.

When you submit your application, your responses are collected by the Cabinet Office and the government department(s) managing your application. The data is used to produce management information about the diversity of applicants. You can select “prefer not to say” to any question you do not wish to answer. The information you provide will not be seen by the Advisory Assessment Panel who review applications against the advertised criteria and conduct interviews.

Disability confident

We are a member of the Government’s Disability Confident scheme. We use the Disability Confident scheme symbol, along with other like-minded employers, to show our commitment to good practice in employing people with a disability. The scheme helps recruit and retain disabled people. As part of implementing the scheme, we guarantee an interview for anyone with a disability whose application meets the essential criteria for the role, set out in the advert, and who has asked that their application is considered under the scheme. Indicating that you wish your application to be considered under the scheme will in no way prejudice your application. By ‘essential criteria', we mean that you must provide evidence which demonstrates that you meet the level of competence required under each of the essential criteria, as set out in the job-advert. When you apply you will have the opportunity to select if you would like your application considered under this scheme.

Reasonable adjustments

We are committed to making reasonable adjustments to make sure applicants with disabilities, physical or mental health conditions, or other needs are not substantially disadvantaged when applying for public appointments. This can include changing the recruitment process to enable people who wish to apply to do so.

Some examples of common changes are:

ensuring that application forms are available in different or accessible formats;
making adaptations to interview locations;
allowing candidates to present their skills and experience in a different way;
giving additional detailed information on the selection / interview process in advance to allow candidates time to prepare themselves;
allowing support workers, for example sign language interpreters;
making provision for support animals to attend.

When you apply you will have the opportunity to request reasonable adjustments to the application process.

Principles of public life

The Seven Principles of Public Life (also known as the Nolan Principles) apply to anyone who works as a public office-holder.

1. Selflessness

Holders of public office should act solely in terms of the public interest.

2. Integrity

Holders of public office must avoid placing themselves under any obligation to people or organisations that might try inappropriately to influence them in their work. They should not act or take decisions in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family, or their friends. They must declare and resolve any interests and relationships.

3. Objectivity

Holders of public office must act and take decisions impartially, fairly and on merit, using the best evidence and without discrimination or bias.

4. Accountability

Holders of public office are accountable to the public for their decisions and actions and must submit themselves to the scrutiny necessary to ensure this.

5. Openness

Holders of public office should act and take decisions in an open and transparent manner. Information should not be withheld from the public unless there are clear and lawful reasons for so doing.

6. Honesty

Holders of public office should be truthful.

7. Leadership

Holders of public office should exhibit these principles in their own behaviour and treat others with respect. They should actively promote and robustly support the principles and challenge poor behaviour wherever it occurs.

Code of conduct for board members

The Government expects all holders of public office to work to the highest personal and professional standards. In support of this, all non-executive board members of UK public bodies must abide by the principles set out in the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies. The Code sets out the standards expected from those who serve on the boards of UK public bodies and will form part of your terms and conditions of appointment.

Management of outside interests and consideration of reputational issues

Holders of public office are expected to adhere and uphold the Seven Principles of Public Life and the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies. Before you apply you should consider carefully:

any outside interests that you may have, such as shares you may hold in a company providing services to government;
any possible reputational issues arising from your past actions or public statements that you have made;
and/or - any political roles you hold or political campaigns you have supported;

which may call into question your ability to do the role you are applying for.

You will need to answer relevant questions in relation to these points when making an application. Many conflicts of interest can be satisfactorily resolved and declaring a potential conflict does not prevent you from being interviewed. If you are shortlisted for an interview, the panel will discuss any potential conflicts with you during that interview, including any proposals you may have to mitigate them and record that in their advice to ministers. Alongside your own declaration, we will conduct appropriate checks, as part of which we will consider anything in the public domain related to your conduct or professional capacity. This may include searches of previous public statements and social media, blogs or any other publicly available information. The successful candidate(s) may be required to give up any conflicting interests and their other business and financial interests may be published in line with organisational policies.

Details of declared political activity will be published when the appointment is announced, as required by the Governance Code (political activity is not a bar to appointment, but must be declared).

Status of appointment

As this is an office holder appointment, you will not become a member of the Civil Service. You will not be subject to the provisions of employment law.

Appointment and tenure of office

Appointments are for the term set out in this advert, with the possibility of re-appointment for a further term, at the discretion of Ministers. Any re-appointment is subject to satisfactory annual appraisals of performance during the first term in the post. There is no automatic presumption of reappointment; each case should be considered on its own merits, taking into account a number of factors including, but not restricted to, the diversity of the current board and its balance of skills and experience. In most cases, the total time served in post will not exceed more than two terms or ten years in any one post.

Remuneration, allowances and abatement

Remuneration for this role is treated as employment income and will be subject to tax and National Insurance contributions, both of which will be deducted at source under PAYE before you are paid.

You can claim reimbursement for reasonable travel and subsistence costs which are properly and necessarily incurred on official business, in line with the travel and subsistence policy and rates for the organisation to which you are applying. However these payments are taxable as earnings and will be subject to tax and national insurance, both of which will be deducted at source under PAYE before you are paid.

Pension and redundancy

This is an office holder appointment and does not attract any benefits under any Civil Service Pension Scheme. You will not be eligible for redundancy pay as you are not an employee. No other arrangements have been made for compensation upon the end of your term of appointment because an office holder who is appointed for a limited duration would have no expectation of serving beyond that period.

Application feedback

We will notify you of the status of your application. We regret that we are only able to offer detailed feedback to candidates who have been unsuccessful at the interview stage.

How to complain

We aim to process all applications as quickly as possible and to treat all applicants with courtesy.

Please contact the DfT Public Appointments Team in the first instance if you would like to make a complaint regarding your application at dftpublicappointments@dft.gov.uk.

They will acknowledge your complaint upon receipt and aim to respond within 15 working days.

Data protection

The Cabinet Office will use your data in line with our privacy policy.

Information provided as part of this application will be kept securely within DfT and destroyed within 5 years of the conclusion of the recruitment campaign.

DfT uses this form to gather evidence on DfT’s public appointments.

The lawful basis that applies to this processing is that it is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest to inform DfT’s recruitment policies in accordance with the Department’s public sector equality duties.

For processing special category personal data (disability, religion, sexual orientation and ethnicity), we rely on Article 9(2)(g), reasons of substantial public interest (equality of opportunity and treatment).

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