This role can be based at any of our office locations: London, Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, York, Glasgow. ORR operates a hybrid working model, working from a workplace location other than home for at least 40% of each month. This may be higher depending on the role and business needs. Workplace locations include ORR offices, inspection sites, off-site meetings, conferences, and other approved business locations.
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is the independent economic and safety regulator for Britain’s railways and monitor of performance on England’s strategic road network. This is an exciting time to join ORR, we are delivering a significant transformation programme to create a consistently agile and enabling organisation, with the right capability and a strong, inclusive culture that reflects our talented people. This will ensure we continue to operate as an independent, expert regulator, fit for the future and equipped with the capabilities and ways of working required to support sector-wide rail reform, while contributing to the government’s broader agenda on regulatory reform and economic growth. Further detail on our future role is set out here.
The Deputy Director, Railway Engineering & Investment is a strategically important leadership role at ORR, serving as the organisation’s senior technical authority on railway engineering, asset management, capital investment and infrastructure delivery across Great Britain’s rail network.
Reporting directly to the Director of Planning and Performance and forming a key part of the Senior Leadership Team, this role combines technical expertise, regulatory leadership and stakeholder influence. The postholder will provide expert oversight of the engineering performance, resilience and long-term stewardship of railway assets, ensuring that infrastructure managers, operators and other duty holders deliver safe, reliable and sustainable outcomes for passengers and freight users. Additionally, there is a dotted-line reporting relationship to the Railway Safety Director and Directorate on interoperability and safety matters.
This is a critical role at a time of significant transformation across the rail industry, including the transition toward Great British Railways. The successful candidate will help shape the future of railway regulation.
As ORR’s senior technical authority for railway engineering, the Deputy Director will oversee asset stewardship, cost management and capital delivery oversight across Great Britain’s rail network. For these areas, the role leads ORR’s activity with respect to Network Rail (NR), High Speed 1 (HS1), and other licensed duty holders. The role also requires leading review of applications to enter new or upgraded rolling stock and infrastructure into service in the UK
The postholder will provide expert advice to the ORR Board and Executive Committee, ensuring that regulatory decisions are informed by robust technical evidence and engineering excellence. Working closely with government departments, industry leaders, manufacturers and infrastructure managers, they will build strong partnerships to drive excellence in engineering, investment and asset stewardship across therail sector.
We are seeking an exceptional and inspirational leader who demonstrates strong corporate leadership, role models ORR’s valuesand behaviours, and fosters a high-performing, inclusive and collaborative culture. The successful candidate will be capable of balancing strategic vision with technical credibility, influencing at the highest levels while leading complex regulatory and engineering challenges.
The role leads a multidisciplinary team of approximately 34 colleagues through six direct reports and works closely with colleagues across ORR, particularly within Railway Safety, to ensure a coherent and integrated approach to regulation and oversight. While team structures and specific accountabilities may evolve over time, the strategic leadership requirements and significance of the role will remain central to ORR’s success.
Please refer to the attached candidate pack for further details.
Find out what our colleagues have to say about their ORR careers at Our people | Office of Rail and Road (orr.gov.uk).
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