Network Rail
About Network Rail
The Fares, Ticketing and Retail programme is collaborative and cross-industry, across the Department for Transport (DfT), DfT Operator (DFTO), Rail Delivery Group (RDG), and Train Operating Companies (TOCs). There is also a core team which sits within Network Rail; this role will sit within this team.
A Railway Fit for Britain’s Future
Britain’s railways should reflect the way we live today, not the systems of the past. Yet for many passengers, the experience remains confusing, outdated, and out of step with modern life. Across Great Britain, we’re driving forward a programme of modernisations, including reforming fares, introducing simpler ticketing, and expanding digital and tap-in, tap-out payment options. These improvements are delivering enhancements to passenger experience now, ahead of a simpler, more unified railway under Great British Railways.
Investing in Improvements for Passengers Now
We’re not waiting. We know that the current labyrinth of fares and pricing can be confusing, and fixing that is crucial to rebuilding trust in our railways and encouraging more people to take the train. The government is investing hundreds of millions on making fares easier to understand, ticketing simpler, and journeys more seamless. Working with the rail industry, we’re rolling out a series of enhancements putting passengers at the heart of journeys:
- A fares system passengers can trust – Replacing the tangled web of over 400 different train company fares with three clear and transparent fare options for every journey, making it easier for passengers to choose the right fare every time.
- Easy to buy and travel with the right ticket – Introducing clearer terms and conditions to reduce unintentional fare evasion and working with the rail industry to cut fraud and ticketless travel.
- Easy to choose how and where to buy a ticket – Including through specialist independent ticket retailers and via a high-quality, easy-to-use GBR website and app that will replace 14 train company ticket websites.
- More straightforward travel in key urban areas, with rail integrated alongside other public transport – Expansion of tap-in, tap-out payments to Greater Manchester, the West Midlands, and across more of the South East, and trials of innovative mobile payments that make travel as easy as pressing a button on your phone before hopping on a train.
- A more inclusive and accessible retail experience – That adapts to changing customer needs, including those who rely on paper tickets or cash, or who need extra assistance before or after travel.
By making fares easier to understand, modernising ticketing, and expanding digital and tap-in, tap-out options, we’re laying the foundations for Great British Railways to deliver a more seamless, customer-focused service. This isn’t a plan for the future – every change we’re delivering is having an impact today, as we deliver on our mission to rebuild trust in our railway, bring people back to rail, and attract new passengers to choose rail for the first time.
Brief Description
Are you someone with a strong background in designing great customer experiences? Want to help shape the future of rail travel? We’re looking for an Experience Design Manager to join our Fares, Ticketing, and Retail (FTR) team, putting passengers, employees, and retailers at the heart of everything we design and deliver. In this hands-on role, you’ll lead the development of key experience design artefacts – like customer propositions, journey maps, and service blueprints. You’ll run engaging workshops, using techniques that help colleagues keep customers front-of-mind, and deliver a coherent, consistent, and inclusive customer experience across every touchpoint. As a key voice for experience design across the FTR programme, you’ll work closely with project teams and enabling functions, like technology and commercial. Using research, insight, and evidence, you’ll shape decisions throughout the project lifecycle, ensuring every solution design is grounded in a real understanding of customer needs and impacts. You’ll also champion experience design best practices and Design Thinking across the programme. By sharing tools and expertise, you’ll embed a consistent design approach, build confidence in design methods, and help customer needs guide colleagues in every decision. Beyond the core programme, you’ll collaborate with cross-industry partners – including the Department for Transport, the Rail Delivery Group, Train Operating Companies, and Local Transport Authorities – giving you the opportunity to shape national-level change.
About the Role
Skills, Experience, and Qualifications:
- A customer-first mindset.
- Extensive experience with design thinking and service design tools and methodologies, used to develop end-to-end customer experiences across the entire project lifecycle.
- Strong facilitation skills, including planning and leading workshops and other collaborative sessions. Experience in preparation, incorporating research and insights, creating digital workspaces, and summarising key findings.
- Strong stakeholder engagement and management skills, with the ability to build relationships across multiple teams and organisations.
- Comfortable working with ambiguity, adapting to evolving priorities and navigating uncertainty.
- Confidence in managing multiple projects simultaneously, balancing competing priorities effectively.
- Experience in designing, delivering, and maintaining service design artefacts, with a background in developing entirely new propositions also desirable.
- Proficiency in using digital facilitation tools (e.g., Miro), including setting up collaborative workspaces.
- Excellent attention to detail and high standards of accuracy in experience design outputs, including presentation slides and digital workspaces.
- Ability to translate complex ideas and insights into clear, engaging, and compelling narratives and visuals.
We’re an inclusive employer of choice and welcome applications from everyone. For this specific role, there is an expectation to be able to come to our London or Derby office for a minimum of three days per week. We encourage people to work flexibly and we’re open to hybrid working! We’ll also try our best to adapt the recruitment process and offer a reasonable alternative to help support people with disabilities.
If you’re working within the rail industry and considering applying via a Secondment, we encourage you to have a conversation with your line manager early in the process to support a potential secondment into NR and where successful to support your release.
How to Apply
Salary: £46,701 – £55,411
Closing date: 16/4/2026. Late applications will not be accepted.
Click apply now to apply.
Network Rail Benefits – To find out about what benefits we offer, click here.
All offers of employment are conditional upon satisfactory completion of pre-employment checks. Click here for more information.
Some of our roles require face-to-face Drugs & Alcohol testing. Further details will be shared with you as part of your formal offer.
