JOB SUMMARY

Rail manufacturing directly employs 125,000 in the UK, principally in the Midlands and the North. More broadly, rail and rail-related activities employ over 700,000 and have a GVA of over £50bn. The Rail Team seeks to maximise UK content in an annual spend on the railway of over £30bn, supporting campaigns to address skills challenges, promote decarbonising rail and encourage innovation and growth in all aspects.
Supporting all of these priorities, the Rail Team secured £28m at SR21 to help initiate the Global Centre of Rail Excellence (GCRE) project in South Wales. This in turn released £50m of Welsh Government capital, enabling GCRE to go to the market to raise private investment. With the Rail Team working in partnership with the UK and international rail industry to find a suitable opportunity to develop a world class rail testing, proving and innovation centre since 2016, when GCRE is fully commissioned in 2025 it will be the culmination of nine years work.
The Rail Team works closely with all parts of the rail industry, with the trade associations, Network Rail and DfT to support jobs, investment and growth.
UK shipbuilding alone supports some 42,600 jobs nationwide and adds £2.4 billion to the economy every single year – a vital pillar of our civil and defence industrial base. However, the UK maritime sector more broadly struggles to compete effectively, even in areas of technical advantage, in a global environment where competition supported by state actors has an edge. The shift to a low-carbon future is a growing market opportunity where the UK offers world class solutions. However, there is a risk that the sector will miss market share due to slow adoption in, especially in commercialising products. The UK maritime supply chain is incomplete and fragmented and businesses face barriers to exporting to other countries and thus miss out on export opportunities. The global maritime market is forecast to invest £190bn in the period to 2050; however, the UK maritime sector could be better positioned to benefit from this market growth. The Maritime team operates both domestically and internationally, breaking down sector and departmental silos, bringing expert knowledge that helps to drive policy action to support innovation, create jobs and boost growth.

NATIONALITY REQUIREMENTS

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Collaboration: Bring together DBT interests on Rail and Maritime. This involves a large network of complex stakeholders both domestically and internationally to build UK resilience in these sectors and maximise Foreign Direct Investment, export opportunities and growth.
• Policy development: Bring insights from across these sectors to support policy development on specific business and trade issues, including developing the sector strategies and approach to the Comprehensive Spending Review. On rail, specific duties include oversight of the GCRE project and procurement legislation opportunities for industry within the Industrial Strategy. On maritime duties include SRO of the Shipbuilding Guarantee Scheme and Shipbuilding Liability scheme, amongst others.
• Business outreach: Create strategic opportunities for business engagement, and bring in business views to support Government decision-making. On rail, working closely with the Department for Transport (DfT) to ensure robust supply chains and leverage UK Export Finance (UKEF) and other export tools with suppliers at international trade events to support trade and investment. On maritime, similar to the rail sector, ensure robust supply chains to build resilience in UK shipbuilding and leverage trade and export opportunities.
• Leadership: Work closely with key departments such as HM Treasury, Cabinet Office and DfT; shape the policy landscape and represent DBT interests, building strong working relationships to deliver UK objectives. Leading on cross government working and supporting investment into the UK ports sector to meet clean energy goals
• Shocks: Lead any case work managing rail or maritime companies in distress, working closely with HMT and Cabinet Office; for example, building on HM Government’s recent successful engagement with Harland and Wolff.