Senior Railway Operations Manager

Job description / Role

My client a large international consultancy has an urgent requirement for a Senior Rail Operations Manager to join their East and North African team. The role can be based remotely or a regional office of choice with frequent trips to regional design offices and sites in the MENA region.

* The position concerns development, construction, rehabilitation, and operations of freight and passenger rail systems, predominantly in the Middle East and Africa.
* The position provides detailed high-level technical expertise and coordination for rail transportation programs and projects involving multiple design and/or advanced building construction projects, rail rehabilitation projects, rail operations and inspection and appraisal in accordance with international standards.
* Reports to the Transportation Department line manager. Work requires extensive contact with governmental officials at national, state and local levels, special interest groups and private entities.
* Employees at this level are virtually self-supervising and assume direct accountability for the work product.
* Duties will entail contributing to the preparation of proposals or working on assignments at any stage of a rail project.
* It may also entail contributing to transport projects on a larger scale such as national/regional transport master plans, design and operational requirements of railroads.
* The Rail Operations Specialist will be aware of performance indicators and best practices internationally.

The role is as a member of a team covering many aspects of transport development and providing specialist advice to other teams who are working on projects with some rail content. Knowledge of other disciplines such as maritime port planning, logistics planning, engineering design and transport planning is therefore desirable.

Requirements

Education & Work Experience:
* Bachelor's Degree in Engineering, Transportation Planning or related field
* A minimum of 15 years of experience, out of which 10 years are in Railroad operations, maintenance or related activities
* Preferably, some of this experience will have been gained in overseas locations.
* Suitable candidates will be able to demonstrate well developed communication and management skills, with strong leadership qualities and ability to manage and motivate multi-disciplinary teams working on all stages of rail Engineering

Competencies:
The required competencies for this job include:
* Applicable governmental laws, rules and regulations specific to area of responsibility for safeguarding information and information technology related systems
* Railroad industry and infrastructure, including rolling stock, network simulation, passenger and freight station planning
* Applicable plans, specifications and estimates preparation, review, processing, and compliance requirements
* Program/project planning, development and management methodologies
* The use and support of personal computers and peripheral equipment
* Communicate effectively
* Public relations for maintaining effective working relationships with individuals and groups
* Planning, coordinating and handling multiple projects within area of responsibility to meet short- and long-term deadlines
* Exercises logic and reasoning to define problems, establish facts and draw valid conclusions; makes decisions that support business objectives and goals

Employment conditions would be commensurate with the level of seniority and responsibility involved.

About the Company

Blake Anderson is a boutique consultancy based in the UK, with a satellite office in Dubai. Specialising in Technical and Construction Recruitment, Blake Anderson provides a superior service to clients and candidates within the construction and technical sectors.

We concentrate on placing professionals throughout the world, focusing mainly on the Middle East and Asia, drawing on both the global and local markets for highly qualified professionals. In order to attract the best talent, we invest in various high-end advertising mediums.

With a database of 1,000's of candidates, our experienced consultants have a wealth of recruitment knowledge and have a consultative approach at all times, ensuring a second to none service.