Relationship Manager in Manchester

Position Title: Stakeholder Relationship Manager

Reports to: Franchise Bid Director

Location: Hybrid, with frequent travel across the U.K.

Position Summary

The Stakeholder Relationship Manager is a key member of the Franchise Bid Team. The role is directly responsible for developing and executing a strategy to build productive relationships with the decision makers within local authorities and other key stakeholders.

You will create and maintain trusted working relationships with key stakeholders in each target franchise area to ensure we create a positive perception of our organisation, and to influence authority decisions in favour of First Bus. You will play a key role in communicating the breadth of First Bus' customer, people, operational and commercial expertise to positively position First Bus with potential clients, whilst continuously gathering intelligence to improve our bid focus, quality and competitive positioning. Your stakeholder relationship development and networking activity will help ensure we are seen as the partner of choice in franchised network delivery.

Acting with integrity, you will role model First Bus values and behaviours (‘Our Way') in all interactions, and through effective leadership and stakeholder management, they will ensure the needs of local authorities, investors, customers, partners, and colleagues are met.

The Political Landscape

The bus industry is making great strides to recover from the pandemic. To facilitate this recovery and to deliver additional growth and further modernisation, a number of Mayoral Combined Authorities and other Local Authorities have chosen to instigate bus franchising programmes.

Transport for Greater Manchester completed its first round of franchise bidding earlier this year, and this will be followed by a pipeline of work over the next few years as franchising programmes commence. The Stakeholder Relationship Manager role will act as the focal point to each of the Local Authorities who have announced, or are contemplating, a bus franchising programme. The role will have the responsibility of understanding the Authorities' requirements and objectives, publicising capability of First Bus, and offering support to the Authorities where they need to consult on their franchising programmes.

Key Accountabilities & Responsibilities

• Develop relationships with key franchising authority stakeholders, fostering productive collaborative partnerships to yield positive benefits (e.g. cooperation, knowledge sharing)
• Representing First Bus at local authority meetings, conferences and planning workshops, positioning First Bus as an engaged, informed and a trusted partner
• Engagement to fully understand stakeholder needs and expectations (covering the full remit from operational detail to cultural alignment), and influence their decision-making process to best position First Bus for success
• Collaborate with Internal Communications, Marketing and Partnerships teams to develop strategy and messaging for engagement with key stakeholders
• Effectively communicate intelligence gathered through stakeholder management to the Franchise Bid team to enable effective bid strategy formulation
• Create SWOT analysis to demonstrate understanding of the likely competition and their contract performance in order to aid creation of our bid strategy
• Provide briefings and support to bid team for meetings with stakeholders
• Ensuring Stakeholders receive comprehensive responses to enquiries
• Represent First Bus at industry events where applicable

Skills, Experience and Leadership behaviours required

• Significant experience of managing engagement with key stakeholders, specifically local authorities and procurement teams in high-profile public section procurements
• Experience of working in the bus industry or transport franchising is desirable
• Broader project communications experience is desirable
• Experience of corporate communications and understanding views and motivating factors held by stakeholders
• Strong networking skills and an ability to develop relationships with stakeholders
• Excellent interpersonal communication and an ability to build positive relationships with a range of people
• Excellent presentation skills
• Outstanding organisational skills, enabling stakeholder information to be efficiently assessed and distributed
• Excellent time management skills and an ability to deliver to deadlines

Rewards & Benefits

• Your health is important to us which is why we offer Simply Health & Smart Health for you and your dependents at no cost to you! This offering includes cash back benefits across optical & dental as well as virtual GP appointments, mental health support and nutrition and fitness advise. Our EAP provision offers 24hr, 365 days a year mental health support
• We are also committed to your financial wellbeing, and we offer a platform with many discounts on high street brands and supermarkets etc
• Working at First you also receive discounted train travel for you and your family after 6 months service as well as a free bus pass
• Cycle to work scheme
• 25 days' holiday + bank holidays
• Pension scheme and chance to buy discounted First Group shares
• Enhanced maternity / paternity pay
• Flexible working

We put a big focus on physical and mental wellbeing at First Bus. We recognise that anyone can be affected by the stresses and strain of work, or life outside it. You'll find a range of health-promotion initiatives, and you will have 24/7 access to our confidential Employee Assistance Programme.

Please apply now. We look forward to receiving your application.

Public transport serves everyone, whatever their differences. At First Bus, we want to be an employer open to you, no matter what your differences are. We aspire to be an inclusive organisation because diverse backgrounds, thinking and experiences bring so many benefits to our customers, communities and people. We welcome applications from all.

Applicants are advised that background checks will be conducted as a standard part of our recruitment process.