Railway Enforcement Officer - Tonbridge

As a Railway Enforcement Officer (REO), your role will be to patrol trains and stations to ensure the security of our railway by reducing crime, anti-social behaviour and fare evasion. At times, you will find yourself working in partnership with Revenue Protection Officers and outside agencies to carry out your duties such as large scale ticketing checks at stations. Working in a team, you’ll have supportive colleagues and a large number of passengers to deal with in a courteous manner.

Candidates should be aware that a large part of this role will be dealing with anti-social behaviour and looking to de-escalate confrontational situations. Although used as a last resort, this role will require regular physical intervention and conflict.

Full physical intervention and conflict management training will be provided.

Take a look at the video below to see what we achieved in 2022!:

You will have a number of responsibilities and duties within this role, including but not limited to:

• Travelling around the network on the Trains on a daily basis, inspecting passengers’ tickets
• Issuing penalty fares when deemed necessary
• Undertaking minor crime investigations by seizing and preserving evidence and taking crime reports and statements.
• Carrying out large scale ticket checking blocks at Stations
• Dealing with anti-social behaviour
• Reducing crime and ensuring the security of our passengers on the network
• Complying with all company standards and guidelines at all times

On appointment into a REO role you will be enrolled into the Passenger Services Apprenticeship Programme which will lead to a nationally recognised qualification.

You will be given full vocational training (including functional skills) as well as be trained in physical intervention to ensure you have the skills, experience and knowledge required for the role.

Vetting

This role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Applicants must declare all criminal history including arrested, summoned, charged, cautioned or convicted offences including traffic related offences and financial sanctions such as Bankruptcy or CCJ’s whether as an adult or a juvenile on their application form.

For the purpose of the BTP vetting you will be required to demonstrate evidence that you have been a UK resident for a minimum of 3 years

In addition, successful candidates will be subject to NPPV Level 2 Vetting undertaken by the British Transport Police.

Working here

You will work a varied shift pattern that will include weekends, bank holidays and nights. Applicants not living locally to the advertised depot are strongly recommended to have their own transport to enable them to meet the shifts requirements. You may be required to start work as early as 0600 hrs and finish as late as 0200 hrs. Your working rota will be 1 week of early shifts and 3 weeks of late shifts.

This is what some of our existing Railway Enforcement Officers have to say....

“Customer service is the fundamental part of our role, dealing with people with professionalism, respect and assisting everyone with their travel journeys as best we can, whether providing information, answering questions, or planning the best routes for their journeys.

One of our main roles is dealing with anti-social behaviour and being a visible presence to deter this behaviour to make our passengers feel safe travelling on our services. Our alertness, ability to adapt to all situations and decision making skills are key to achieving the most appropriate outcome when dealing with such behaviour.

When dealing with conflict, as much as using force is the last resort, some situations need to be dealt with more assertively and may require restraint techniques to keep us safe as well as other staff and passengers. Every attempt is made to avoid this however if required we aim to reduce the risk as quickly as possible and achieve a safe outcome using the techniques we are taught.

Whilst dealing with ticketless travel using penalty fares, we deal with vulnerable people and help them get the support they need and prevent them causing any harm to themselves. We work closely with British Transport Police and other services to help those most at risk.

Every day is different, every passenger has a different need, we do everything we can to ensure our passengers and staff have the best experience travelling and working on our network"

To be considered for this role you should demonstrate the following in your application:

• Good verbal and written communication skills including tact and diplomacy.
• Previous experience of working in an environment with a high level of customer contact, ideally where you have had to deal with and physical intervention on a regular basis.
• Ability to make sound decision when under pressure.
• Assertive resilient and able to remain professional in confrontational situations.
• Able to work using own initiative and as part of a team.
• Able to evaluate and interpret information in order to make appropriate decisions.

Candidates with a background as an Enforcement Officer, Prison Officer or from the Police would be highly suited to these positions.

You need to live within a 45 minute radius of the station that you are applying for, if you do not live within the required vicinity your application will be withdrawn.

Are you interested in finding out more about all of the different types of roles Southeastern have to offer? Then register your interest today to attend one of our Recruitment Webinars by following the link below!:

https://careers.southeasternrailway.co.uk/members/modules/job/detail.php?record=1146

About Southeastern

Southeastern runs train services into London from Kent and East Sussex, operating almost 1,700 trains a day, carrying more than 400,000 passengers, serving 176 stations and covering 540 miles of track.

Just over 4,600 employees - mostly from the communities that we serve - work together to provide this vital service and we are looking to expand our successful team. We have a strong set of values that shape the way we run our business and guide our staff in delivering what our customers need. These are:

• We aim to be the best
• We make the difference together
• We care passionately about our people and our passengers

We are committed to being an inclusive employer, creating a workplace where everyone can come to work, feel safe and comfortable and able to do everything to the best of their ability. Read about some of the great Diversity and Inclusion initiatives our Head of Colleague Experience has been leading on here.

We recognise the positive value of diversity and it matters to us that our teams reflect the communities we serve. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds.

We are also proud to be a WORK180 Endorsed Employer for Women. If you would like to know more information about how we are supporting our employees, you can view our policies and initiatives here.

If you have been unsuccessful in the recruitment process for the same/similar position you will not be eligible to apply for a period of 6 months from that date.

All offers of employment are subject to us obtaining satisfactory references (covering all education, training, employment and unemployment in the preceding 5 years and any previous railway employment). We will also complete right to work in the UK and criminal record checks. This is to ensure we are employing the best person for the role and to protect our customers, colleagues and our reputation. We are unable to offer sponsorship to work in the UK.

This post will close before the intended closing date should sufficient number of suitable applications be received. Therefore, if you are interested in applying for this role, we suggest that you do so at the earliest opportunity to avoid disappointment.

SOUTHEASTERN is owned by SE Trains Ltd, a subsidiary of the Department for Transport’s public sector owning group, ‘DOHL.’ DOHL has responsibility for three rail companies, LNER, Northern Trains Limited and SE Trains.

Southeastern recognises the value of every individual employee and offers benefits that reflect this.

As well as a generous salary, we offer an comprehensive benefits package which includes;

• A Contributory Final Salary Pension Scheme
• Free rail travel on Southeastern and GTR rail services (extends to family members for leisure/educational travel)
• After a qualifying period, reduced rate travel on other train operators, including European services
• Up to 32 days annual leave entitlement, depending on roster patterns (which includes bank holidays)
• Access to an array of discounts for retail and leisure products through our benefits scheme.
• Family friendly benefits including enhanced maternity/paternity leave, parental leave and carers leave.
• Full training, a nationally recognised qualification and full, free uniform is provided.