Lead the Future of Smarter Travel in the Liverpool City Region

We’re transforming how people move across the Liverpool City Region and ticketing is at the heart of it.

As Ticket Operations Lead, you’ll be responsible for ensuring that millions of customer journeys are powered by smooth, smart, and reliable ticketing every day, from contactless payments and smartcards to mobile apps and integrated journey planning tools.

You’ll lead the operational delivery of Liverpool City Region Combined Authority’s (LCRCA) customer-facing ticketing systems, managing the technology, partnerships, and people that make it all work. From real-time system performance to vendor management, customer experience to revenue protection.  You’ll keep our services running at their best, while helping shape the future of ticketing innovation in a dynamic, multi-modal transport network.

This is a pivotal leadership role in our Customer Services team, combining strategic thinking with day-to-day delivery. You’ll collaborate closely with digital colleagues, transport operators, suppliers and internal teams, all with one goal: to make travel easier, faster, and more seamless for everyone.

About You

We're looking for someone who can lead operational excellence and drive change in a complex and fast-moving environment. You'll bring:

✔ Proven experience in transport ticketing operations, digital service delivery, or similar environments
✔ Strong leadership skills - able to manage people, projects, suppliers, and performance
✔ Excellent understanding of ITSO standards, contactless EMV, and digital customer channels
✔ A strategic mindset with a hands-on, delivery-focused approach
✔ Great stakeholder and supplier management skills - able to work across technical and customer teams
✔ Experience in data-led decision making, with a sharp eye for performance improvement and innovation

What You’ll Be Doing

• Oversee daily operations of ticketing systems from smartcards to apps to contactless EMV
• Develop our multimodal account based approach and a holistic travel fares and ticketing policy
• Ensure system reliability, compliance, and performance, whilst tracking issues, incidents, and success rates
• Lead a skilled team of ticketing officers and manage cross-functional delivery across systems and partners
• Work closely with digital, transport, and supplier teams to ensure operational readiness for new releases
• Support concessionary travel services and ensure accessibility and inclusion across ticketing platforms
• Lead on performance reporting, supplier management, and continuous improvement
• Shape and deliver the smart ticketing strategy as part of an integrated regional transport network
• Drive innovation in customer experience, introducing day one features like auto-refunds and tap error alerts but also tokenisation, digital PAYG, retiring ticket types and legacy ticketing platforms
• Monitor budgets, manage risks, and support disaster recovery and business continuity planning

Why Join Us?

You’ll be at the heart of a region-wide transformation programme, delivering smarter, more connected journeys that work better for everyone. This is your chance to help shape a fairer, greener and better-connected Liverpool City Region, while delivering real impact, every single day.

Apply now to help lead the future of smart travel.

If you think you match the job description, and our values, then click on the link to apply. Please ensure that you meet the key essential criteria. In your application, please focus on how you have:

1. Played a senior leadership role in ensuring ticketing systems run reliably, and meet all required standards.

2. Contributed to the development and delivery of smart ticketing strategies and digital solutions that improved customer experience.

3. Led teams and collaborated with partners and managed suppliers to deliver accessible and customer-focused services.

The information you provide in your application will be used for shortlisting.

Interviews will take place weeks commencing 24th November and 1st December 2025.

About the organisation

The Liverpool City Region is world-famous for its history, culture and creativity. A place of firsts, it is the birthplace of modern railways, public health and international trade. Now, our economy is being transformed once again, changing the world through world-leading innovation in health and life sciences, digital and creative, and advanced manufacturing - growing an economy already worth £35 billion a year.

The Combined Authority plays a central role in catalysing this innovation-led economy. We are seizing the unique opportunity to use our devolved powers and funding to create wealth and prosperity for all our 1.6 million residents and the whole UK - investing in our economy, people, place, transport and digital infrastructure. Our vision is for the Liverpool City Region to be: The best place to grow up, grow a family, and grow a business - where no-one is left behind.

Staff benefits

• Local Government Pension Scheme contributions between 5.5% and 12.5%
• Generous holiday entitlement of 29 days rising to 34 days after 5 years service, as well as bank holidays and the option to buy 10 additional days
• Free travel around Liverpool City Region with an All-Zone Metro card worth £1,450 per year plus All Zones Off Peak Trio ticket for your spouse or partner
• Flexible and hybrid working
• 24/7 access to Employee Assistance Programme for you and your family and Free counselling service
• Automatic enrolment to our Westfield Health Programme
• Corporate discounts at council-owned gyms
• Bike to Work Scheme
• Coaching, mentoring, apprenticeships, and professional qualifications including paid membership fees and even a £1k interest free learning loan for any non-job-related learning

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

We offer a guaranteed interview scheme for candidates who have declared that they: have a disability, are from a Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic background, are a member of a reservist or have close family links to a member of the Armed Forces as we are under-represented by people from these communities.

To be considered under one of these schemes, you must indicate your eligibility in the relevant section of the application form. In addition, you must clearly demonstrate in your personal statement how you meet all the key essential criteria listed above, and highlight how you meet the remaining essential criteria outlined in the person specification within your CV.

Applications that do not include this evidence will not be considered under the guaranteed interview schemes.

The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

We actively promote diversity and inclusion. This role may be eligible for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route. We recommend that you assess your eligibility before applying for this position. Please visit https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa