People Experience Director
Caledonian Sleeper – Glasgow (Hybrid)
Permanent Contract
Full Time
37 hours per week
ABOUT CALEDONIAN SLEEPER
Caledonian Sleeper is an iconic overnight rail journey connecting Scotland with London, operating nightly (except Saturdays), serving major cities and rural destinations.
Established in the late 19th century, Caledonian Sleeper has a long-standing reputation for comfort, hospitality and delivering a unique travel experience across the UK’s scenic routes. The service operates primarily overnight, allowing passengers to sleep comfortably on specially designed sleeper trains, arriving refreshed at their destination.
As a service operated on behalf of the Scottish Government, it is part of the UK’s public sector efforts to promote sustainable and convenient travel.
At Caledonian Sleeper, our core values of Togetherness, Respect, Integrity, and Passion underpin everything we do. We believe that fostering a collaborative, respectful and passionate approach is essential to delivering an exceptional guest experience. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organisation that reflects the communities we serve.
HOW THIS ROLE ALIGNS WITH OUR VALUES
- Togetherness: Lead a cross-functional team and manage supplier relationships to deliver a consistent, safe and reliable fleet for our guests. Facilitate collaboration across operations, engineering and safety to achieve shared goals.
- Respect: Foster an inclusive, supportive environment for colleagues and suppliers. Ensure stakeholder engagement is respectful, transparent and evidence based.
- Integrity: Uphold robust governance, contractual discipline and ethical decision-making. Provide accurate reporting, clear accountability, and compliance with all regulatory and safety standards.
- Passion: Drive continuous improvement and a relentless focus on delivering an exceptional guest experience through reliable fleet performance and well-managed maintenance activities.
THE ROLE
We are looking for a People Experience Director who will report to the Managing Director and work closely with the wider Leadership and Senior Management Teams.
What you’ll do:
• Lead and shape all people-related functions for Caledonian Sleeper Limited (CSL),with a mandate to design and optimise the colleague experience across the organisation.
• Own the end-to-end colleague journey: attraction, onboarding, development, engagement and retention.
• Establish clear development pathways, succession planning and a positive, values-driven culture that drives exceptional guest service.
• Partner with executive leadership to align people strategy with business goals, size and shape the workforce, and influence organisational design.
• Foster an inclusive culture that attracts and retains diverse talent, champions wellbeing, and elevates employee advocacy.
• Lead the development and implementation of people programs, policies and practices in compliance with regulatory requirements and sector-specific standards.
• Act as a trusted advisor to leaders and managers, providing coaching, guidance and strategic insight on talent, leadership and workforce planning.
• Oversee key people functions including Talent Acquisition, Learning & Development, Employee Engagement, Performance Management and HR Operations.
What we’re looking for:
• Proven experience in a senior People/HR leadership role (ideally within a regulated or service-oriented, guest-centric environment).
• Demonstrated ability to design, implement and scale people strategies that positively impact culture, performance, and retention.
• Strong change leadership and stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence at executive levels.
• Excellent understanding of current HR practices, employment law, equality and inclusion and ethical leadership.
• Experience in developing and leading inclusive, high-performing teams.
• Strategic mindset with hands-on operational capability, comfortable operating in a dynamic, customer-focused business.
• A passionate advocate for employee experience and a track record of delivering tangible improvements.
WHAT WE OFFER
- 25 days annual leave (plus public holidays) per annum
- Free travel on ScotRail for you and eligible family members
- Free travel on Caledonian Sleeper for you and eligible family members
- Significant discount on other UK rail travel for you and eligible family members
- Allocation of “friends and family” tickets for Caledonian Sleeper travel
- Healthcare cash plan
- HAPI Benefits membership with discounts at selected retailers, hospitality venues, gyms, etc.
- Contributory pension scheme
At Caledonian Sleeper, our mission is to connect people and places through a hassle-free, convenient travel experience — and that starts with you. Guided by our core values of Integrity, Passion, Togetherness and Respect, we are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where every guest feels valued and every colleague is supported.
If you’re ready to bring your enthusiasm, empathy and dedication to a night-time operation that truly makes a difference, we’d love to hear from you. Join us and be part of a team that’s passionate about delivering delightful journeys, every time.
APPLICATION PROCESS
If you are interested in this opportunity, please submit your CV by Friday 2nd January 2026.
laura-anne.carroll@caledoniansleeper.scot