Geographic Information Systems Graduate Scheme - Transport for London (TFL)

London is a world-class city that’s home to 8.6 million people and visited every year by 19 million more. Keeping it working, moving, and growing is a huge challenge, but one that Transport for London (TfL) rises to every day. Everything on our transport network happens at a particular point in space and time which provides an enormous canvas to play with to understand how we can improve. GIS is the tool which enables us to drive evidence-based decision-making, giving endless insight and ideas into how we can continue to provide a world leading service to members of the public.

You will have the opportunity to gain experience across our analysis, property and operational teams, ranging from strategic London-wide topics to network analysis of individual vehicle movements. You will understand the data that is available at TfL, how it informs decision making to stakeholders and the role GIS plays in making every journey matter.

Quote

“Working at TfL hasn't just given me skills and knowledge in GIS, it's given me a deep understanding of how a global city moves and works.”

Salary: £28,500 (increase to £30,500 in year two)

Location: London (Stratford or Southwark) with up to 50% Hybrid Working subject to business requirement.

What we offer You will enjoy excellent benefits and scope to grow. Rewards vary according to the business area but mostly include:

· Free travel on the TfL network for you and a nominee who lives in the same household

· Final salary pension scheme

· Discounted national rail and Eurostar travel

· Minimum 30 days annual leave plus public and bank holidays

· Private healthcare discounted scheme

· Tax-efficient cycle-to-work programme

· Retail, health, leisure and travel offers & many more

Duration: 2 years

Entry requirements

A minimum of a Bachelor's Degree within the field of GIS, Geography, Geomatics, Surveying or a STEM related subject with a grade of 2:2 or higher, or Post-Grad qualification within a relevant field.

Proposed start date: 9th September 2024

Job overview

GIS is a broad subject with many ways to answer the same question and that’s no different within TfL. We apply GIS to everything, from how we capture data in the field to un-picking complex problems in real-time. It's our job to capture, disseminate and visualise our spatial data and bring it to life for our users to enable the understanding of patterns and relationships.

Your approach to problems will be constantly iterated on to keep up within an aggressively innovative field which is continually branching into other subjects such as Data Science and Data Engineering. You will however be expected to build on a strong foundation of geographic competencies which will form the basis of your learning throughout your placements.

As we use GIS and geospatial data in wide variety of ways, you’ll be expected to communicate, interact and influence with a wide variety of people. As a subject matter expert for mapping and geospatial data you’ll also lead on geospatial analysis projects to help deliver insights for TfL to undertake effective change on our network.

As GIS spans across Maths, Science, Technology and Art you will need to be able to learn new skills quickly and have a keen eye for detail, a problem-solving mindset and excellent reasoning skills to succeed however you will be supported by a strong GIS analytical community and training opportunities to reach your potential.

Sustainability

Sustainability is intrinsic to TfL’s work ethos, and we ensure that we operate in a sustainable way to protect and regenerate the natural world.

We use GIS to from everything, from capturing tree planting locations, understanding flood risk impact and also modelling air quality, to help support the Mayors commitment to grow London as a Green City. You’ll be heavily involved in helping play a part in solving some of the growing climate challenges London faces.

What will I be doing?

As a graduate, your 2-year development programme will be made up of 3 mandatory placements rotations of 6 months and 1 flexible placement within 1 of 3 different teams. You will complete at least 1 mandatory 6-month placement before being presented with a flexible placement choice. Within each placement you will be introduced to new projects, datasets, and tools and you will be expected to deliver impactful work whilst simultaneously learning the skills you will need.

GIS is embedded within the organisation, and you can expect to work across a wide range of the organisation within the following teams:

· Strategic Analysis (6 Months / Mandatory)

o We provide the objective evidence, analysis and modelling that underpins the planning of London’s future. We analyse and interpret multi-modal transport, land-use, economic, environmental, societal and spatial data to understand how and why travel in London is changing. We develop scenarios for London's future and use multi-modal modelling to forecast how people will travel and which schemes and strategies are most effective in meeting MTS goals. We are the analytical arm of the Transport Strategy & Policy Directorate and our GIS team play an important role in this – focussing on advanced spatial analysis and creative visualisations, adding value to data and illustrating trends and patterns to inform decision-making.

· Property Services (6 Months / Mandatory)

o As part of the Business Services Directorate, the Property Services Division provides a full, high quality property consultancy service to clients within both the TfL Group and the wider GLA family. The Property Asset Register Team manages and maintains land ownership for TfL and GLA using GIS and CAD based systems, creates insight and innovation for Property Services and their stakeholders, and supports the wider business with a variety of property matters. You will work alongside GIS Developers, Land Information Managers and GIS/CAD experts to provide advice and support to enable TfL to maximise its estate and get the right land and property to deliver a strong green heartbeat for London.

· Network Management and Resilience (6 Months / Mandatory)

o NMR operates 24/7, 365 days a year to help keep London’s streets moving. You will help shape the way TfL responds to daily challenges by supporting TfL Operations with geospatial analysis using network analysis and platforming geospatial data using extract, transform and load techniques. You will work alongside a wider team of Data Scientists, Data Engineers and Business Intelligence specialists to unpick complex challenges and use innovative solutions to deliver insights to stakeholders. You will learn network analysis and map matching techniques amongst other broader GIS subjects.

· Compliance, Policing, Operations and Security (6 Months / Flexible Placement Choice)

o CPOS plays a vital role in achieving TfL’s vision. It is our job to protect staff and customers, especially the most vulnerable, and keep them safe from crime, anti-social behaviour, and road danger wherever they work and however they travel. With our partners in the Police, we educate; encourage compliance and enforce the rules and regulations intended to keep everyone safe, secure and which help London to thrive. You will be responsible for providing data and helping build GIS solutions to support front-line teams across TfL and allow intelligent decision making to ensure everyone gets home safe every day.

· Technology and Data (6 Months / Flexible Placement Choice)

o Our Tech & Data team focus on what’s behind the millions of daily transactions on London’s transport network and support the back-end architecture of our GIS applications. You will help deliver requirements from other GIS teams within an agile environment alongside GIS developers to create powerful and advanced tools to reap the benefit of the technology available to you. You will learn the importance of backend systems and the Python scripting skills to help automate tasks.

· Engineering (6 Months / Flexible Placement Choice)

o TfL Engineering’s focus is on the rail assets that form the foundation of our transport system. You will be involved in helping deliver clarity to difficult schematics and data challenges of mapping a 150-year-old rail network. You will support the delivery of GIS to over 2000 users by centralising information within our GIS, RailMapper. You will learn skills how to build robust GIS applications and spatial data management techniques.

You are expected to complete each of the mandatory placements plus 1 flexible placement outlined above. There is a lot of scope to tailor each placement to your skills and interests due to the breadth of work in each team. You will be expected to learn the fundamentals of applied GIS in line with the scheme competencies. Your placements may become more specialised or focussed in, for example, data science, modelling or data management if your interests move in that direction.

Where can this career take me?

Upon completing the scheme, you are expected to roll-off into one of our GIS teams and be an active participant in those communities. There will continue to be opportunities to grow and explore new areas, and collaboration between teams is encouraged. Equally, you may decide to specialise or progress to managing a small team of GIS Specialists. Transport for London is a large organisation with over 40 GIS professional roles available and many options for future development and projects to maintain your high level of curiosity.

What training and support will you get?

Our award-winning teams will support your ongoing development, through a wide range of on-the-job practical experience and placements. We'll support your professional development through a combination of training, mentoring, and networking.

You will receive one-to-one support throughout the programme, including on-the-job training from experts, including your line manager and the following:

· Placement manager: Responsible for your day-to-day management and support with your development.

· Scheme sponsor: A senior manager who acts as a technical and professional adviser and has line manager responsibility.

· Mentor: Usually someone who has previous experience of a GIS graduate or apprentice programme who gives support to you and ensure that you feel welcomed in the organisation.

What Qualifications will I gain?

Throughout your placement you will build your portfolio using the framework provided for Chartered Geographer (CGeog) status from the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) or Chartered Surveyor in Geomatics (MRICS) from The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). Your initial submission at the end of your 2-year graduate scheme will be funded by TfL. There will also be potential to also gain professionally recognised accreditation with both Esri and Safe Software.

What do we look for?

Our core values are extremely important to us, and we desire candidates who are:

· Caring about our colleagues, our customers and our work

· Open to each other, to new ideas and to working together

· Adaptable to diverse needs and willing to innovate

Thank you for your interest in applying for this TfL Graduate Scheme.

The application will contain a series of questions to establish your eligibility. Please read through the eligibility criteria below carefully and ensure that you are eligible before applying.

It is important that you take great care in reading and answering these questions as we will not be able to revert your application if an error is made.

Please Note: We only allow one application for any of our Graduate or internship schemes per year. Any subsequent applications will be withdrawn.

Assessment process

You will receive support and information around each assessment stage as you progress through your application.

Please see careers site for further guidance.

Please pay close attention to emails and deadlines provided noting you have 1 week to complete assessments and we cannot re-issue these tests.

Assessment centres for graduates and intern roles will take place from November-January, please note that many roles only have 1 assessment day and we are unable to guarantee additional dates. We are conducting assessment centres in person and virtually (role dependent).

Inclusive Recruitment Process

We operate a transparent recruitment process that removes barriers for candidates with a disability. Please let us know if you require reasonable adjustments for any stages of the application process.

We're a Disability Confident employer, and we offer guaranteed interviews to candidates who apply via the scheme where the minimum criteria for skills, knowledge and experience has been met.

In High Volume campaigns including Graduate, Apprentice and Intern recruitment the minimum criteria we set is achieving a pass mark in our first stage assessments, adopting a proportionate approach as part of the Disability Confident scheme.