Graduate jobs in Newcastle upon Tyne

We are Go North East!

We are a leading provider of passenger transport in North East England. Our business literally drives people and our team of 1800+ colleagues are at the heart of everything we do. We’ve connected the North East for nearly 50 years and as the region's largest bus company with over 500 vehicles, we continue to play a crucial role in keeping cities, towns and villages connected and the region’s people moving sustainably.

Go North East is part of the Go-Ahead Group, an international transport group and one of the UK’s leading public transport providers. We also operate in Australia, Ireland, Norway, Singapore and Sweden.

Many of our business leaders began their career as graduates and graduate development is key part of our talent culture that prioritises career development across our organisation. This is why we place significant value on the diverse perspectives that graduates bring into our business.

We are looking for graduates who like to find innovative solutions to challenging problems, who are resourceful, driven, and curious to discover the evolving transport industry and the opportunities it has to offer. We seek confident individuals who can communicate effectively and transparently with people from all backgrounds while showing ambition and collaboration.

Your 18-month operations development programme will include multiple placements around your local business where you can expect to experience all aspects of an operational environment. As part of your scheme, you will have the opportunity to complete secondments to other parts of the Group to further develop your industry knowledge. The scheme is designed to help you to find your passion, secure a permanent role and build your career in the transport industry.

As a diverse group, we rely heavily on passionate individuals who are agile and are motivated to deliver sustainable growth and achieve our goal of a smarter and healthier planet for our customers. To work together towards achieving this goal we need to develop our future business leaders - think this could be you? Apply below!

What are we looking for in our future operational leaders? The successful candidate must:

· Have a valid UK driving licence

· Have a 2:2 degree or above in any degree discipline

· Have permission to work in the United Kingdom

· Have strong technical and operational skills, including a natural rapport with people from all backgrounds and experiences

· Show an interest in the industry; extensive knowledge of the industry is definitely not essential, but you must show eagerness to learn

· Collaborative and accountable individuals who can use their own initiative as well as take guidance from colleagues

· Ability to communicate effectively with people from all backgrounds, to express views, challenge ideas and influence decisions

· Willingness to travel to take on new challenges in different parts of the business

What you can expect to experience

· Manage relationships with customers, colleagues, and our external partners

· Real responsibility and accountability from day one, supported by opportunities to shadow our business leaders to benefit from their experience

· Secondments to other areas of our business to develop your skills and industry knowledge

· Opportunity to influence and contribute to decision making within an industry leading business

· Structured learning and development alongside your day-to-day role

· Opportunity to network and share your experiences with your colleagues and peers

· Zero-carbon initiatives and innovation

What behaviours you’ll exhibit

· Information seeker – regularly assess information and data; looking inside and outside the organisation for ways to improve

· Ideas generator – value fresh thinking and develop innovative ideas to drive the business forward

· Flexible thinker – consider business challenges from different perspectives, considering the views of others

· Effective communicator – communicate with others in clear, concise, and engaging ways, while being unafraid to challenge practices, behaviour, or ways of doing things

· Collaborative team worker – value others’ contributions, encouraging teamwork and collaboration

· Active influencer – build long-term relationships to develop mutually beneficial networks

· People developer – create a learning and development environment where people can fulfil their potential

· Confidence inspirer – adopt a positive attitude and builds confidence in others

· Trust builder – achieve results through building relationships based on treating people with respect and dignity

· Action enabler – make things happen; being accountable for delivering results especially during times of change

· Continuous improver – look to improve performance through better measurement and evaluation

· Customer champion – keep the organisation one step ahead of the customer

What you’ll get out of it

· Clear and structured pathway to progression

· Salary of £28,000

· Exposure to all areas of our business, and the wider bus industry

· Free travel on many of Go-Ahead’s services

· Opportunity to get your PSV (bus) driving licence

· Dedicated senior leader as a mentor and a buddy, both throughout the duration of the programme

Closing Date for Applications: 29th October 2026

Job Types: Fixed term contract, Graduate

Pay: £28,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Company events
• Company pension
• Cycle to work scheme
• Free parking
• Health & wellbeing programme
• On-site parking
• Referral programme
• Store discount

Work Location: In person