Location
UK-Wide with regular site visits to the Manchester region required.

Hours
Full Time

Salary
Negotiable

About the Role
The Aerodrome Safety & Compliance Specialist leads safety assurance, operational change management, and regulatory compliance across aviation infrastructure programmes. Acting as the key interface between operational stakeholders, project teams, contractors, and regulators, this role ensures safety is integrated throughout project delivery. Responsibilities include preparing Safety Cases, coordinating approvals, managing airfield operational change, and ensuring compliance with aviation regulations and Safety Management Systems (SMS), while promoting a positive safety culture and accountability for safety outcomes.

Key Responsibilities
Safety Assurance & Safety Case Management: Integrate airfield safety requirements across projects and programmes. Coordinate hazard identification, risk assessments, assurance activities, and Safety Case development. Facilitate safety reviews and coordinate technical, operational, and regulatory inputs. Support operational readiness, authorisation processes, and management of operational risks.
Airfield Change Management: Assess and coordinate operational and infrastructure changes affecting airfield operations. Manage change impacts, associated risks, and concurrent changes. Ensure change activities comply with SMS and regulatory requirements.
Compliance, Assurance & Approvals: Develop and maintain programme assurance and approval plans. Coordinate regulatory submissions, approvals, and engagement with aviation authorities. Interpret regulatory requirements and advise project teams accordingly. Monitor regulatory developments, industry best practice, and programme-level safety dependencies.
Operational Safety, Leadership & Stakeholder Engagement: Promote and embed a positive safety culture across programmes, projects, and teams. Lead operational safety assurance activities including inspections, audits, reviews, and stakeholder coordination. Ensure compliance with approved controls, SMS requirements, and regulatory obligations. Drive continuous improvement, lessons learned, and proactive management of operational safety risks. Act as the principal safety interface between operational stakeholders, project teams, and contractors, supporting issue resolution and programme delivery.
Emergency Preparedness & Resilience: Support emergency planning, business continuity, resilience activities, incident investigations, recovery planning, and operational continuity assessments.

Experience
Proven experience within aviation and/or aerodrome operational environments. Experience developing, reviewing, or managing Safety Cases and operational safety assessments. Working knowledge of CAA regulations, publications, and aviation safety standards. Application of Safety Management Systems (SMS) and safety assurance principles. Experience implementing aviation regulatory approvals, submissions, and consultations. Working collaboratively with operational stakeholders, designers, engineers, contractors, and regulators. Undertaking hazard identification, risk assessment, and assurance activities. Leading safety reviews, workshops, and continuous improvement initiatives.

About You
Strong leadership and communication skills with the ability to engage multiple stakeholders. Proactive and detail-oriented with a commitment to promoting a positive safety culture. Able to manage complex operational changes in live environments. Collaborative team player with a focus on continuous improvement and safety excellence.

Qualifications
Degree qualified in Airport Planning and Management, Aviation Safety Management, Civil Engineering, Construction Management, Project Management or a related discipline; or demonstrable equivalent experience gained within aviation, aerodrome, defence aviation or operational infrastructure environments.

Desirable Experience
Supporting major infrastructure, transformation, or operational change programmes. Operational readiness and transition planning. Supporting infrastructure, engineering, or operational change programmes within live operational environments.