Senior Aviation Safety Policy Advisors 32 views

We recognise the challenges that people with protected characteristics may experience on the job market and in their career progression. We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities. We are keen to make our workforce as diverse as possible, and we hope to attract applications from underrepresented groups, including ethnic minorities, people with a disability, and people with gender diverse identities. 

Have you got experience influencing and building strong working relationships a wide range of stakeholders?

Can you react at pace, working flexibly whilst making effective decisions?

Are you a strategic thinker?

If so, we have 2 exciting, high profile roles working in an area where you can make a difference, and we would love you to apply!

The Aviation Safety Team has a broad and busy portfolio in a very high-profile area. It is responsible for setting the strategic direction for aviation safety and owns a wide portfolio of distinct safety policies. It ensures that the UK’s view is heard in European and international fora and works closely with the aviation and aerospace sector. The team is the focal point for many organisations working in aviation safety, such as the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and Air Safety Support International (ASSI). The team is responsible for incident response whenever there is a major aviation safety incident.

There are two aviation safety teams who work closely together to ensure the UK remains a global leader and that aviation safety is continuously improved. A post is available in each of the domestic and international aviation safety teams. Both teams are growing, having taken on additional responsibilities post EU Exit. We are now at the stage of reviewing processes and procedures implemented at the time, implementing significant legislative reforms domestically and looking to increase our international presence and engagement.

The international SEO will support a wide range of work across the team, and as a small team, there is a need to remain flexible and adaptable to different priorities and support numerous workstreams. This role is focused on leading the UK’s international aviation safety risk response work with the aim of meeting the UK’s objective of “protecting UK citizens wherever they are in the world”, through delivery of the UK Air Safety List, the list of banned States and airlines, as well as through delivery of the UK’s international capacity building program with the State Safety Partnership team at CAA. The role is therefore responsible for overseeing the Department’s funding to the CAA for international risk response work amounting to approximately £2 million and ensuring appropriate governance of this funding.

The role will also be responsible for overseeing aviation safety regulation in the UK Crown Dependencies and ensuring that this is conducted by regulators to international standards, as well as being the Department’s focal point to the Crown Dependencies for aviation safety related matters. This work also includes the delivery of an ambitious audit programme across the Crown Dependencies.

The domestic SEO will have a broad policy portfolio, to include work with key stakeholders such as the Maritime and Coastguard Agency on Search and Rescue policy, and the Military Aviation Authority, on managing cross-cutting risks across military and civil aviation. A key responsibility will be taking forward the UK’s State Safety Programme and representing UK interests in global safety plan development. This high-profile work involves working across the UK aviation safety system (including the regulator, accidents investigation branch, Crown Dependencies, Overseas Territories and others) to ensure the UK meets international Safety Management requirements and has a credible and effective National Aviation Safety Plan. It also involves ensuring this plan feeds into effective safety risk mitigation at regional and global levels.

We have significant interest from senior officials and ministers and report to the Director General of Civil Aviation on safety matters.

There is currently no line management responsibility in the international post, while the domestic post will line manage one HEO. In both cases, you will task manage others across the teams to support delivery of your work.

Whilst we welcome applications from those looking to work with us on a part time basis, there is a business requirement, for the successful candidate to be able to work at least 30 hours per week.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

International role

• Leading on discrete international policy matters supporting UK objectives.
• Leading the UK’s Aviation Safety International Risk Response work through work on the UK Air Safety List and capacity building initiatives, working in collaboration with the UK Civil Aviation Authority and international stakeholders.
• Oversight of funding provided to the UK Civil Aviation Authority related to risk management and response.
• Ministerial engagement, parliamentary business, submissions, briefings and correspondence.
• Working with the wider safety team in the event of an aviation safety incident.

Domestic role

• Development of the UK’s State Safety Programme.
• Reviewing established policies and procedures. There are several key policy areas where we would like reviews carried out, with policy options papers considering the efficacy of current working practices and policies and setting out options for how we could do things differently.
• Ministerial briefings, correspondence and parliamentary business.
• Engaging with industry stakeholders as needed.

For more information, please see the attached Role Profile.

About you

To thrive in this role, you will be able to:

• Build effective relationships with senior and technical stakeholders.
• Has strong analytical skills and the ability to spot risks and opportunities.
• Has excellent communication skills, with strong personal impact and ability to produce high quality written material.
• Understand the bigger picture.
• React at pace and make effective decisions.
• Be a team player.

Additional information

A minimum of 60% of your working time should be spent at your principal workplace, although requirements to attend other locations for official business, or carry out detached duty in another DfT workplace, will also count towards this level of attendance.

The role will require semi-regular travel within the UK and overseas.

Find out more about working within policy at the Department for Transport https://careers.dft.gov.uk/policy/