Director of Safety & Assurance 

Reports to: Chief Executive Officer 

Location: Lydd Airport – UK Centre for Future Flight Innovation (CFFI)

Salary range: £125,000 – £145,000 depending on experience

Contract type: Permanent – Full Time

We are the UK’s first Centre for Future Flight Innovation (CFFI) and will be recognised as a leader in the field. There will multiple and diverse activities ongoing at the CFFI, from developmental work to test, evaluation and approvals of all types of innovative aviation technology.

The Role

The Director of Safety is accountable for safety management and regulatory compliance across the Lydd Airport / CFFI complete operation. This includes business-as-usual general aviation, corporate, charter, training and military movements, together with all CFFI research, test, demonstration and future-flight activities.

The post holder will maintain an effective Safety Management System (SMS), Quality Management System (QMS), chair the CFFI Safety Board, and provide independent assurance that every activity is legally approved, adequately risk-assessed and capable of being accommodated safely at Lydd CFFI.

The Director of Safety will lead and direct the Safety and Assurance team.

The Director will report directly to the CEO and have authority to restrict, suspend or stop any activity presenting an unacceptable or uncontrolled risk.

Key responsibilities

Airport CFFI safety and compliance

• Lead the airport’s and CFFI SMS, safety policy, risk management, compliance monitoring and safety-improvement programme.

• Ensure compliance with applicable UK aviation legislation, CAA requirements, the aerodrome licence, Aerodrome Manual and CAP 168.

• Maintain appropriate alignment with ICAO Annexes 14 and 19 and relevant EASA requirements where applicable to an operator, aircraft, approval or international programme.

• Retain day-to-day safety responsibility for GA, corporate, charter, training and military movements.

• Oversee runway, taxiway, apron and stand safety; airside works; ground handling; wildlife and foreign-object debris controls; safeguarding; Rescue and Fire Fighting Services; and emergency planning.

• Maintain the regulatory compliance register and coordinate audits, inspections, approval changes and corrective actions.

• Advise the CEO and Board on significant risks, occurrences, non-compliance and emerging regulatory requirements.

• Promote an open reporting and just culture throughout the airport and CFFI.

• Act as the primary focal point for safety risk management and compliance monitoring with the regulatory authority.

• Lead the coordination and delivery of the safety and quality governance framework, including the Safety Review Committee (SRC), Safety Leadership Group (SLG) and Quality Management System (QMS) Management Review.

• Lead the Safety and Assurance team through objectives, defined activities and actions required to establish full compliance with all pertinent regulations.

• Responsible for leading the decision-making process on changes to the SMS, QMS and safety governance through coordinating change recommendations to the SLG for decision.

• Promote and support activities that create and increase awareness, understanding and ownership of safety and compliance responsibilities.

• Develop the team’s approach and ways of working to a business partnering model and encourage better facilitation, collaboration and cooperation with all partners and tenants.

CFFI Safety Board

The Director will chair a multidisciplinary Safety Board that reviews and approves every organisation and operation seeking to use the CFFI.

Before an activity begins, the Board must be satisfied that:

• The operator and all accountable parties are identified.

• Required CAA, military or other competent-authority approvals are valid and cover the proposed activity.

• The aircraft, personnel, operating procedures and test plan are suitable.

• A proportionate safety case and risk assessment have been completed.

• Air, ground, public and adjacent-area risks are adequately controlled.

• Airspace, ATC, infrastructure and emergency arrangements are appropriate.

• Interactions with GA, corporate and military traffic are acceptable.

• Operating limitations, abort criteria and stop-work conditions are defined.

• The operation falls within the CFFI’s approved safety and operational capabilities.

The Safety Board may accept, conditionally accept, defer or reject an operation. Acceptance will be documented, time-limited and subject to continuing compliance. Material changes must be reassessed.

CFFI acceptance does not replace regulatory approval or transfer responsibility from the operator or approval holder.

SORA and future-flight operations

For UAS operations requiring an Operational Authorisation, the Director will verify that:

• An appropriate UK Specific Operations Risk Assessment, or other CAA-accepted assessment, has been completed.

• A valid Operational Authorisation covers the proposed operation.

• The Specific Assurance and Integrity Level (SAIL) and containment level are identified and supported by the required evidence.

• Applicable Operational Safety Objectives have been satisfied.

• Ground risk, air risk, containment, operational volume, ground-risk buffers and adjacent areas have been addressed.

• Aircraft flightworthiness, remote-pilot competence, command-and-control links and contingency procedures are acceptable.

• Lost-link, flight-termination, emergency-response and recovery arrangements are suitable.

The Director will define the combinations of SAIL, containment, airspace, aircraft characteristics and emergency support that the CFFI can accommodate. Operations outside this envelope may proceed only after the necessary controls, facilities and approvals are established.

Equivalent assurance will be required for manned, optionally piloted, autonomous, flight-test, Advanced Air Mobility novel-propulsion operations and for advanced concepts of operation.

Risk, assurance and emergency management

• Apply formal management of change to material operational, technical, organisational, infrastructure or regulatory changes.

• Maintain risk-based audit and surveillance arrangements for airport departments, contractors, tenants and CFFI participants.

• Ensure mandatory and voluntary occurrences are reported, investigated and acted upon.

• Monitor safety performance, trends, findings and corrective actions.

• Maintain emergency plans for conventional aircraft and novel risks, including batteries, high-voltage systems, alternative fuels, lost link and autonomous-system failures.

• Ensure safety-critical personnel and Safety Board members remain competent and appropriately trained.

• Coordinate with the CAA, Military Aviation Authority, emergency services, government bodies and other relevant authorities.

Authority

The Director will have direct and unrestricted access to the CEO and Board and authority to:

• Access safety-relevant personnel, records, systems, aircraft and facilities.

• Require further evidence, controls, inspections or independent assurance.

• Impose operating limitations and safety conditions.

• Prevent, restrict or suspend an operation or activity.

• Require corrective action within specified timescales.

• Escalate unresolved matters to the CEO, Board or relevant authority.

The Director cannot be required to endorse an activity believed to be unlawful or unacceptably unsafe.  Commercial, contractual or programme objectives must not override safety requirements.

About you

• Aviation experience at a senior operational level within Safety.

• Proven leadership experience in safety management within a complex operational arrangement.

• Demonstrable experience of implementing safety risk management framework in innovate or novel operations or with new product/technology.

• Experience in strategy development, implementation and management with particular regard to management systems.

• Diplomacy and tact being aware and sensitive to colleague and stakeholder variances and needs.

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills required to engage Colleagues at all levels across multiple disciplines.

• Able to make clear decisions and solve complex problems.

• Ability to produce reports and papers on technical issues up to Board level, and to review and amend the work of others.

Additional information

The role terms and conditions include generous pension contributions, leave entitlement and salary sacrifice schemes.

Please send your CV and a covering letter to recruitment@lydd-airport.co.uk