Address London Heathrow
Competitive
25-03-2024
Job Details
Salary: Competitive
Hours: Full time - this role is Airport-based and is not suitable for hybrid working.
Location: London Heathrow (LHR)
Contract: 12 month secondment/FTC
Closing Date: Monday, 25 March 2024
In a nutshell
At Virgin Atlantic Airways, we believe that everyone can take on the world, and it's our vision to become the most loved travel company. As we embark on this next exciting stage of our journey, we're harnessing our spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation to challenge the status quo.
As Head of Heathrow, you are accountable for delivering the customer and operation elements to ensure world class hub operation at London Heathrow whilst undertaking one of the biggest people leadership roles we have, both leading and motivating our fantastic LHR team (including our service delivery partners) and holding a leadership role and voice in the wider LHR airline community.
Day to day
Reporting to the Vice President - Airports,Clubhouses and Network Operations (ACNO) and sitting on the ACNO Leadership team, this role holds responsibility delivering our Hub operation and being a leader in the wider LHR community to the benefit of VS and its partners.
To deliver this you must lead, inspire, and motivate our own, and our partners' Heathrow Airport teams to deliver seamless, intuitive and differentiated Customer Service whilst ensuring a laser focus on ensuring a safe, secure, and exceptional, on time, operational performance.
Alongside leading our people, ensuring their happiness and development is at the core, you will be responsible for delivering the current and future operational programmes at LHR. Ensuring a culture of performance and continuous improvement, you will be responsible for delivery for the customer and ensuring a safe, secure and compliant operation. Alongside that you will lead on the LHR input into future seasons, budget delivery and cost management. As one of only 2 home based carriers, you will play a leading role in the LHR community and you will also play a crucial role in supporting our eJV partners in LHR as the home based carrier lead.
The Head of Heathrow will be the deputy nominated post holder for Ground Operations at Virgin Atlantic.
About you
Are you an experienced people leader, with a background in running large teams and promoting and encouraging a culture of excellence within the airport community? If so, and you meet or exceed the below criteria, we think you would love this role!
You will have either:
- significant experience in management of large (100+) teams that includes management of performance, driving high engagement and a culture of ownership and continuous improvement; or
- strong airport operational leadership of a multi (4+) flight station and able to demonstrate deep knowledge of driving a hub operation, above and below wing operational processes and how to improve them for high levels of performance
Alongside the above we're looking for the following:
- Strong commercial awareness, including substantial contract management experience
- Skilled at complex stakeholder management with the proven ability to deliver through others
- Significant experience in Airline and Airport Management
- The resilience, determination and tenacity to deliver a complex operation in a changing environment
- Validated experience of delivering complex change initiatives in line with strategic vision
- Sufficient operational experience to have the deputy NP credibly or the proven ability to learn quickly to do this
- Experience of the LHR community and governance structures so that you can have an immediate impact would be helpful
Be yourself
Our customers come from all walks of life and so do our colleagues. That's why we're proud to be an equal opportunity employer and actively encourage applications from all backgrounds. At Virgin Atlantic, we believe everyone can take on the world - no matter your age, gender, gender identity, gender expression, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disabilities, religion, or beliefs. We celebrate difference and everything that makes our colleagues unique by upholding an inclusive environment in which we can all thrive. So that everyone at Virgin Atlantic can be themselves and know they belong.
To make your journey with us accessible and individual to you, we encourage you to let us know if you'd like a little extra help with your application, or if you have any individual requirements at any stage along your recruitment journey. We are here to support you, so please reach out to our team, (recruitment@fly.virgin.com) feeling confident that we've got your individual considerations covered.
