Head of Aviation

Role Purpose

Lead and be accountable for the overall performance, growth and operational excellence of the Group’s Aviation business, ensuring sustainable financial performance, superior customer experience, safe and compliant operations, disciplined execution and development of organizational capability in line with the Group’s strategic direction.

The role has overall accountability for the Aviation business and provides leadership across four key areas: Revenue & Client, Delivery & Productivity, Governance & Compliance, and Capability Development.

Key Accountabilities

• Overall financial and operational performance of the Aviation business, including revenue, profitability, cash generation, cost management and achievement of approved business targets.
• Sustainable growth of the Aviation business through customer acquisition and retention, increased aircraft movements, asset and facility utilization, new services, line stations and other approved growth initiatives.
• Consistent delivery of safe, reliable and high-quality aviation services that meet customer requirements and agreed service standards.
• Customer experience, service quality and effective management of customer feedback, complaints and service recovery.
• Productivity and operational efficiency across manpower, assets, equipment, facilities and operating processes.
• Full compliance with applicable aviation regulations, safety requirements, licenses, approvals, Group policies and governance standards.
• Development of a high-performing, accountable and customer-focused Aviation leadership team and workforce.
• Successful execution of approved strategic and transformation initiatives across the Aviation business.

Key Responsibilities

Business Leadership & Strategy

• Provide overall leadership and direction for the Aviation business in alignment with the Group's strategy and approved business plan.
• Translate Group strategy into clear Aviation priorities, annual operating plans, targets and execution roadmaps.
• Develop and recommend strategies to strengthen Aviation's competitive position, service offering and long-term sustainability.
• Maintain oversight of market developments, customer requirements, competitive activity and emerging business risks and opportunities.
• Provide clear and timely reporting to the CEO and Management on business performance, outlook, key risks and required interventions.

Financial & Commercial Performance

• Own the Aviation business P&L and deliver approved revenue, profitability, cash flow and financial targets.
• Develop and manage annual budgets, forecasts and business plans in collaboration with Finance and relevant Group functions.
• Monitor revenue, operating costs, margins and productivity and drive corrective action where performance deviates from plan.
• Ensure disciplined pricing, commercial decision-making and cost management to protect sustainable margins and returns.
• Identify and justify capital and investment requirements, ensuring appropriate utilization and returns from Aviation assets and resources.

Growth & Business Development

• Drive sustainable growth through increased aircraft movements, new customers, customer retention, improved utilization and expansion of Aviation services.
• Identify and develop new revenue opportunities, including new customer segments, services, partnerships and geographic expansion.
• Work closely with Group Strategy & Business Development and relevant functions on strategic opportunities, tenders, partnerships and investment initiatives.
• Ensure Aviation provides the necessary commercial and operational input into proposals and business cases and is operationally ready to deliver secured opportunities.
• Build and maintain strategic relationships that support the growth and positioning of the Aviation business.

Operational Excellence & Productivity

• Ensure safe, reliable, efficient and consistent delivery of all Aviation operations and services.
• Establish and maintain clear operating standards, SOPs, Work Instructions, checklists and operational controls.
• Drive productivity through effective manpower planning, rostering, resource deployment and utilization of equipment, facilities and operational assets.
• Establish appropriate performance measures and dashboards covering productivity, service quality, resource utilization and operational reliability.
• Drive continuous improvement, process simplification and operational discipline across the Aviation business.

Customer Experience & Stakeholder Management

• Set and uphold customer service standards across Aviation, ensuring professionalism, responsiveness and consistent service delivery.
• Maintain effective mechanisms for customer feedback, complaints and service recovery and ensure recurring issues are addressed through corrective action.
• Maintain strong relationships with key customers and understand their requirements, expectations and emerging needs.
• Build and maintain effective relationships with airports, regulators, government agencies, principals, partners and relevant industry stakeholders.
• Represent the Aviation business professionally in key customer, commercial, regulatory and industry engagements.

Safety, Quality, Compliance & Governance

• Maintain overall accountability for safe and compliant Aviation operations in accordance with applicable regulatory, licensing, industry and Group requirements.
• Ensure an effective QHSSE framework, safety culture, internal control environment and compliance monitoring programme are maintained.
• Ensure incidents, regulatory findings, audit observations and non-compliance are investigated and corrective actions are implemented and closed promptly.
• Maintain appropriate oversight of regulatory and aviation post-holder responsibilities and ensure material risks are escalated appropriately.
• Ensure Aviation activities comply with Group policies, delegated authority limits, governance requirements and applicable laws and regulations.

People, Leadership & Culture

• Build and lead an effective Aviation management team with clear responsibilities, performance expectations and accountability.
• Establish a culture of professionalism, customer focus, operational discipline, ownership and continuous improvement.
• Ensure managers and supervisors are accountable for both their own performance and the standards and performance of their respective teams.
• Work with HR to ensure appropriate organization design, manpower planning, recruitment, training and capability development to meet business requirements.
• Ensure good performance is recognized while underperformance, behavioural issues and misconduct are addressed fairly, consistently and promptly.

SKILLS & COMPETENCIES

• Strong business leadership and general management capability.
• P&L management, budgeting, forecasting and financial acumen.
• Strong commercial judgement and understanding of pricing, margins and return on investment.
• Aviation operations and service delivery management.
• Customer and stakeholder relationship management.
• Strategic planning and business execution.
• Operational excellence, productivity and continuous improvement.
• Risk management, governance and regulatory awareness.
• Strong understanding of safety, quality and compliance within a regulated operating environment.
• Organization development, performance management and leadership development.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capability.
• Ability to interpret operational and financial data and translate it into management action.
• Strong negotiation and influencing skills.
• Excellent written, verbal and presentation skills.
• Ability to communicate effectively with employees, Management, Board members, customers, regulators and external stakeholders.

Experiences

• Minimum 18-20 years of relevant professional experience, with significant experience in senior operational, commercial or general management leadership roles.
• Demonstrated experience managing a business, business unit or substantial operation with direct accountability for financial and operational performance.
• Strong P&L and commercial management experience.
• Demonstrated experience leading multidisciplinary teams and managing through senior functional leaders.
• Experience managing customer-facing service operations within a regulated and operationally intensive environment.
• Proven experience in driving business growth, operational improvement and organizational change.
• Experience engaging senior customers, regulators, government agencies, partners and other external stakeholders.
• Aviation, airport services, ground handling, aerospace, logistics or other asset-intensive service industry experience is strongly preferred.
• Experience operating within a listed company or comparable corporate governance environment would be an advantage.

Educational Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Engineering, Aviation, Operations Management or other relevant discipline.
• Master’s degree in Business Administration or other relevant postgraduate qualification is an added advantage.
• Relevant aviation, operational, safety or professional certifications are advantageous.

Personal Characteristics

• Strong leadership presence with the ability to set direction and hold others accountable.
• Commercially minded with a strong ownership mentality.
• Customer-focused and service-oriented.
• Decisive and comfortable making informed decisions in complex operating environments.
• Structured, analytical and disciplined in execution.
• High standards of integrity, professionalism and personal accountability.
• Able to challenge constructively and address difficult performance or organizational issues.
• Calm and credible when managing operational pressure, incidents or competing priorities.
• Collaborative and able to work effectively across organizational boundaries.
• Strong interpersonal and stakeholder-management skills across different levels, cultures and backgrounds.
• Adaptable and comfortable operating in a dynamic and changing business environment.
• Willing and able to travel domestically and internationally and attend to operational requirements outside normal working hours when required.