Operations Support Manager

Gatwick Ground Services (GGS) provide airport ground operations at London Gatwick and London City Airports.  As a wholly owned British Airways subsidiary we take great pride in delivering the same impeccable customer service and fully comprehensive training.  We are proud to deliver the highest standard of ground handling to British Airways and our other airline partners.

Gatwick Ground Services was established in 2016, to support the ramp operations of British Airways at Gatwick. Following its success, the company branched into Aircraft Cleaning in 2018.  In 2020, Passenger Services formed the newest department within the GGS business to provide an all-round ground handling solution across London Gatwick and London City Airports.

Our operations across two stations supports British Airways, Air India, Iberia Express, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines and Vueling Airlines providing a complete ground handling solution. 

It’s an exciting and fast-paced life when you’re working in some of the world’s most important travel hubs, and you’ll be part of a global gateway connecting with people from all walks of life and helping to make each and every journey original and unique.

Whether you are a welcoming face at check in, have a keen eye for aircraft appearance, or thrive in a detail-oriented fast paced ramp environment, a job at Gatwick Ground Services is yours to make.

When you join the Gatwick Ground Services team, an exceptional travel experience from the ground up starts with you.

The role:

Operations Support Manager

The Operations Support Manager is accountable for driving and supporting day-to-day priorities across the operation, whilst owning the continuous improvement portfolio. The role exists to align teams, maintain pace and ensure agreed actions and improvements are delivered on time and embedded into operational ways of working.​ The role will partner with internal and external stakeholders to ultimately help in delivering a safe and punctual operation across all of GGS.

Accountabilities:

• Lead and deliver cross‑functional projects and regular day-to-day improvements from agreement through to implementation​
• Align operational and functional teams around shared priorities, plans and timelines
• Translate operational issues and leadership priorities into clear, deliverable actions
• Track progress, manage dependencies and ensure timely completion of agreed tasks and improvements
• Actively remove barriers, escalate risks and maintain delivery momentum
• Provide clear oversight, accountability and progress reporting to operational leaders​, supported through strong analytical skill
• Owns the financial processing across the entire Operations area
• Track all key operational metrics, across all customer airlines, and identify areas of focus and improvement
• Represent GGS at airline and airport governance meetings
• Support in the strategic vision and priorities for our GSE fleet, owning the future asset renewal and requirements plan

Behaviours and attitude:

• Demonstrates strong leadership and ownership, taking accountability for delivering cross-functional projects, operational performance, and financial processes end-to-end.
• Communicates clearly, translating complex operational issues into actionable plans and providing transparent progress updates.
• Maintains a strong results-driven focus, ensuring timely delivery, continuous improvement, and high performance against key operational metrics.
• Applies analytical thinking to identify trends, manage risks, and support decision-making. Proactively removes barriers, escalates issues, and sustains delivery momentum in a fast-paced environment.
• Shows a strategic mindset, balancing day-to-day operational demands with long-term planning, alongside a proactive, resilient, and detail-oriented approach with a commitment to continuous improvement and commercial awareness.

Core traits:

• Resilient
• Courageous
• Collaborative
• Influential
• Tenacious
• Inquisitive
• Discrete

Qualifications & Experience:

• Project management and delivery
• Stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration
• Communication and influencing
• Planning, prioritisation and organisation
• Performance tracking and KPI management
• Risk management and issue resolution
• Problem-solving and decision-making
• Data analysis and insight generation
• Financial oversight and budget awareness
• Reporting and governance
• Continuous improvement and process optimisation
• Strategic thinking and planning
• Operational and commercial awareness

Skills & Capabilities:

• Project and programme management
• Cross-functional coordination and stakeholder management
• Strong communication and influencing skills
• Ability to translate strategy into clear, actionable plans
• Performance tracking and delivery management
• Risk identification, escalation and mitigation
• Problem-solving and decision-making capability
• Data analysis and interpretation of operational metrics
• Reporting, governance and presentation skills
• Continuous improvement and process optimisation
• Strategic planning and forward-thinking capability
• Strong Commercial and operational awareness

Key enablers:

• Centres of Expertise 
• Head of Gatwick
• Health & Safety
• Security
• Legal
• Gatwick Airport Limited (GAL)

Key Performance Indicators: 

• Measures success through consistent on-time delivery of projects and improvements, effective tracking and achievement of operational KPIs, and strong stakeholder alignment.
• Ensures robust risk and issue management to maintain delivery momentum, alongside accurate financial processing and budget control.
• Delivers high-quality reporting and governance, with a focus on driving continuous improvement, efficiency gains, and effective asset and strategic planning across operations.

What we offer:

We believe that all the people who work with us should feel valued for the part they play. It’s one of the reasons our rewards go far beyond a competitive salary.

Key benefits include:

• Access to discounted flights known as hotline fares, standby tickets and concessions with British Airways and other code share airlines
• Access to a Private Health Care scheme and additional health benefits including free winter flu jab 
• Cycle to work scheme
• Free staff parking
• Discounts on public transport and airport food vendors
• A generous leave allowance (in addition to Bank Holidays) of 23 days, increasing to 24 days after 5 years service 
• Pension scheme

At Gatwick Ground Services you’ll have the chance to take on new challenges and move forward in a way that feels right for you. We encourage all those who work for us to consider opportunities right across our business to help you develop and progress.

We never stand still, and we don’t expect our people to either.

Inclusion & Diversity

At Gatwick Ground Services we all have a part to play in creating an inclusive place to work. Diverse representation among our people is really important to us and we recognise that all our colleagues are uniquely different and bring their own originality, creativity and identity to work.

Inclusion and diversity are a key driver of innovation and we’re committed to creating a culture where everyone feels that they can be themselves. We’re looking for people from all backgrounds and cultures to join us and be a part of our journey as we continue to assist with connecting Britain with the world and the world with Britain.