Head of Heathrow Support Team

As the nation’s flag carrier, we take great pride in connecting Britain with the world and the world with Britain.

It’s something we’ve been doing for over 100 years, ever since we launched the world’s first international scheduled air service between London and Paris.

This originality has been in our blood since day one. It’s the spirit we share with the people that fly with us, our partners, and our colleagues.

So, whether you are a reassuring voice on the end of a phone, a smile at the door, under a wing keeping the turbines spinning or landing us gently in far-flung places, a job at British Airways is yours to make.

We know great things can happen when you’re inspired to think big and bring your ambition to work every day, which is why, at British Airways the sky is never the limit.

The role:

Head of Heathrow Support Team

This is a unique opportunity to lead – and transform – the team that supports British Airways’ operations at our Heathrow airport. Having just introduced a new operating model at our hub, we need our Heathrow Support Team to transform how it operates as well so we can deliver great customer service, operational performance and colleague engagement every day.

As Head of Heathrow Support Team you will be a key member of the Heathrow Leadership team, reporting directly to the Director of Heathrow. Leading a team of c50 people, you will be accountable for not just the day-to-delivery of high quality colleague management and employee lifecycle for our 6000+ colleagues, but also the transformation of how you deliver it

You’ll bring a fresh approach, strong operational, transformation and people leadership experience, and a focus on ensuring the smooth and efficient day to day running of the operation.

A talented people leader, you’ll set new standards and inspire a large team of direct reports to ensure current employees are engaged, have clear development opportunities and make positive contributions to our transformation journey. Future employees will be onboarded with a clear view of expectations, instilling a sense of excitement from day one. You’ll balance busy operational requirements with a structured approach to reporting, measuring and demonstrating performance metrics and progress.

What you'll do:

• Creating, developing and leading a clear strategy that drives a culture of robust, swift and effective people management, developing and maintaining clear metrics and standards to monitor and drive success
• Developing and implementing an effective colleague life cycle, that creates an engaging colleague experience at all career points with British Airways (e.g., onboarding, career pathways and development)
• Contributing and maintaining effective industrial relations on a day-to-day basis
• Enabling and driving an efficient yet individualised culture of engagement in all interactions/ support delivered to colleagues.
• Working with Heathrow Business Manager on colleague wellbeing, planning and implementation, communication and engagement
• Overseeing and co-ordinating effective absence management
• Managing all recruitment pipeline activity, creating an engaging onboarding experience
• Developing and implementing effective data provision to leadership teams, to measure performance and key people metrics

 What  you'll bring to British Airways:

• Talented strategic people leader (with operational experience) , with responsibility for maintaining operational efficiency  through large teams, whilst driving engagement in transformation activities
• Built and maintained structured metrics approach to reporting operational efficiency, using data to identify opportunities for improvement.
• Proven senior stakeholder engagement, presenting regular complex data and metrics up to and including senior management
• Experience of initiating, delivering and embedding, positive business process change through a large team of direct report.
• Educated to degree level (or equivalent qualification/experience)
• Demonstrable experience in making business critical decisions at speed
• Experience driving colleague and customer centric transformation within an operationally driven matrixed environment
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to use data and various metrics to develop informed solutions, turning this in to a deliverable strategy
• Experience in an operational environment, driving departmental efficiencies, process development and improvement, problem solving, communication and planning
• Experience of working with trade unions desirable.

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.

From the day you join us, you’ll get access to brilliant staff travel benefits including unlimited basic and premium standby tickets on British Airways flights. You’ll also receive up to 30 discounted ‘Hotline’ airfares per year for yourself, friends, and family.

At British Airways 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 British Airways 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 is 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 to become a Better BA as we continue to connect Britain with the world and the world with Britain.