Head of Operations Planning Effectiveness

A career without limits

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:

We’re seeking an exceptional leader to become our Head of Operations Planning Effectiveness — a new role shaping the strategic direction, alignment and performance of Operations Planning across the business.

Operations Planning is a critical function at the heart of our Heathrow operation, that ensures our operations run smoothly and efficiently. In this role, you’ll unify planning, process, resourcing and change activity into a coherent, future‑focused roadmap that strengthens operational stability and drives measurable improvement. Working widely with senior leaders, you’ll influence decisions at the highest levels and ensure our planning ecosystem is robust, efficient and insight‑driven

This is a rare opportunity to shape the future of Operations Planning at a strategic level. You’ll lead initiatives that directly impact operational performance, customer experience and business outcomes — all while championing a culture of continuous improvement and operational excellence.

If you’re a strategic thinker with the courage to challenge, the influence to lead change and the drive to deliver measurable results, we’d love to hear from you

What you’ll be doing:

• Setting the strategic direction for Operations Planning Effectiveness, ensuring alignment across all planning and operational functions.
• Owning and maintaining the Operations Planning roadmap, integrating long‑term planning, process design and resourcing interfaces.
• Providing strategic insight to support data‑led decision‑making and improved operational outcomes.
• Embedding a joined‑up programme management approach, governing priorities, timelines and interdependencies.
• Facilitating and influencing cross- directorate forums to ensure operational insights and mitigations are implemented through the Operability lifecycle, maintaining strong feedback loops from outcomes into planning decisions.
• Working closely with Operations Planning teams to ensure robust quality tracking and auditing of third-party vendor output capitalising on opportunities for improvement of cost saving.
• Leading initiatives to improve performance, planning accuracy, schedule stability, system capability and colleague experience.
• Aligning operational declarations, performance targets and mitigations across key business areas.
• Upholding the highest standards that underpin planning accuracy and compliance.
• Driving simplification, automation and continuous improvement across planning processes.
• Ensuring high‑quality reporting and performance tracking
• Leading negotiations and alignment across annual operational, financial and planning cycles.
• Building trusted relationships with senior stakeholders to anticipate and influence planning impacts.

What you’ll bring to British Airways:

• Experience in strategic resource planning or operations effectiveness role
• Experience delivering complex change and transformation in a matrixed, data led environment.
• Proven experience in Resourcing planning, governance, business planning and performance reporting.
• Strong programme/project management capability across complex, cross‑functional environments.
• Strong end user understanding of planning systems
• Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills, with confidence and experience in operating at senior levels.
• A data‑driven, insight‑led mindset with strong analytical capability.
• Deep understanding of end‑to‑end planning processes and planning systems.
• A resilient, collaborative and commercially aware leadership style, with experience of leading others

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.