Role Purpose
The Operations and Continuous Improvement Leader manages all operational aspects of the Aviation Engineering Centre (AEC) including, but not exhaustively; performance metrics and reviews, management and reporting of budgets, communications, facilities, and in collaboration with the AEC Group Lead, generic AEC risk assessments. The Operations and Continuous Improvement Leader owns the BS EN 9100 Aerospace Quality Management manual in collaboration with the Quality Function, adopting this framework to understand AEC performance and drive positive change through the AEC by virtue of managing a programme of Continuous Improvement.
Key Accountabilities
1. Generate the monthly AEC Performance Review pack and Compliance Review pack, supporting the Head of AEC in the presentation of the pack at the Air Business, Senior Management Reviews, ensuring any resulting actions are followed through.
2. Deliver a Programme of Continuous Improvement activity across the AEC, identifying key improvement areas from trends in KPIs, Safety Performance Indicators (SPIs), project LfE, and feedback from business performance reviews, team meetings and individuals.
3. Maintain a rolling monthly status of AEC performance against Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and metrics in accordance with the BS EN9100 framework, leading the maintenance and evolution of the BS EN9100 Quality Manual, in collaboration with the Quality Assurance function, and the respective AEC process area owners.
4. As part of the AEC Leadership Team, lead the evolution and maintenance of the AEC 3-Year Strategic Plan, contributing to the AECs strategic future goals and ensuring Continuous Improvement activities and budgets are fully aligned
5. Ensure effective, open and authentic regular communications across the AEC community to create an engaging and informative environment, ensuring the collation and presentation of a monthly AEC–Q-Talk pack
Key Capabilities/Knowledge
6. Recognised as a highly influential leader with extensive experience and proven record of operational management within an aviation environment.
7. Demonstrable experience as a change agent, having implemented and managed continuous improvement to process, ways of working, and ultimately culture, in the pursuit of improved, efficiency, on-time delivery and customer delight.
8. Detailed knowledge and experience of ‘lean’ methodologies and project lifecycle management.
9. Professional and articulate communicator with a proven record of pragmatically conducting formal and informal reviews in both operational domains.
10. Ability to work independently, influence decision making and drive through change, requiring guidance in only the most complex situations.
11. Able to apply internal and external business factors to influence decision making within.
12. Demonstrable evidence of leading the resolution of complex operational problems by taking a broad, collaborative perspective, drawing on the wider community to evolve solutions.
13. Awareness of wider aviation industry practices, and general engineering best practice that will enable a cultural shift in ways of working.
14. Experience of the QinetiQ finance tools, reports and reporting methods specific to Cost Centre Managers and the requirement to provide input to these in a timely manner.
15. Experience of military and civil aviation, specifically the lifecycle of aircraft modification.
16. Strong appreciation through experience at Senior / Principal Engineer level of the Principles of Project Management, Systems Engineering, Design, Production, Aircraft Integration and Aviation Trials.
Experience & Qualifications
17. Degree in a Business or Engineering subject, or evidence of experience and development to this level through vocational development
18. Demonstrable experience of having operated in a leadership role within an aviation development engineering environment
19. A natural team player with the ability to infuse and motivate teams through change
20. Computer literate and proficient with modern business software’s, ideally in the SAP business suite
21. Ideally registered with an appropriate professional body and active within Continuous Professional Development activities
22. Culturally, we look for team members with a ‘can do’ attitude that supports a thriving environment delivering at pace with their colleagues, whilst ensuring stringent compliance to safety and regulatory requirements and meeting customer’s needs.