Description
We’re looking for an Engineering Operations Manager to lead our Specialist Systems team at Heathrow. Reporting to a Head of Engineering, you’ll oversee a team of around 40 skilled colleagues and be accountable for the performance of a key Engineering area. Your focus will be delivering the operational plan, managing stakeholders, and ensuring excellent service for our diverse customer base.
You’ll work closely with teams across Engineering and the wider airport, driving a business‑partner mindset and challenging the status quo to support improvements in cost, safety, performance, compliance, risk, innovation and continuous improvement.
This is a Monday–Friday role with responsibility for leading four 24/7 shift teams. The Specialist Systems team manages critical assets including cutting‑edge security equipment, flight information displays, CCTV, control systems and traffic management systems.
Responsibilities
- Lead the delivery of the operational plan for the area, ensuring targets for cost, asset performance, risk, compliance, health & safety, and environmental standards are met.
- Develop internal talent and proactively manage succession, while also building strong and effective partnerships with external suppliers, contractors, and consultants.
- Take accountability for the performance and governance of area‑specific Engineering assets, including statutory maintenance and compliance reporting.
- Act as the primary point of contact for internal and external stakeholders, representing Engineering across key forums, project groups, and customer‑facing engagements.
- Provide inspirational, inclusive leadership to enable the team to perform optimally supporting technical and behavioural development to meet current and future business needs.
- Collaborate across Engineering to optimise delivery of commercial, compliance, energy, asset, and environmental strategies, ensuring risks and opportunities are actively managed and supported by robust plans.
Qualifications
- Time‑served apprenticeship and/or a minimum NVQ Level 3 Engineering qualification, with broad knowledge of multi‑discipline engineering.
- Proven experience delivering continuous improvement and change in a complex environment, enhancing operational and commercial performance while improving efficiency and reducing costs.
- Strong analytical and problem‑solving capability, with a track record of applying a challenging, data‑driven approach to complex technical and operational issues.
- Demonstrated inspirational leadership skills, able to set a clear vision, motivate teams, and drive high performance.
- Experience in planning and implementing projects from an operational perspective.
- Strong knowledge of management systems and risk management.
- Highly collaborative, with strong influencing skills and the ability to role model behaviours that support change and build engagement.
Ideally, you will also have:
- Level 4/5 Engineering qualification or membership of an Engineering Council Institution (IEng).
- IOSH Managing Safely or NEBOSH qualification.
- Broad and transferable knowledge of a wide range of assets, systems, and improvement methodologies.
hackajob is partnering with Heathrow to fill this position. Create a profile to be automatically considered for this role—and others that match your experience.
