Head of Consumer Policy

Salary: up to £90,473 dependent upon experience

Contract Type: Permanent, Full-time

Security Level: CTC

The CAA is the UK’s aviation and aerospace regulator and recognised as a world leader in its field.

Our activities are diverse: enabling the aviation industry to meet the highest safety standards; ensuring consumers have choice and are treated fairly when they fly; ensuring efficient use of airspace; working to reduce the environmental impact of aviation on local communities; and effectively managing aviation security risks.

We pride ourselves on our ability to adapt to the constantly evolving aviation environment. 

About the team you'll be part of

The Consumer Protection team is responsible for delivering against the CAA’s key strategic focus area to protect consumers and the public, ensuring that the aviation sector puts consumers at the heart of what they do. As a minimum, this means the sector meeting their legal obligations arising from consumer protection law, including passenger rights during flight delays and cancellations, and those related to access to air travel for disabled people. Looking forwards this will also mean looking at how our powers and regulation might evolve.

We are a passionate team with a clear purpose to deliver a fair experience for consumers in aviation, ensuring that passengers have the experience they expect when they travel, and that disability is not a barrier to travel. This is a high-profile team within the CAA, and we have plans to grow to ensure we meet both consumer and government expectations.

We are a looking for individuals with a regulatory policy background and a strong belief in doing the right thing for consumers to join the team.

The role

We are looking for a Head of Consumer Policy to join our team.

This is a new and important role leading the development of policy in our team. You will be expected to establish and lead a portfolio of policy projects, working collaboratively with other teams across the CAA and a range of external stakeholders. You will be supported by a team of policy principals (including having the opportunity to recruit to a number of these roles) and will be expected to oversee multi-disciplinary project teams, including lawyers and technical experts. The role combines the need for strong analytical skills with a broad understanding of consumer and competition issues, and market dynamics in the aviation sector.

Colleagues in our team work closely with other teams across the CAA, other regulators, government, and a range of external stakeholders to address problems that affect passengers when they use aviation.

The role also forms part of the Senior Leadership Team within the CAA.

Your key responsibilities

We are looking for experienced policy professionals with a track record of leading complex projects, delivering effectively through others, producing clear accessible documents, and effectively managing stakeholder relationships. Key responsibilities include:

• Responsible for the delivery of a range of policy projects and programmes in areas that impact consumers across aviation.
• Provide direction on the analytical approaches and resources required to deliver successful outcomes, focusing on where we can most make a difference for consumers.
• Influence thinking across the CAA by building strong relationships and bringing a balanced perspective, including awareness of commercial dynamics.
• Building strong professional relationships with external stakeholders, including industry, Government, and consumer bodies.
• People management responsibilities, helping colleagues to get the most out of their career at the CAA by supporting their wellbeing, development, and career progression.
• Promote corporate initiatives that make a positive difference to how we work as a group and organisation.
• Act as a role model, actively demonstrating the CAA’s values of: Do The Right Thing; Never Stop Learning; Build Collaborative Relationships; and Respect Everyone

The skills, knowledge and experience you will need for success.

Essential

• Enthusiastic about consumer issues and the impact that the CAA can have in improving the consumer experience in aviation.
• Significant experience of working on consumer policy issues.
• Ability to manage and develop colleagues so they can reach their potential, both as a career and performance manager and a leader of project teams.
• Strong editorial skills to ensure that all documents are drafted in a clear and accessible way.
• Experience of leading policy development, including setting direction and overseeing contributions from all members of your team (including specialists), to ensure high- quality analysis, in a proactive way and with minimal supervision.
• Excellent communication skills, with an ability to bring together arguments and analysis clearly and robustly and convey these in a way that engages stakeholders and senior CAA colleagues.
• Ability to quickly build and maintain effective working relationships with a wide range of stakeholders.

What can we offer you?

This role offers the opportunity to make a real difference to air passengers' experience. This is a varied role, which includes some travel but is mainly office-based.

We offer a range of excellent benefits such as flexible working arrangements, free onsite gym at Gatwick, discounted gym membership for London, 28 days annual leave, additional 5 days leave purchase scheme, a generous pension scheme and much more.

We have embraced hybrid working and offer flexible working patterns. We understand that where and when we work is important in achieving a work-life balance.

Where positions are listed as full time, we remain open to reduced hours, part-time arrangements, job shares and other flexible working options. We warmly welcome applications from candidates returning to work after a break – for whatever reason.

Additional information

For many appointments within the CAA, these roles require access to operationally sensitive infrastructure and/or Nationally Protected information. For these roles the post holders must undergo National Security Vetting and achieve the appropriate level of clearance.

To be vetted we will usually expect a reasonable period of residency in the UK so that meaningful checks can be undertaken. For this role this will need to be 3 years.

If you do not meet these requirements, we may not be able to accept your application.

For more information on CTC and SC clearance please visit - Vetting explained - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The CAA values high ethical standards and personal integrity among employees. If invited for interview you will be asked to complete a declaration of interest.

Inclusive recruitment

We are passionate about diversity and ensuring all are included at the CAA. We are an equal opportunity employer and actively encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds. We use fair and inclusive selection approaches to hire the best person for the job based on merit alone.

As a member of the Disability Confident scheme, applicants who meet the minimum criteria for a role with us will be guaranteed an interview. We use fair and inclusive selection approaches to hire the best person for the job based on merit alone. If you require an adjustment for any reason, please let us know.

Our values  
 

Do The Right Thing, Never Stop Learning, Build Collaborative Relationships, Respect Everyone – For more information please Click Here
 

Closing Date: 17th January 2025

Interview Date: w/c 27th January 2025

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

No recruitment agencies please.