Date: 28 Jan 2025
Location: Gatwick, GB
Salary: £50,477 up to £56,000 per annum depending on skills and relevant experience
Contract type: Permanent – Full Time
Location: Gatwick/Hybrid
Security level: Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS)
Are you looking for an exciting new opportunity to influence the sustainability of the aviation industry in the UK?
The CAA is looking for a highly skilled expert with an in-depth understanding of the environmental impacts of aviation, and associated Government regulations and policies for environmental protection. This is an opportunity to join the rapidly expanding Airspace Regulation team during an exciting time, as the UK looks to implement a new Airspace Modernisation Strategy. The strategy aims to create an aviation infrastructure for the future to make quicker, quieter, and cleaner journeys and more capacity for those using and affected by UK airspace. Environmental sustainability is a key overarching objective of the Airspace Modernisation Strategy, as it aims to reduce aviation’s carbon emissions, contributing to the Government’s Jet Zero goal to reach net zero UK aviation emissions by 2050.
About Us
The CAA is the UK's aviation regulator and a public corporation of the Department for Transport, recognised as a world leader in its field. Our activities are diverse, ranging from core regulation that delivers a high degree of assurance of safety, security, and consumer risk management, to future aviation and sustainability that builds advisory and regulatory capabilities that are both effective and scalable, enabling the UK to take a leading position in the development of new technologies and making a positive contribution to the sustainability challenge.
An increase in demand for UK airspace from its traditional user groups and new demands from emerging users such as Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and space flight operators requires a restructuring of this invisible national asset. Airspace Regulation sits at the heart of this transformational change, balancing and managing the demands of current users whilst facilitating change. As one of the larger teams within the CAA, Airspace Regulation brings together expertise from a broad range of disciplines including Environment, Economics, Instrument Flight Procedures, Communications, Navigation, Air Traffic Control, and Commercial, General Aviation and UAS experience. This collaborative environment is tailored to support key decision making on the current use and structural changes to UK airspace.
This restructuring of UK airspace is facilitated through airspace change proposals submitted to the CAA by a range of aviation and non-aviation stakeholders. These proposals vary greatly in terms of size, operational complexity, and scale of consequential environmental impacts, and are required to follow the CAA’s CAP1616 Airspace Change process. The aviation and environment experts within Airspace Regulation will perform oversight of such proposals with respect to their environmental impact assessments, ensuring modern standards for regulatory decision making are fair, transparent, consistent, and proportionate.
The Role
* Assess the environmental impacts and ensure regulatory compliance of airspace change proposals at various stages of the Airspace Change process, principally in terms of noise, local air quality and climate change.
* Review and scrutinise proposals from a wide range of sponsors such as airports, air navigation service providers, Ministry of Defence, spaceports, and innovation companies, producing objective and independent assessments of the environmental impacts for each proposed airspace change design.
* Lay out the conclusions of these assessments that form a key part of the CAA’s transparent decision making process.
* Provide advice to airspace change sponsors regarding interpretation of regulatory framework, process requirements for environmental impact assessments and applicable methodologies.
* Assist in developing and implementing strategies and policies for the consideration of environmental factors in airspace change proposals in accordance with the Department for Transport’s directions to the CAA, UK legislation and Government regulations and guidance.
* Support integrating the demands of diverse airspace users such as spaceports, space launch operators, UAS, e-VTOL/hybrid aircraft, Commercial Aviation, General Aviation, and Military Aviation, all within the framework of the Airspace Modernisation Strategy and whilst ensuring that the assessment of environmental impacts have been appropriately considered.
About You
The knowledge, skills and experience we are looking for:
* An individual with an environmentally focused degree with relevant work experience in aviation and/or environment gained through on the job training is essential.
* An understanding of methods of environmental impact assessments in addition to experience in environmental data analysis is essential.
* Knowledge of the key environmental impacts of aviation – noise, local air quality and climate change – and the strategies and actions to mitigate these.
* Knowledge of relevant current national and international legislation driving the transition to sustainable aviation.
* An understanding of UK airspace, air traffic operations, aircraft performance and developments in the aviation and environment industry is desirable but not essential.
* Knowledge of the CAA’s regulatory role, airspace change process, strategic plan and responsibilities is also desirable but not essential.
* Experience with conducting Habitats Regulations Assessments is desirable but not essential.
The strengths and behaviours required:
* A flexible and committed individual with the ability to prioritise and multitask in a highly dynamic and fast-paced environment.
* A team player with a willingness to embrace new working methods, tackle a job and get it done.
* Good analytical, problem solving, and decision making capabilities.
* Strong interpersonal skills to deal both diplomatically and authoritatively with people at all levels, internally and externally.
* Excellent verbal and written communication skills to deliver clear, concise, and effective guidance, and unbiased conclusions.
* A proactive individual motivated to deliver high quality and useful work.
* Able to work both independently and in small teams - with only 1 expert from each specialist field allocated to individual proposals, once fully trained there is a high degree of autonomy involved, whilst also working closely with different experts and within a supportive team.
Our Offer and Benefits
A rewarding career with the ability to directly influence the modernisation of the UK’s airspace infrastructure and how we deliver the future vision of the Airspace Modernisation Strategy.
The diverseness of our role and centrality of Airspace Regulation’s function ensures broad exposure to a multitude of different areas of the aviation sector. You will become a valued member within a professional, supportive multidisciplinary team of civilian and military personnel. We will invest in you and allow you to grow your career, offering a wide variety of excellent internal and external professional and personal development training opportunities.
Financial rewards: a generous Defined Contribution (DC) pension scheme with up to 12% employer contribution, other generous salary sacrifice schemes and benefits, access to retail savings and online discounts, electric vehicle (EV) charging points at Aviation House, our head office near Gatwick Airport.
Work-life balance: 28 days annual leave plus public holidays and an additional 5 days leave purchase scheme, wellbeing rooms and free onsite gym at Aviation House and other discounted gym memberships, Employee Assistance Programme, subscription to Headspace.
Working With Us
We are on a journey towards being increasingly adaptable, where our colleagues collaborate as part of cross-functional teams. This approach ensures we never stop learning together. It also means that you may become involved in activities that take you out of your day-to-day role, providing you with opportunities to develop and grow your career with us.
We have embraced hybrid working and offer flexible working patterns, being open to having a conversation about what works for you. We know where and when we work is important in achieving a work-life balance.
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. 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 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.
The CAA values high ethical standards and personal integrity among employees. If invited for an interview, you will be asked to complete a declaration of interest.
Closing Date: Sunday 16th February 2025
Interview Date: W/C Monday 24th February 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.
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