Chief Executive Officer (BE)

Challenge Group; Luik; Sur place; EUR 200 000 - 350 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

Challenge Airlines BE, the Belgian operating entity of Challenge Group, seeks an accomplished CEO to lead the local business and align the Group’s three AOCs into a coherent operating model. You will own the P&L, manage regulatory relationships, and drive cross-entity coordination with IL and Malta to maximize efficiency and market share.

You will report to the Challenge Group CEO and act as a principal architect of how the three certificates operate together, while upholding local regulatory

Qualifications

• Substantial and successful senior leadership experience in air cargo, airline operations, or aviation, ideally including P&L /Revenue-Cost and efficiency general management responsibility for an airline or AOC-holding entity.
• Demonstrated experience operating within, or aligning, cross-entity or cross-AOC group structures.
• Strong commercial acumen, with a track record of improving operational efficiency in a competitive, capacity-constrained industry.
• Working knowledge of EASA and Belgian aviation regulatory frameworks; familiarity with AOC governance requirements.
• Prior experience holding an Accountable Manager designation (or direct equivalent) under EASA or a comparable regulatory regime is strongly preferred.
• Comfortable operating in and collaborating within a matrixed environment, balancing local accountability with Group-wide alignment responsibilities.
• Strategic thinking, with the ability to translate Group direction into a local execution plan.
• Demonstrated experience implementing trust relationships with unions
• Cross-entity influence and diplomacy – able to align peers who do not report to them.
• Operational rigor and a bias toward measurable, data-backed efficiency improvement.

Responsabilités

• Lead Challenge Airlines BE with full P&L accountability and ensure financial and operational performance.
• Oversee regulatory standing with Belgian CAA and ensure compliance as Accountable Manager.
• Align the three Group AOCs into a cohesive Cross-AOC operating model and coordinate with IL and Malta.
• Drive market share growth and efficiency improvements across network with data-driven initiatives.
• Represent the company to regulators, customers, partners, and authorities, and governance forums.

Connaissances

Leadership

P&L accountability

Regulatory knowledge

Cross-AOC alignment

Strategic thinking

Governance & oversight

Commercial acumen

Data-driven decision making

Aviation operations

Stakeholder management

Formation

University degree (or equivalent by experience)

Description du poste

The Chief Executive Officer of Challenge Airlines BE leads the Belgian operating entity of Challenge Group in full, holding accountability for its operational, financial and regulatory performance.

Beyond running the local company, the role carries a distinct Group-level mandate: to align the three Group Air Operator Certificates (AOCs), Challenge Airlines BE, Challenge Airlines IL, and Challenge Airlines Malta, into a coherent, efficient Cross-AOC operating model, and to design and implement the initiatives that improve the Group’s market share position and operating efficiency across its network.

The CEO reports directly to the Challenge Group CEO and acts as a key architect of how the Group’s three certificates work together, rather than as three parallel, independently-run airlines.

Responsabilities

1. Leadership of Challenge Airlines BE

• Full accountability: Own full P&L accountability for Challenge Airlines BE, including operating performance, cost base, based mainly on ACMI cost and OACMI.
• Team leadership: Lead, structure, and develop the local management team across Operations, Finance, Safety, Compliance and HR functions.
• Regulatory standing: Ensure the Belgian AOC and its associated licenses, certifications, and regulatory relationships (Belgian CAA, EASA) remain in good standing and are proactively managed. As the AOC’s Accountable Manager, hold personal, non-delegable regulatory accountability to the Belgian CAA for this standing - distinct from, and not satisfied merely by, delegating oversight to the Safety & Compliance team.
• External representation: Represent Challenge Airlines BE to customers, ground handling partners, Liège Airport authorities, regulators, and other external stakeholders.
• Governance cascade: Cascade Group strategy, policies, and governance standards into the local organization, and ensure two-way visibility between Belgium and Group leadership.

2. Regulatory Accountability

• This role is the Belgian Civil Aviation Authority’s nominated Accountable Manager / Nominated Person for Challenge Airlines BE, formally accepted by the regulator under EASA Part-ORO (ORO.GEN.210).
• This is a personal, non-delegable regulatory designation, distinct from ordinary line-management or P&L accountability: the post-holder carries direct legal responsibility to the Belgian CAA for the adequacy of financing and resources, the effectiveness of the safety management system, and continued compliance with the terms of the AOC, even where day-to-day execution is delegated to the Safety & Compliance function.
• This designation is separate from, and additional to, the Group-level coordination role described below: it is the legal foundation on which the Challenge Airlines BE AOC operates, and its holder answers to the regulator in that capacity independently of the Group reporting line.

3. Alignment of the Three Group AOCs

• This is a defining, Group-facing dimension of the role, distinct from running the Belgian entity alone. It is a mandate of influence and coordination rather than line authority: the CEO of Challenge Airlines BE does not manage the Challenge Airlines IL or Challenge Air Cargo Malta Accountable Managers, who are peers rather than direct reports. Alignment is achieved through the Cross-AOC steering forum described below and, where consensus cannot be reached, through escalation to the Group CEO. The objective is not to create a single operating model across the three AOCs, but to achieve the highest possible degree of operational alignment and harmonization while fully respecting the regulatory, operational, and organizational specificities of each AOC.
• Cross-AOC operational alignment: Work directly with the CEOs/Accountable Managers of Challenge Airlines IL and Challenge Air Cargo Malta to maximize operational alignment across the three AOCs where appropriate, including fleet deployment, crew planning, and cross-entity capacity sharing, while recognizing the regulatory and operational differences of each certificate.
• Standardization: Identify where processes, safety standards, and back-office functions can be harmonized or shared across BE, IL, and Malta without compromising each AOC’s independent regulatory standing.
• Group coherence: Coordinate with Group functions (Safety, Compliance, Finance, Commercial) to ensure the three certificates present a consistent Group value proposition to customers, lessors, and partners.
• Friction reduction: Reduce duplication and friction between AOCs – e.g., overlapping vendor contracts, inconsistent crew or maintenance policies, or misaligned commercial terms – and resolve cross-entity conflicts in coordination with the Group CEO.
• Governance design: Support the Group CEO in structuring governance forums (e.g., a Cross-AOC steering committee) that promote operational alignment, coordinated decision-making, and commercial coherence across the three entities while respecting the autonomy of each AOC.

4. Market Share Position and Efficiency Improvement

• Market position: Develop and execute a plan to grow Challenge Airlines BE’s – and, where relevant, the wider Group’s – share of key freighter lanes and customer segments, working closely with the Group Commercial organization.
• Efficiency planning: Define measurable efficiency targets (e.g., aircraft utilization, turnaround times, cost per block hour, load factor, yield) and drive the operational changes needed to hit them.
• Data-driven execution: Use Group data and BI resources (including Qlik-based reporting) to track market share, capacity share, and efficiency KPIs, and adjust plans based on evidence.
• Network & partnership initiatives: Identify and implement network, fleet, or partnership changes (charter, ACMI, interline, handling) that strengthen Challenge Airlines BE’s competitive position.
• Reporting cadence: Present a regular improvement roadmap and progress report to the Group CEO, with clear before/after metrics.

5. Safety, Compliance and Risk

• Maintain ultimate accountability for safety culture and regulatory compliance within Challenge Airlines BE, working with the Safety and Compliance functions.
• Ensure risk management practices at the Belgian entity meet or exceed Group and regulatory standards, and are consistent with practices at the other two AOCs.

Education

University degree (or equivalent by experience)

Experience, Skills, and Personal Attributes

• Substantial and successful senior leadership experience in air cargo, airline operations, or aviation, ideally including P&L /Revenue-Cost and efficiency general management responsibility for an airline or AOC-holding entity.
• Demonstrated experience operating within, or aligning, cross-entity or cross-AOC group structures.
• Strong commercial acumen, with a track record of improving operational efficiency in a competitive, capacity-constrained industry.
• Working knowledge of EASA and Belgian aviation regulatory frameworks; familiarity with AOC governance requirements.
• Prior experience holding an Accountable Manager designation (or direct equivalent) under EASA or a comparable regulatory regime is strongly preferred.
• Comfortable operating in and collaborating within a matrixed environment, balancing local accountability with Group-wide alignment responsibilities.
• Strategic thinking, with the ability to translate Group direction into a local execution plan.
• Demonstrated experience implementing trust relationships with unions
• Cross-entity influence and diplomacy – able to align peers who do not report to them.
• Operational rigor and a bias toward measurable, data-backed efficiency improvement.