Safety Management Systems Manager

GKN Aerospace; East Cowes; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job description

Fantastic challenges. Amazing opportunities.

GKN Aerospace is reimagining air travel: going further, faster and greener! Fuelled by great people whose expertise and creativity sets the standards in our industry, we’re inspired by the opportunities to innovate and break boundaries. We’re proud to play a part in protecting the world’s democracies. And we’re committed to putting sustainability at the centre of everything we do, opening up and protecting our planet. With over 16,000 employees across 33 manufacturing sites in 12 countries we serve over 90% of the world’s aircraft and engine manufacturers and achieved sales of £3.35 bn. in 2023. There are no limits to where you can take your career.

Job Summary

Based in our East Cowes facilities, and reporting into the Quality Manager, the Safety Management Systems Manager will be responsible for the implementation and ongoing management of the Safety Management System as defined by the regulatory requirements of the Aviation authorities (CAA/EASA etc.). They will provide support to all departments within the business in order to maintain the policies, procedures and work instructions necessary to retain regulatory compliance approvals, whilst ensuring continued compliance to the regulatory requirements of CAA/EASA Part 21G, CAA/EASA Part 145, and the flowed down customer and GKN corporate requirements for SMS.

They will also provide core support to the site Leadership team in achieving compliant and effective SMS processes and assurance activities.

Job Responsibilities

Typical responsibilities will include, but not be limited to (full job description available upon request):

• Identify the training and development requirement in order to ensure that the site personnel remain aware and current with the SMS regulatory requirements.
• Act as a SMS Change / Training facilitator supporting workshops and continuous improvement activities.
• Organise and deliver initial and refresher training on SMS procedures affected by changes in compliance requirements (CAA/EASA Part 21G and Part 145).
• Maintain and improve the site policies, procedures and work instructions ensuring the SMS fulfills the requirements of the industry standards, applicable Aviation Safety laws, customer & GKN Aerospace Global Standards requirements.
• Maintain the SMS reporting systems and processes, providing feedback to the report providers, assessing and grading the reports received, initiating and managing any investigations to conclusion, initiating and managing corrective actions with the responsible persons.
• Provide regular reports and data to the Accountable Manager and the site Leadership team.
• Work with the Quality Systems Regulatory Knowledge & Compliance Lead and Local Business Process Implementer (LBPI) for the compliance, effectiveness and efficient integration with other Management Systems such as Health & Safety (ISO 45001), Environmental Safety (ISO 14001), Energy Management (ISO 50001), Information Security (ISO 27001) etc. as applicable to the organisation.
• Recommend to the site Leadership team any assurance activities deemed necessary in support of SMS activities e.g. Hazard Identification, risk assessments, risk registers/logs, change implementation planning, training, verification, post deployment of significant document/administration changes.
• Provide general support to Quality Assurance Manager as defined at a local level, typically support to the management of key SMS meetings.
• Gather / analyse intelligence and data to support Management Review, enabling assessment of the SMS being present, suitable, operational and effective for all functions within the business.
• Initiate and participate in occurrence / accident investigations, overseeing investigations to establish root causes and assist other areas with corrective action to ensure that SMS activities are present, suitable, operational and effective.
• Collate, understand and disseminate information from other similar organisations, the regulator and contracted organisations.

Job Qualifications

Suitable candidates will be able to demonstrate:

• Relevant manufacturing/engineering degree is preferred, or HND, BTec professional Level 5 award or equivalent NVQ Level 5 qualifications in an engineering or science discipline.
• Significant experience in a high volume manufacturing environment, preferably aerospace.
• Experience of working within quality assurance system compliance or lead auditing role.
• Experience in interpreting regulatory, customer and engineering requirements.
• Detailed knowledge of and experience in application of the ICAO, IAQG and ISO Standards/regulations (e.g. AS/EN9100 / ISO 9001), IAQG SCMH and Aerospace and defence regulations such as EASA/EMAR/CAA part 21G, 21J and part 145 as applicable (site specific).
• Detailed knowledge of and experience in the application of safety management principles and practices.
• Experience in the use of quality tools and continuous improvement techniques (PFMEA, SPC, APQP etc.).
• Broad operational knowledge and experience in the functions of the organisation and the supporting systems.

We’ll offer you fantastic challenges and amazing opportunities. This is your chance to be part of an organisation that has proven itself to be at the cutting edge of our industry; and is committed to pushing the boundaries even further. And with some of the best training on offer in the industry, who knows how far you can go?

A Great Place to work needs a Great Way of Working

Everyone is welcome to apply to GKN. We believe that we can only achieve our ambitions through a coming together of diverse minds who enjoy collaborating in an inspirational environment. Through our commitment to diversity, inclusion and belonging and by living our five powerful principles we’ve created a culture where everyone feels welcome to contribute. It’s a culture that won us ‘The Best Workplace Culture Award’. By embracing and celebrating what makes us unique we encourage everyone to bring their full self to work.

We’re also committed to providing an accessible recruitment process, so if you require reasonable adjustments at any stage during our recruitment process please get in touch and let us know.

We are the place where human dreams, plus human endeavour, shape the future of aerospace innovation and technology.