Head of Engineering

Edinburgh Airport; Easter Howgate; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Edinburgh Airport invites applications for the Head of Engineering to lead Scotland’s busiest airport’s engineering function, overseeing campus infrastructure, facilities maintenance and airfield assets.

Reporting to the CTO, the role directs 50 staff and a partner network, shaping the asset management strategy amid a £500 million capital programme over the next five years, ensuring safety, reliability and 24/7 operations.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of senior leadership experience in a complex facilities, engineering, maintenance or asset management environment.
• Ability to oversee runway/airfield, HV networks and utilities.
• Experience sponsoring complex capital asset replacement projects.
• Strong health, safety, environmental and regulatory knowledge for safety-critical 24/7 operations.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement a Maintenance and Asset Management Strategy aligned with growth plans.
• Provide strategic oversight of CMMS and asset data for maintenance management.
• Ensure safe, compliant, reliable and resilient performance at lowest whole-life cost.
• Lead strategic management of airfield civil assets and high-voltage electrical networks.
• Sponsor and deliver capital investment projects within the airport's £500 million plan.

Education

Degree-level education in an engineering discipline

Job description

About the role

This is an exciting and unique opportunity to join Edinburgh Airport’s leadership team at a crucial point in our growth journey. Edinburgh Airport is about to embark upon a once-in-a-generation expansion programme, seeing our terminal footprint expand by 60%. This role will ensure our infrastructure, assets and processes run safely and reliably 24/7and throughout the programme of projects. You can learn more about Our Future here.

The Head of Engineering provides strategic leadership for the engineering function of Scotland’s busiest airport. The successful candidate will be accountable for the campus infrastructure and built environment, including facilities maintenance, civil engineering, airfield and runway infrastructure, high-voltage electrical networks, utilities and the airport's diverse vehicle fleet.

Reporting to the Chief Technical Officer, the Head of Engineering leads approximately 50 staff and directs a supply chain of specialist technical partners. The role ensures the airport's number one operational asset, the runway, and the wider engineering asset base are safe, compliant, resilient and available to support continuous operations.

As a senior business leader, the postholder sets clear goals, engages and empowers the team, demonstrates robust operational and commercial judgement, and shapes the engineering contribution to the airport's £500 million capital investment plan over the next five years.

About the Recruitment Process

The recruitment process for this role will comprise of at least two in person stages, depending on the volume of candidates. This will involve interviews and a presentation, plus the opportunity to meet some of the wider team and key stakeholders on campus. More information on each stage will be provided to successful candidates.

We are committed to supporting diverse ways of thinking and working, so if you require adjustments in the recruitment process, please let us know in your application. We are also happy to discuss virtual alternatives for the initial stages if in-person attendance presents a barrier. You can find out more about our interview process here.

What you’ll be doing

• Develop a Maintenance and Asset Management Strategy that combines the airport’s growth plans, delivers a World Class Service and is efficient.
• Provide strategic oversight of the airport’s CMMS, ensuring accurate asset data and effective maintenance management.
• Ensure assets are managed to provide safe, compliant, reliable and resilient performance at the lowest whole-life cost.
• Provide strategic oversight of all civil engineering assets, including the runway, taxiways, aprons, roads, drainage and associated airfield infrastructure.
• Ensure the runway, is maintained, inspected and always available to support safe and reliable operations.
• Provide senior technical leadership for high-voltage electrical networks, utilities, facilities and other critical engineering systems, ensuring appropriate compliance, assurance and resilience.
• Lead the strategic management of the airport's diverse vehicle fleet, ensuring vehicles are safe, compliant, reliable, cost-effective and suitably maintained for 24/7 operations.
• Facilitate the asset replacement programme, integrating condition, resilience, business risk, whole-life cost and capital replacement requirements into a prioritised strategy.
• Shape the engineering contribution to the airport's £500 million capital investment plan over the next five years and act as sponsor for multiple capital projects.
• Oversee budgeting and strategic planning for the engineering function and maintain effective control, partnering closely with your senior management team..
• Ensure the engineering supply chain remains resilient, capable and aligned with the maintenance and asset management strategy.
• Hold primary accountability for health, safety and environmental performance within the engineering function.
• Act as the engineering SME during disruption and crisis incidents, delivering expert leadership and advice to minimise the impact on airport operations. .
• Build effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders, providing engineering guidance across projects and operational decision-making.
• Set clear performance expectations, conduct reviews, allocate resources effectively, and mentor and develop senior engineering managers to support succession planning.
• Identify strategic and operational risks, implement proportionate mitigation measures and foster continuous improvement in engineering practices.

What we're looking for

This role requires the successful candidate to obtain a Counter Terrorist Check, so you must have been living in the UK for the last 3 consecutive years .Degree-level education in an engineering discipline, or an equivalent combination of relevant technical qualifications.The ideal candidate will have a minimum of five years' senior leadership experience in a complex facilities, engineering, maintenance or asset management environment.Hold sufficient civil engineering knowledge to provide senior oversight of runway and airfield pavement condition, structural assets, drainage, inspection regimes, maintenance strategies, vehicle fleet management and specialist contractor assurance.Demonstrate relevant high-voltage knowledge to oversee electrical safety, statutory compliance, network resilience, switching governance, utilities, planned maintenance and competent-person arrangements.Experience of sponsoring and assuring complex capital asset replacement investment projects,Deep knowledge of health, safety, environmental and regulatory obligations within a safety-critical 24/7 operational environment.Proven leadership, change management, commercial, financial and stakeholder-management capability.Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present complex technical matters clearly to operational, executive and non-technical audiences.