Safety & Assurance Director

Babcock International; Gloucester; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous holiday allowance

Pension with life assurance

Digital GP & health checks

Employee shopping portal

Professional Fees coverage

Reservists paid leave

Holiday Trading

Be Kind Day

Job summary

Babcock International seeks a Safety and Assurance Director to lead UK Aviation safety, governance and compliance across multiple sites with national security implications. This high-profile role requires strategic direction and robust risk management to ensure safe delivery of essential services.

You will manage specialist teams, drive continuous improvement of management systems, and foster strong regulator relationships while upholding the highest safety standards.

Qualifications

• Senior leadership experience across multiple sites in a regulated aviation environment.
• Proven track record in safety, health, environment, compliance or assurance functions.
• Strong knowledge of aviation safety management systems, governance, compliance monitoring and risk management.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership across safety, health, environmental protection, security, facilities management and assurance in UK Aviation.
• Drive effectiveness and continuous improvement of integrated management systems and assurance frameworks.
• Oversee governance, risk, compliance and organisational performance with independent oversight.
• Lead and develop specialist teams in safety, compliance, audit, assurance and related functions.
• Build trusted relationships with regulators, customers and senior stakeholders to maintain confidence.

Skills

Senior leadership

Aviation safety management

Governance & risk management

Stakeholder engagement

Regulatory engagement

Education

Degree in Aviation/Engineering/Safety Management

Chartered membership of IOSH/IEMA/RAeS

Aviation licences or recognised qualification

Job description

Job Title: Safety and Assurance Director

Location: UK, Flexible + Hybrid Working Arrangements

Compensation: Competitive Salary + Benefits

Role Type: Full time / Permanent

Role ID: SF75210

Lead Aviation Safety. Shape Strategy. Make a National Impact.

At Babcock we're working to create a safe and secure world, together, and if you join us, you can play your part as a Safety and Assurance Director at any of our Babcock hubs.

The role

As a Safety and Assurance Director, you'll have a role that's out of the ordinary. You'll provide strategic leadership across safety, health, environmental protection, security, facilities management, risk management, compliance and assurance for our UK Aviation business. This is a high-profile leadership opportunity where you'll influence business performance, strengthen governance, and help ensure the safe delivery of critical aviation services that support national security and public safety.

Day-to-day, you'll be required to

• Lead the strategic direction for safety, health, environmental protection, security, facilities management and assurance across UK Aviation.
• Drive the effectiveness and continuous improvement of integrated management systems and assurance frameworks.
• Provide independent oversight of compliance, governance, risk management and organisational performance.
• Lead and develop specialist teams responsible for safety, compliance, audit, assurance and related functions.
• Build trusted relationships with regulators, customers, employees and senior stakeholders to maintain confidence and operational excellence.

This is a full-time, permanent role working 37.5 hours per week and can be based at any of our Babcock Hubs, with regular travel required to UK Aviation sites. Hybrid working patterns are available.

Essential experience of the Safety and Assurance Director

• Extensive senior leadership experience leading multidisciplinary teams across multiple sites within a complex, highly regulated aviation environment.
• Significant experience leading safety, health, environment, compliance or assurance functions.
• Strong knowledge of aviation safety management systems, governance, compliance monitoring and risk management principles.
• Experience operating as an Accountable Manager, Nominated Post Holder, senior military aviation leader, continuing airworthiness manager, maintenance manager or equivalent.
• Proven experience engaging with aviation regulators, customers and senior stakeholders.

Qualifications for the Safety and Assurance Director

• Degree qualification in Aviation, Engineering, Safety Management, Environmental Management or a related discipline.
• Chartered membership or fellowship of a recognised professional body such as IOSH, IEMA, RAeS or equivalent.
• Airline Transport Pilot Licence, Commercial Pilot Licence, Part 66 Licence or an equivalent aviation qualification.

Security Clearance

The successful candidate must be able to achieve and maintain Standard (BPSS) / Security Check (SC) security clearance for this role.

Many of the positions within our company are subject to national security clearance and Trade Control restrictions. This means that your eligibility for certain roles may be affected by your place of birth, nationality, current or former citizenship, and any residency you hold or have held. Further details are available at United Kingdom Security Vetting: clearance levels - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) .

What we offer

• Generous holiday allowance
• Matched contribution pension scheme, with life assurance
• Access to a Digital GP, annual health check, and nutritional consultations through Aviva DigiCare+
• Employee shopping savings portal
• Payment of Professional Fees
• Reservists in the armed forces receive 10-days special paid leave
• Holiday Trading is a benefit that allows UK Babcock employees to buy additional leave or to sell up to one working week of annual leave from their annual entitlement. This Window opens February through to March annually.
• Be Kind Day' enables employees to take one working day's paid leave a year (or equivalent hours) to undertake volunteering work with their chosen organisation or registered charity

Babcock

We're Babcock - a global FTSE 100 organisation with over 26,000 people working together to make a difference.

Here, you'll be part of something bigger. From initial design to final decommissioning, your work will contribute to products and services that are essential to national security and public infrastructure. Together, we're building a future that lasts - not just through the impact we make, but through meaningful careers that respect your work-life balance.

We call that lifetime engineering.

Join us and see how far we can go, together.

We are a disability confident committed employer. If you have a disability or need any reasonable adjustments during the application and selection stages, please email [e-mail] with the subject header Reasonable adjustments requirement'. We're committed to building an inclusive culture where everyone's free to thrive. We are happy to talk about flexible working - please ask about alternative patterns of work at interview.

Closing date: 13/08/2026

#BABDESTNUC