Senior Operations Manager Critical Services

A career without limits. As the nation’s flag carrier, we take great pride in connecting Britain with the world and the world with Britain. It’s something we’ve been doing for over 100 years, ever since we launched the world’s first international scheduled air service between London and Paris. This originality has been in our blood since day one. It’s the spirit we share with the people that fly with us, our partners, and our colleagues. So, whether you are a reassuring voice on the end of a phone, a smile at the door, under a wing keeping the turbines spinning or landing us gently in far-flung places, a job at British Airways is yours to make. We know great things can happen when you’re inspired to think big and bring your ambition to work every day, which is why, at British Airways the sky is never the limit.

You will lead a shift team of highly engaged and motivated operational managers across Terminal 5. As an experienced people leader, you will be accountable for both the performance and development of your team, creating a culture that drives high standards and continuous improvement. You will lead, manage and inspire a team of approximately five direct reports, with overall responsibility for around 250 colleagues per operational shift, building a high-performance environment that enables individuals to reach their full potential. In this dynamic role, you will make timely operational and commercial decisions while managing relationships across a wide range of internal and external stakeholders. You will balance competing priorities—often with limited information—while ensuring that safety and security remain the top priority at all times. Operating in a fast-paced environment where no two shifts are the same, you will need to demonstrate resilience, sound judgement and the ability to perform under pressure. You will play a key role in delivering a world-class customer experience, while driving the strongest and safest operational performance at Heathrow.

What you’ll do

• Lead and support zonal managers on shift to deliver strong day-to-day operational performance.
• Drive continuous improvement through data, insight and trend analysis.
• Make effective operational and commercial decisions within HMC, often under time pressure and with limited information.
• Ensure the highest standards of safety and security across the operation.
• Build and develop a high-performing Critical Services team.
• Work collaboratively with internal stakeholders and external partners to deliver a seamless end-to-end service.
• Take ownership of disruption management, ensuring a coordinated and effective response.
• Manage budgets and operational resources to deliver efficient and resilient performance.

What you’ll bring to British Airways

• Visible, confident leadership with the ability to inspire and motivate teams on shift.
• Strong communicator, able to engage, influence and set clear expectations.
• Customer-focused with a commitment to delivering a world-class service.
• Proactive, positive and resilient, performing effectively under pressure.
• Collaborative approach, with strong understanding of operational processes and procedures.
• Uncompromising on safety, security and regulatory compliance.
• Commercially aware, using sound judgement and discretion in decision-making.
• Drives high performance by motivating teams and creating a culture of accountability and excellence.

Your experience

• Safety and operational experience.
• Experience of working with external partners.
• Performance management.
• External stakeholder management such as HAL.
• Decision making and prioritisation.
• People development and management.
• Business acumen and ability to make decisions which have commercial impact.
• Full clean UK driving License.

What we offer

We believe that all the people who work with us should feel valued for the part they play. It’s one of the reasons our rewards go far beyond a competitive salary. From the day you join us, you’ll get access to brilliant staff travel benefits including unlimited basic and premium standby tickets on British Airways flights. You’ll also receive up to 30 discounted ‘Hotline’ airfares per year for yourself, friends, and family. At British Airways you’ll have the chance to take on new challenges and move forward in a way that feels right for you. We encourage all those who work for us to consider opportunities right across our business to help you develop and progress. We never stand still, and we don’t expect our people to either.

Inclusion & Diversity

At British Airways we all have a part to play in creating an inclusive place to work. Diverse representation among our people is really important to us and we recognise that all our colleagues are uniquely different and bring their own originality, creativity and identity to work. Inclusion and diversity is a key driver of innovation and we’re committed to creating a culture where everyone feels that they can be themselves. We’re looking for people from all backgrounds and cultures to join us and be a part of our journey to become a Better BA as we continue to connect Britain with the world and the world with Britain.