UK Airport & Airline Engagement Leads

Job summary

Can you build strong internal and external relationships with senior stakeholders and provide clear advice in complex commercial and policy environments?

Do you enjoy analysing market trends, identifying emerging issues, and helping shape effective decisions and policy outcomes?

If so, we would love to hear from you.

Aviation is vital to the UK’s economy and connectivity, and a strong relationship between the department and the sector is key to its success. As a Policy and Engagement lead for UK Airlines or Airports, you’ll be at the heart of shaping the Department’s relationship with the sector. Your work will provide regular insight into how the UK’s airports and airlines are performing and responding to government policy, helping ensure government decisions are grounded in real-world insight, supporting a sector that millions of people rely on every day.

These roles sit within the within the Aviation Strategy, Markets and Regulation Division. As a division, we pride ourselves on being approachable and friendly, supporting one another and leading vital work at the heart of the Directorate. The Aviation Commercial and Engagement team plays a key role in maintaining our understanding of the sector, and ensuring commercial insights are reflected in Government policies.

These roles are exciting positions with opportunities to develop commercial awareness, be on the front line of governments aviation agenda and gain insights into how the aviation sector works.

Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here

• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave), plus 8 bank holidays a privilege day for the King’s birthday

• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Read more in the Benefits section below!

Find out more about what it's like working at DfTc Policy: Policy opportunities at the Department for Transport - Department for Transport Careers

Job description

These are dynamic roles where you’ll be engaging directly with the sector, monitoring market trends, and providing insight that helps inform policies which work for the sector and passengers alike. As a small team, you can expect a stretching and fulfilling role, acting as the department’s key point of contact for airports and airlines, working with a variety of teams and other government departments, ensuring Ministers and senior officials are well-prepared for discussions with industry leaders.

You’ll also support monitoring of the sector’s health and any emerging issues, working closely with analytical, the CAA and colleagues in other government departments, playing a critical role in ensuring we can respond effectively to commercial challenges such as airline insolvencies.

Your responsibilities will include, but aren’t limited to:

• Engagement - Manage the Department’s external engagement with UK airports, airlines and key partners, taking an active role towards fostering strong relationships and ensuring effective understanding of key issues.
• Commercial monitoring – Support the embedding of a process to monitor and analyse the aviation market to assess sector health and identify emerging issues. This will include arranging and note taking for meetings regular with senior representatives for the UK’s airports and airlines to understand market outlook and the challenges facing the sector.
• Strategic advice - Provide advice and briefings to senior officials and Ministers on airport and airline-related This supporting drafting of a State of the Market pack and submission to present to senior officials and ministers.
• Commercial policy and understanding – Collaborate with policy teams in DfT and other Government Departments to ensure policies are informed by robust commercial and policy insight and to keep the sector informed of wider policies that might affect them.
• Respond to commercial situations – Support the response to ad hoc emerging commercial situations that may need Government involvement, to ensure timely and coordinated action across government.
• Insolvency Policy – Supporting maintaining the Departments preparedness for an insolvency situation and consider whether Government policy should be updated to help respond to large scale failures.

For further information on the role, please read the role profile. Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only - whilst all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process. This job advert will detail exactly what will be assessed during the recruitment process.

Person specification

To be successful in this role you will need to have the following experience:

• Strong stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to build and sustain effective relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders at senior levels, and to be able to navigate complex and challenging commercial and policy environments.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to understand and apply commercial considerations to inform a wide range of policy developments and decisions.
• Ability to present complex information clearly and concisely to influence and inform decision-making, including drafting high-quality briefings and submissions for Ministers or Senior Leaders.
• Proven ability to organise, plan and manage competing priorities, identify risks and deliver under pressure to tight deadlines.
• A proactive and collaborative team player, able to be organised and self-motivated while contributing to wider team goals.
• Knowledge of the aviation sector or commercial dynamics in another sector.

Additional Information

There may be required travel to DfT offices across England on a monthly-quarterly basis for team meetings. These will be organised and communicated well in advance and there is a degree of flexibility. There may also be a need to travel to meet with external stakeholders across the UK.

Working hours, office attendance and travel requirements

Full time roles consist of 37 hours per week.

Whilst we welcome applications from those looking to work with us on a part time basis, there is a business requirement for the successful candidate to be able to work at least 30 hours per week.

This role is suitable for hybrid working, which is a non-contractual arrangement where a combination of workplace and home-based working can be accommodated subject to business requirements.

The expectation at present is a minimum of 60% of your working time a month will be spent at either your designated workplace (one of the locations cited in the advert) or, when required for business reasons, in another office/work location/visiting stakeholders. Your designated workplace will be your contractual place of work. There may be occasions where you are required to attend above the minimum expectation.

Visa Sponsorship

DfTc does not offer Visa Sponsorship for this role.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £35,663, Department for Transport contributes £10,331 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave).
• 8 Bank Holidays plus an additional Privilege Day to mark the King’s birthday.
• Access to the staff discount portal.
• Excellent career development opportunities and the potential to undertake professional qualifications relevant to your role paid for by the department, such as CIPD, Prince2, apprenticeships, etc.
• Joining a diverse and inclusive workforce with a range of staff communities to support all our colleagues.
• 24-hour Employee Assistance Programme providing free confidential help and advice for staff.
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Find out more about the benefits of working at DfT and its agencies

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

The selection process for this role will be:

Stage 1: Sift of CV and personal statement

Stage 2: Interview

You must be successful at each stage to progress to the next stage.

Stage 1: Sift

At sift, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

Experience – you will be asked to provide a CV (unlimited wordcount) and personal statement (750-word count). Please provide evidence of your Experience of the following:

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to understand and apply commercial considerations to inform a wide range of policy developments and decisions.
• Ability to present complex information clearly and concisely to influence and inform decision-making, including drafting high-quality briefings and submissions for Ministers or Senior Leaders.
• Knowledge of the aviation sector or commercial dynamics in another sector.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

The sift will take place week commencing 22/06/2026.

Stage 2: Interview

At interview stage, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

• Behaviours - Seeing the Big Picture, Delivering at Pace, Communicating and Influencing.
• Strengths

The interviews will take place from the 06/07/2026.

This interview will be conducted online via Microsoft Teams. Further details will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.

You can find out more about our hiring process, how to apply, and application and interview guidance on our careers site (opens in a new window).

Please note that we will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change.

Further information on the selection process

We will also hold a 12-month reserve list for this role, which may lead to potential opportunities beyond the role you applied for. You can read more about our reserve lists here.

During your application, you should indicate which location(s) you wish to be considered for and, if successful, you will be placed on an individual list of candidates for each location. Candidates will be held on that list and drawn from it in merit order. We advise you to carefully consider which locations you wish to be considered for. If you decline an offer for a location you have expressed a preference in or have expressed an interest in more than one location and accept an offer, you will be withdrawn from any lists you may be held on. We may also offer candidates a location that they have not expressed a preference for where we have the requirement to do so but this will again be done on the basis of your place in the overall merit order and, in this event, you will not be removed from the list if you decline.

Appointments for this position will be made in order of merit. If you are successful in the selection process but there are no further available posts for the advertised role, you may be contacted to discuss an offer for a lower graded role (with similar experience and responsibility requirements).

If you are unsuccessful in the selection process, your application may be considered for a lower graded position if your demonstrated skills and experience meet the requirements of the alternative position. Candidates will be considered in order of merit.

If your application is successful but you have been dismissed from the Civil Service, your application could be removed at the pre-employment checking stage depending on the nature of the dismissal.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment. A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

All external applicants and current employees of accredited non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) will be required to undergo a Social Media Check. A Social Media Check is a review of your publicly available online activity, typically across platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and others. The purpose is to identify any public posts or content that could raise concerns for employers, such as:

• Hate speech or discriminatory behaviour
• Threats or acts of violence
• Illegal activity or substance misuse
• Sexually explicit material
• Extremist views or affiliations

Importantly, this check does not involve hacking into your accounts or accessing private messages. It only considers content you have chosen to make public. Employers use this kind of screening to help ensure their workplace remains safe, inclusive, and aligned with company values. It’s not about judging your personality or lifestyle - it’s about checking for potential red flags that might affect the role or company culture. If you have questions or concerns about the social media check, we would be happy to explain in more detail what’s being looked at and how your data is handled securely and fairly.

Reasonable Adjustments

As a Disability Confident Leader employer, we are committed to ensuring that the recruitment process is fair, accessible and allows all candidates to perform at their best. If a person with a visible or non-visible disability is substantially disadvantaged, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need during the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at an interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

If you need a reasonable adjustment so that you can complete your application, you should contact Government Recruitment Service via dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Document Accessibility

This job advert contains links to the DfT Careers website. Our website provides useful guidance and information that can support you during the application process. If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert or the information on our website, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Further Information

For more information about how we hire, and for useful tips on submitting your application for this role, visit theHow We Hire page of our DfT Careers website. You can find detailed information about the recruitment process and what to expect when applying for a role.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Wayne Gasson
• Email : wayne.gasson@dft.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact Government Recruitment Services via email: dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website Here

Attachments

Role Profile Opens in new window (pdf, 225kB)