Policy Lead – General Aviation

Salary: Up to £75,000 subject to experience

Contract Type: Ful time permanent

Location : Gatwick / Hybrid – expectation of 2 days a week in office

Security Level: BPSS

Visa Restrictions: This position does not currently offer visa sponsorship.

We are the UK’s aviation and aerospace regulator and recognised as a world leader in its field. Our activities are diverse, enabling the aviation industry to meet the highest safety standards, and we pride ourselves on our ability to adapt to the constantly evolving aviation environment.

The Role:

As General Aviation (GA) Policy lead, you drive the delivery of various workstreams in support of the CAA’s General Aviation Strategy. The projects you will lead touch upon a wide variety of topics including flight operations, airworthiness, internal process improvements and much more. Further to this, you would also be responsible for the planning and delivery of the GA aspects of national rulemaking as well as the authoring of policy that contributes to enhanced safety in the GA sector. A critical element of these activities is engagement with the GA community and participation in area stakeholder activity. The role requires significant understanding of the GA stakeholder community, its objectives, and the challenges it faces.

This role offers you a unique opportunity to lead a team in the delivery of a broad set of objectives covering a wide variety of subject matter. Its work will impact a significant proportion of the UK aviation community, and its contributions have the potential to be hugely influential, externally through the delivery of safety improvements and efficiencies but also internally as a representative of GA in cross functional working groups.

Leading the technical policy of General Aviation (GA); to lead the creation of GA technical guidance; the GA approach to national rule making and author policy that contributes to safety improvement. You will be responsible for overseeing and managing the delivery of the following areas:

• Technical policy for GA subjects
• GA input to National rule making.
• Technical guidance.
• Technical and complex stakeholder queries that comes in from the stakeholder contact centre.
• Defining technical positions on GA subjects in the shorter term (the same topics might be under-going a longer-term transformation).
• International policy exchange.
• CAAi support.

Key Accountabilities:

Stakeholder management is a key part of the role, and you will be expected to work closely with the Department for Transport and the General Aviation community in addition to working with colleagues at all levels within the CAA, including at Board level.

• Stakeholder engagement for policy discussions / decision making and contact centre for technical queries.
• Communicating technical positions on General Aviation (GA) subjects with transformation and oversight teams.
• Defining and communicating Management Information (MI) for business operations.
• Accountable for delivering technical GA policy. Specifically:
• The timely definition of UK position on technical policy items
• The timely completion of technical guidance
• Supporting our collaboration with CAAi
• Managing our internal relationships and policy exchange of ideas
• Supporting complex technical queries from stakeholders to a defined SLA

About You:

The role will be a key part of the Safety Operations Policy management team. You will be technically experienced and have a delivery focused mindset , working positively with competing timelines, objectives priorities, all with good attention to detail. You will manage a team of policy specialists and will collaborate cross departmentally on the delivery of policy across the GA community

Essential Criteria:

• Aviation experience, preferably in General Aviation.
• Experience and proven track record in working on policy issues and developing policy.
• Able to stand ground and engage appropriately in difficult conversations on key decisions; willing and able to influence and positively challenge stakeholders at all levels of seniority.
• Ability to work effectively under pressure.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Have a ‘can-do’ attitude, ability to suitably prioritise work, and a focus on results and delivery.
• Skills to influence and work within a diverse team.
• Knowledge of the CAA and the policy/technical/political environments in which it operates.
• Stakeholder management experience – proven experience of operating with tact and diplomacy with diverse groups of stakeholders. Strong experience and capability in managing relationships with stakeholders at all levels.
• Influencing and negotiation skills of a high order will be important to ensure the right outcomes are achieved with the ability to communicate clearly and effectively.
• Experience in making difficult decisions for the good of policy positions or associated projects – even if it goes against the status quo.

Desirable Criteria:

• Experience of leading and managing a team of aviation professionals.
• Project management experience – with experience of leading a policy task being particularly desirable.

Additional Security Information: For many appointments within the CAA, these roles require access to operationally sensitive infrastructure and/or Nationally Protected information. For these roles, the post holders must undergo National Security Vetting and achieve the appropriate level of clearance. If you do not meet these requirements, we may not be able to accept your application.To be vetted you must have the right to work in the UK so that meaningful checks can be undertaken. For more information on BPSS clearance please visit – BPSS clearance

Relocation & Property: The CAA will be relocating from Aviation House (Our Gatwick Office) to new premises in a few years’ time. Our move is driven by strategic, operational, and environmental considerations. We will be moving to a new local home, up to a 15-mile radius of Aviation House, to minimise disruption for our valued colleagues and customers. We are now working with colleagues and visitors to understand what we need in our new office before we start our property search. We will sell Aviation House and land, vacate the site, and move to new premises, but we do not expect to move before 2028

Inclusive Recruitment: We are passionate about diversity and ensuring all are included at the CAA. We are an equal opportunity employer and actively encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds. As a member of the Disability Confident scheme, applicants who meet the minimum criteria for a role with us will be guaranteed an interview. We use fair and inclusive selection approaches to hire the best person for the job based on merit alone. If you require an adjustment for any reason, please let us know.

Use of Artificial Intelligence by candidates in the CAA recruitment process: We recognise that many of our candidates find Artificial Intelligence to 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 rejected on that basis.

Working With Us: We are on a journey towards being increasingly adaptable, where our colleagues collaborate as part of cross-functional teams. This approach ensures we never stop learning together. It also means that you may become involved in activities that take you out of your day-to-day role, providing you with opportunities to develop and grow your career with us.

We have embraced hybrid working and offer flexible working patterns, being open to having a conversation about what works for you. We know where and when we work is important in achieving a work-life balance. We offer a range of excellent benefits such as flexible working arrangements, free onsite gym at Gatwick, discounted gym membership for London, 28 days annual leave, additional 5 days leave purchase scheme, a generous pension scheme and much more!

Our Values: Do The Right Thing, Never Stop Learning, Build Collaborative Relationships, Respect Everyone – For more information please Click Here

Closing Date: 17th February 2026

Interview Date: WC 2nd March, head office, Gatwick

The CAA values high ethical standards and personal integrity among employees. If invited for interview you will be asked to complete a declaration of interest.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

No recruitment agencies please.

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