Head of Quality & Improvement

NATS is the UK’s leading air navigation service provider, handling over 2.4 million flights each year. We provide air traffic control services from two control centres and at airports around the UK. We also provide a wide range of commercial products and solutions internationally. Our people are at the heart of our purpose to advance aviation and keep the skies safe. 

Safety is central to everything we do. As we deliver significant change across our technology, infrastructure, operational services and ways of working, effective quality management and continuous improvement are essential to ensuring those changes are introduced safely, consistently and successfully.

Location: Flexible hybrid working, with travel to key UK locations as required

Salary: Competitive, dependent on experience

Contract: Permanent

Benefits include: NATS Pension Scheme, income protection, life assurance, wellbeing and health support, family-friendly policies, flexible working options, career development opportunities, employee discounts, recognition awards, and a range of additional health, financial, and lifestyle benefits.

Closing Date: 24/11/2026

The Opportunity

We are looking for an experienced senior leader to lead our Quality and Improvement function within the NATS Capital Programmes & Transformation (CPT) Division.

This is a strategically important role with responsibility for strengthening how quality, assurance, organisational learning and continuous improvement are applied across a complex portfolio of operational and technology change.

You will establish a clear and practical approach to quality management, helping teams to identify risks early, learn from evidence and deliver sustainable improvements. You will provide trusted advice and constructive challenge to senior leaders, while building strong relationships across operational, engineering, safety, programme delivery and regulatory communities.

The role sits within our Safety, Assurance and Readiness leadership team and works closely with the teams responsible for delivering major programmes and organisational transformation.

What you will be responsible for

Leading the Quality and Improvement function

• Set a clear strategic direction for quality management and continuous improvement.
• Lead, support and develop a multidisciplinary team.
• Ensure the function has the skills, capacity and resources needed to meet current and future priorities.
• Identify emerging risks, capability needs and opportunities to improve how the organisation operates.

Quality management and assurance

• Develop and maintain the organisation’s quality framework, policies, standards and working methods.
• Establish a consistent, practical and proportionate approach to quality assurance across programmes and change initiatives.
• Help teams build quality into their work from the earliest stages of design through to implementation and operation.
• Provide evidence-based advice, insight and constructive challenge to senior leaders.
• Promote clear accountability for quality while helping teams resolve issues and improve outcomes.

Continuous improvement and organisational learning

• Develop a culture in which people are encouraged to learn, speak openly, share evidence and constructively challenge established ways of working.
• Use performance information, assurance findings, investigation outcomes and operational experience to identify recurring or organisation-wide issues.
• Prioritise improvement activity according to risk, value and strategic importance.
• Lead improvement and transformation initiatives that deliver measurable and sustainable benefits.
• Strengthen the organisation’s ability to learn from both successful delivery and situations where outcomes did not meet expectations.

Relationships and influence

• Build trusted relationships with senior leaders and teams across operations, engineering, safety, technology and programme delivery.
• Work effectively with regulatory bodies and other external stakeholders.
• Present complex information clearly to support sound decision-making.
• Provide professional and constructive challenge, including when evidence indicates that a different approach may be needed.
• Work across organisational boundaries to achieve shared outcomes.

What we are looking for

We recognise that strong candidates may have gained relevant experience through different career paths. You may come from aviation, transport, energy, defence, infrastructure, engineering, technology, healthcare, financial services or another complex and highly regulated environment.

You do not need to have worked in air traffic management or for NATS before.

We are particularly interested in candidates who can demonstrate:

• Senior leadership experience in quality management, business improvement, organisational assurance, operational excellence or a related field.
• Experience leading teams and developing professional capability.
• A strong record of delivering measurable improvements in a complex organisation.
• Experience designing or implementing quality, assurance, governance or continuous improvement frameworks.
• The ability to use data, evidence and operational insight to identify risks and improvement opportunities.
• Experience influencing senior leaders and working across organisational and professional boundaries.
• An understanding of how quality supports safe, reliable and effective operational delivery.
• Experience working in a regulated environment, or in an organisation where operational failure could have significant consequences.
• The judgement to balance strategic improvement with immediate operational priorities.
• The confidence to provide constructive challenge while maintaining strong working relationships.
• A leadership style that promotes inclusion, openness, accountability and continuous learning.

Experience of working with regulators, employee representatives or recognised trade unions would be useful, but is not essential.

Qualifications

A degree or professional qualification in quality management, risk, safety, engineering, business improvement or a related discipline may be helpful. We will also welcome applications from candidates who can demonstrate equivalent capability through substantial professional and leadership experience.

Relevant professional qualifications could include those associated with:

• Quality management
• Risk or safety management
• Business improvement or operational excellence
• Engineering
• Programme or change management
• Lean, Six Sigma or other recognised improvement methods

How you will lead

Success in this role will require someone who:

• Creates clarity and direction in complex situations.
• Builds an environment where people feel able to raise concerns, offer different perspectives and learn from mistakes.
• Develops people and enables teams to perform at their best.
• Listens carefully and communicates complex issues in clear language.
• Uses evidence and professional judgement rather than relying solely on established practice.
• Challenges respectfully and is open to being challenged.
• Encourages collaboration across disciplines and organisational boundaries.
• Remains thoughtful and effective when dealing with uncertainty, competing priorities and significant change.
• Demonstrates a visible commitment to safety, quality, inclusion and fair treatment.

Why join us?

This is an opportunity to shape quality and continuous improvement within an organisation that supports one of the UK’s most important parts of national infrastructure.

You will have the scope to influence major operational and technology change, strengthen organisational learning and develop a quality function capable of supporting our future ambitions. Your work will help ensure that change is introduced safely, effectively and sustainably.

Our benefits include a pension scheme, income protection, life assurance, wellbeing and health support, family-friendly policies, flexible working options, career development opportunities, employee discounts, recognition awards and additional health, financial and lifestyle benefits.

Our commitment to inclusion

We want our workforce to reflect the diversity of the communities and customers we serve. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and recognise that capability can be developed through different combinations of experience, education and professional learning. Please consider applying even if you do not meet every point listed. If you have relevant leadership experience and believe you can make a strong contribution, we would like to hear from you.

Additional Vacancy Information

We are committed to providing an inclusive recruitment process. Reasonable adjustments are available throughout the application and selection process.

We are proud to offer a fantastic total reward package to help you thrive both personally and professionally - for more information on what NATS can offer you please visit - Why NATS? - NATS

Please note: All staff at NATS are subject to UK Security Vetting and Clearance (SC) and must maintain valid clearance throughout employment. We are unable to progress applications where an applicant does not meet eligibility requirements for clearance. For further guidance click here Security Clearance - NATS