Safety & Assurance Manager
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.
Salary: £72,094.66 - £96,126.21
Closing Date: 28/09/2026
Please include a Cover Letter with your application.
Job Purpose/Overview
To deliver the safety and assurance activities to support the successful implementation of changes into service.
As a safety leader, ensure compliance with the NATS Safety Policy such that the accountable roles have the required confidence that the change can be implemented and operated safely.
Other Duties Include
- Is responsible for the generation and preparation of the Safety & Assurance plans, arguments and collating the evidence for the Change Assurance documentation covering the Safety Management and Business Continuity / Service Resilience assurance and risks. This includes the contributions from Systems / Software Assurance, Human Factors and Cyber Security. Resulting in changes being implemented with the required safety assurance.
- Adopt a pro-active approach to ensure that any issues affecting the safety, business continuity, human performance and cyber security of NATS services or its interfaces are identified and resolved.
- Lead workshops with Subject Matter Experts to identify safety hazards and the elicitation of mitigating, functional and non-functional requirements that together form the safety & assurance requirements for a project change.
- Ensuring the assurance activities for allocated projects comply with the NATS Business and Safety Management Systems as required.
- Ensure all standards of work conform to best practice and are proportionate to the level of risk.
- Providing assurance support to Service Design Managers, System Engineering Managers, ATC Leads, Design Authorities, Programme & Project Managers, Senior Leadership teams and Architects within a major project/Programme, to influence the service/system/airspace design and the implementation of design changes to satisfy derived requirements (as required).
Autonomy
- The post holders have the authority to manage assigned assurance resources against agreed and prioritised objectives for assigned programmes and projects.
- The post holders will routinely refer to their line manager for guidance on high-risk assurance issues and large resource/time commitments.
Job Scope
Assurance documentation (both those for existing Operations and new Project Change assurance) including Operational Safety and Technical Assurance documents are key to enabling NATS and Regulatory acceptance and approvals to be achieved. It is the job holder’s responsibility to ensure that the assurance documents achieve these goals; the scope of the job encompasses:
a) Working with the relevant stakeholders to define the Assurance Requirements for the change, resulting in requirements for Safety, Integrity, Software Assurance, Human Factors, Training, Business Continuity / Resilience and Security.
b) Developing the assurance arguments that are reasonable, proportionate, well-constructed and as such provide the required level of confidence for the Programme and Project change. Creating the assurance documentation, supported by the evidence, to address the derived requirements.
c) Responsibility for ensuring that the safety assurance documentation for the allocated projects are delivered to time, quality and cost.
d) As required, manage and develop any allocated assurance team members as required.
Essential Skills and Experience
- The job holder is expected to hold, as a minimum, a degree in a STEM or assurance‐related discipline or have equivalent experience in the operation, planning, design, development and assessment of multi‐discipline assurance for safety related systems and services. The job holder is also expected to have experience of a single assurance related discipline, such as safety, security, business continuity, human factors and safety related software development.
- Knowledge of NATS ATC/Engineering Operational Services and Procedures. For example, experience from working in a Programme or Project that changed the operations at, or infrastructure supporting an Operational Centre or Airport.
- Detailed knowledge of the principles and practices for providing assurance (such as those applied for safety, security, business continuity, human factors, software development) as applied to the design and development of systems and services to support the delivery of the NATS Operation.
- Detailed knowledge of the NATS Business and Safety Management Systems.
- Experience of developing and constructing compelling and justified assurance arguments for change (such as those used in Safety Case Construction) and ability to expand on these for covering business continuity and safety with contributions from security, software and human factors. Where the arguments encompass technical services and systems, facilities, people and Airspace design.
- Knowledge & experience of the principal tools, techniques and methods of safety and assurance (e.g. Goal Structuring Notation, hazard analysis, failure analysis, requirements setting, design assessment, risk assessment, requirements satisfaction, assurance documentation construction).
- The ability to communicate difficult technical and/or operational concepts clearly and concisely, both verbally and in writing, at all levels both internal to and external to NATS.
- Work package management experience, including the mechanisms and application of Earned Value Management.
- The ability to manage, coach, motivate and develop members of the group to maximise their contribution within the team.
- Practical experience of working with multi‐disciplined teams and subject matter experts for the delivery of assurance for implementing changes to the NATS operation. Including experience of managing Contracts and Contractors.
- The role holder is also expected to be highly motivated and actively work on personal and professional development.
Additional Vacancy Information
- Knowledge of Safety Management principles, Safety Management Systems, and experience of applying these in practice is an essential requirement.
- For this role, Work Package Management refers to the planning, scheduling, and delivery of safety assurance activities and deliverables within agreed time and budget constraints. This includes developing schedules, estimating effort, coordinating assigned resources where required, and reporting progress, risks, and budget status to change leaders and management stakeholders.
- Applicants will be expected to manage safety work packages, including planning and estimating activities and providing regular progress updates throughout delivery.
- Knowledge or experience of Earned Value Management is not a requirement for this role.
- Experience of hazard analysis techniques would be beneficial and may include methods such as Bow Tie Analysis, Functional Hazard Analysis (FHA), and HazOps.
- Experience of design assessment activities may include the creation, interpretation, or review of techniques such as Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) and Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA).
- The role may involve engagement with a range of external stakeholders, including the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), other Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs), and the Royal Air Force (RAF).
We have adopted agile working to provide greater flexibility and increased choice over working arrangements, with the opportunity for this role to work in our modern office facilities as well as remotely. We also welcome discussions on flexible and part-time working arrangements. Find out more here.
If you share our passion to advance aviation and keep the skies safe – we would like to hear from you whatever your age, sex, race, faith, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, visible or invisible disability. Individuals that bring different perspectives, skills, life experiences and backgrounds help us be at the forefront of our industry.
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, please click here - Security Clearance - NATS.
Fareham, Hampshire, GB, PO15 7FL