Head of Heavy Maintenance

A leading company in the aviation industry is looking for a "Head of Heavy Maintenance", to be located in London.

Job Purpose:

The role supports the Group airlines and operates within the Group Procurement Department, reporting to the Group Head of Category – MRO.

• The role is responsible for defining and executing the sourcing strategy and maintenance activities for the Group airlines for the category of Heavy Maintenance.
• You will be accountable for the spend management of a multimillion budget, and the identification and execution of savings opportunities.
• You will closely work with senior executives of the airline assigned to you and MROs (CTOs and directors of engineering and maintenance) and take ownership for delivering a robust business and financial plan that maximizes value to the airline assigned to you, delivers the savings target, and ensures your category continues support the group’s operational requirements.
• The role will involve providing strategic insights on an airline-by-airline, fleet-by-fleet, MRO-by-MRO, and contract-by-contract basis to achieve cost savings, drive strategic negotiations, and resolve contractual disputes. Drawing on your expertise, you will identify opportunities to restructure contracts, optimize heavy maintenance operations, influence MROs, and review technical information related to heavy maintenance checks.
• Your ability to generate savings and optimization will stem from your deep understanding of both technical and commercial aspects, as well as your extensive procurement experience. Additionally, you will serve as an advisor from the procurement department for new heavy maintenance operations and contracts.
• You will use your solid and extensive network of senior contacts in the OEM and MRO supplier market and wider industry to help unblock and speed up initiatives to achieve delivery of agreed targets.
• You will be a skilled negotiator with a demonstrated ability to negotiate complex, multiyear heavy maintenance agreements. You will be able to smoothly resolve complex negotiations with internal and external stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Responsibility for defining and implementing a 3-5 year category plan for the Heavy Maintenance category, ensuring alignment with business goals.
• Lead a global cross-category team of Category Leads focusing on capability development, workload management and continuity planning.
• Responsibility for developing and implementing local and global sourcing strategies for all external spend related activity. Developing long term strategic plans and targets in order to achieve Group Procurement objectives.
• Accountability for operating companies tier 1 (high strategic/high risk/high spend) projects. Work with strategic suppliers to grow and develop supplier markets.
• Management of stakeholder relationships across all operating companies and other Procurement Categories, ensuring appropriately robust challenge while delivering the operating companies’ business plans.
• Accountability for supplier risk to protect the operating companies and the Group from financial, operational and reputational damage.
• Provide commercial innovation to internal stakeholders through interaction with the supply base.
• Work with internal stakeholders and external suppliers to resolve commercial and contractual disputes; in particular suppliers with high complexity and/or high spend.
• Through liaison with the Procurement Operations Centre and operating company stakeholders, ensure supplier performance management is robust, effective and compliant.
• Work alongside business areas to identify, challenge, harmonize and simplify specifications and processes across the operating companies to ensure that Group buying power is maximized.
• Ensure that all procurement activity is carried out in line with Group and operating company governance principles.
• Develop effective working relations with key interfaces across the Group and operating companies including line, finance, legal and other stakeholders.
• Take an active role in cross-departmental strategic and leadership initiatives.

Key Relationships/Interfaces

• Strategic Suppliers, such as main MROs, Heavy Maintenance organizations worldwide, and OEMs etc.
• Business leaders in each of the operating companies.
• Operating Companies Senior Management Team.
• Group Procurement Teams.
• Group Supplier Cost Optimisation Team.
• Finance.
• Legal.

Job requisites

• At least 15 to 25 years’ experience in an MRO/airline/OEM engineering organization in either a technical, commercial or procurement role.
• Educated at University with Engineering degree.
• Fluency in English.
• Ability to demonstrate strong industry and supplier market knowledge in the assigned category domain.
• Willingness to travel and work in a multi-site/location environment.