Head of Delivery Operations

DEA is a full-service aircraft operator with extensive ISR flight capability backed up by a skilled in-house aviation engineering team. This powerful combination puts us at the forefront of our industry, both in the air and on the ground. It also ensures we can deploy and support quickly and efficiently, even in the world’s most challenging environments.

Due to continued growth and expansion, DEA is looking for a Head of Delivery Operations to Lead Delivery Operations, including Ground Operations (Operations Control), oversee DEA delivery output, provide Specialised Airborne (SPO) capability to ESAO, DEA Aviation, and the wider DEA Group.

The Head of Delivery Operations is directly responsible for ensuring daily on-time provision of SPO capability to customer tasking and maximising service availability.

A critical mandate of this role is sizing the business to balance Aircraft Utilisation and Aircrafton the Ground (AOG) recovery with Revenue Maximisation ensuring Gross Margin (GM) protection alongside daily operations, effective fleet disposition . Acting as the senior operational authority, the role directs and coordinates cross-functional efforts to optimise resource allocation, drive swift recovery during service disruptions, and ensure strict compliance with safety and regulatory requirements.

• Daily Execution & OTD: Lead the daily execution of operational schedules to guarantee consistent, on-time delivery (regularity) (>95%) of Specialised Airborne services, ensuring ground handling, flight planning, and clearances enable an on-time engine start.
• Resource Planning: Chair the DEA Group Integrated Planning Committee (IPC) weekly and monthly cycles, prioritizing customer tasking to revenue demand and de-conflicting against maintenance and resource constraints.
• AOG Cost of Recovery Management: Execute the Delivery Ops Decision Workflow during an AOG event, calculating the Premium Cost of Recovery (PCtR) against the Cost of Failure (CtF).
• Binding Operational Directives: Plot AOG events on the Cost of Recovery Decision Matrix and issue binding directives to Engineering and Flight Ops (e.g., authorizing Zone 2 Margin-Neutral actions or standing down the 24-hour target in Zone 3 Margin-Negative scenarios).
• Margin Protection: Factor in "hidden margin dilution" when evaluating recovery costs, preventing airframe cannibalisation and fatigue buffer erosion that degrade long-term fleet resilience.
• Cross-Functional Coordination: Collaborate with Engineering and Mission Systems to expedite defect resolution and with Flight Ops to align flight crew to daily operational demands.
• Performance Oversight: Own overall delivery performance against contracted Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and established KPIs. Conduct root-cause analysis on operational delays and establish continuous improvement measures.
• Reporting & Compliance: Provide DLT & GLT visibility into fleet health, dispatch reliability, and delivery performance to budget. Ensure all activities conform to DEA safety systems (AS9100), aviation regulations, and security standards.

• Extensive operational experience in senior operational leadership within commercial or military aviation, ISR, defense, or high-consequence regulated environments.
• Demonstrated track record of managing daily flight operations to achieve stringent on-time delivery targets.
• Proven experience in fleet management, dispatch reliability tracking, and minimizing AOG through cross-departmental coordination.
• Strong operational and commercial expertise, capable of defining maximum allowable spend (e.g., premium freight, contractor buy-back) before recovery costs exceed contractual penalties.
• In-depth knowledge of aviation maintenance structures, CAMO processes, flight crew scheduling, and regulatory compliance.
• Desirable degree or professional qualifications in Aviation Management, Operations, Engineering, Business Management or Project Management.
• Can achieve necessary security vetting and site access permissions.

• Decisive, data-driven leader capable of evaluating mathematical models (PCtR vs. CtF) under pressure to prevent purely operational decision-making from destroying gross margin.
• Exceptional crisis management and problem-solving skills, thriving in dynamic operational settings.
• Commercially astute, balancing high operational readiness with cost efficiency, contractual value, and Net Profit targets.
• Strong communicator effective in aligning cross-functional teams (Flight Ops, Engineering, Logistics) toward shared financial and delivery objectives.
• Capable of presenting at board or investor level while also mentoring at individual team member level