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Sustainable Aviation Test Environment Project

Welcome

Welcome to the recruitment site for our vacancies.

Thanks for your interest in these roles – you will find all the information you might need about the opportunity, and us, on this site.

Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) is the leading provider of airport operations in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.  At HIAL we are very proud of our reputation for safety, quality and cost-effective delivery of services, and our professional and friendly customer service We work closely with the communities that we serve and employ over 650 staff across 11 airports.

This is an exciting time to join our team as we focus on our vision to become a net-zero carbon regional airport group.  We are working with several aviation partners to decarbonise scheduled flights within Scotland to support the Scottish Government’s target to create the world’s first net-zero aviation region by 2040.

HIAL is the lead partner in the Sustainable Aviation Test Environment (SATE) Project – creating the UK’s first operationally based low-carbon aviation test centre at Kirkwall Airport on the Orkney Islands.  SATE is part funded by UKRI and brings together an international consortium of industry partners, public sector bodies and academia who will work with a range of regional businesses and stakeholders to apply state of the art aviation technology to deliver economic growth.

The project has already hosted trials of exciting aviation technologies including low-carbon aircraft and UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), demonstrating how they can be used to meet the needs of local communities through real-life use cases. SATE provides the blueprint for net zero regional aviation, placing the UK at the forefront of the transition to low carbon aviation.

SATE will now expand to create the UK Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Regional Aviation, enabling pre-commercial demonstrations of novel aviation technologies with proven use cases to commercialise clean innovation in a real-world environment. Use cases will include:

  • Scheduled airline routes
  • Offshore energy services
  • National Health Service activities
  • Island / remote region deliveries
  • Environmental survey and inspection

Implementation of these will require advances in technology, regulation, and policy. These are reflected in the cross-cutting activities which include:

  • Establishing a dedicated test environment airspace
  • Matchmaking technology to community and business needs
  • Accelerating technology innovation
  • Mapping out the future Highlands and Islands aviation system

The positions of Sustainable Innovation Manger and SATE Business Manager are new roles and will be pivotal in delivering our SATE objectives.

The Sustainable Innovation Manager will champion sustainability and work corporately to embed commercial sustainable innovation projects across HIAL activities, particularly for the Sustainable Aviation Test Environment project.  A key objective for the post holder will be to develop and deliver the SATE project exploitation plan which forms part of the overall HIAL commercial and corporate strategy

The SATE Business Manager will lead and develop the Sustainable Aviation Test Environment (SATE) strategy for HIAL.   The SATE Business Manager will be responsible for developing and delivering the SATE business plan through monitoring trends and analysing relevant market data.

As a geographically dispersed organisation, we rely heavily on our local resources and the efforts of our teams throughout the company. Our People Plan and commitment to Investors in People aims to develop and support our workforce to meet the challenges of the future through our flexible working policy.

These roles offer a rewarding career opportunity.  We welcome applications from candidates with significant experience of operating in a strategic leadership position, and proven ability to work to deliver commercial success.

We look forward to receiving your application.

Lynda Johnston
Head of Business Development
Highlands and Islands Airports Limited