Role Description

Organisation: Civil Aviation Authority
Role: Chair – Environmental Sustainability Panel
Remuneration: £650 per day 
Time Commitment: Approximately 2 days per month
Location: Flexible

The Role of the CAA

As the UK’s independent specialist civil aviation regulator, the CAA has a number of purposes – one of which is to support the aviation and aerospace sectors as they manage and reduce their environmental impacts. The CAA’s role in sustainability includes reporting on the environmental impacts of aviation, undertaking research and influencing UK and international organisations. To support and constructively challenge the CAA in delivering its environmental sustainability work, the CAA established the Environmental Sustainability Panel (the Panel) in 2022.

 

The Environmental Sustainability Panel

The Panel’s main responsibilities include:

  • Acting as a critical friend, supporting and challenging the CAA as it delivers its Environmental Sustainability Strategy.
  • Providing the CAA with scientific, technical and strategic insights on current and emerging environmental sustainability topics.
  • Responding to requests from the CAA for input and expertise on matters in its wider work programme, to incorporate environmental sustainability into its work.

 

The Role of the Chair

  • Influence and challenge
    • Build a strong, credible relationships with the CAA (especially at Board and Executive level) in order to robustly challenge the CAA on its sustainability work, position and decisions.
    • Represent, advocate and champion the Panel’s advice, framing evidence in a way that resonates with the CAA’s strategic and regulatory priorities.
  • Panel leadership
    • Provide collaborative and inclusive leadership, creating a ‘safe space’ for the panel to challenge the CAA and express their views.
    • Set the Panel’s clear forward agenda in collaboration with the CAA, ensuring meetings and the work programme are purposeful and outcome focused.
    • Get the best from the Panel – focus discussion and outputs, and draw out clear, usable insights from diverse expertise

 

What success looks like in this role?

  • The Panel’s advice is understood, trusted and influences the CAA’s wider work and supports sustainability related decision making.
  • Panel members feel safe, engaged and valued, even when views differ.
  • Discussions covers both scientific and technical detail as well as implications and choices.
  • Relationships between the Panel, Board and Executive are constructive, trusting and robust enough to withstand challenge.