Overview
The Head of Sustainability Research will develop and deliver a cross CAA’s environmental research strategy covering key areas including emissions, air quality, noise and adaptation. You will lead a team of technical and policy experts, ensuring research programmes support the CAA’s wider sustainability objectives and inform meaningful regulatory and policy outcomes.
This role leads the CAA’s future-facing environmental research capability, requiring an experienced leader with a strong research background and a deep understanding of environmental research, policy development, and public sector engagement. You will be responsible for helping build the evidence base that will shape aviation environmental policy and the CAA’s work over the next decade.
Core Accountabilities
- Strategic Research Leadership: Working with relevant SMEs, set the long-term strategic vision for the CAA’s sustainability research agenda, ensuring alignment with the CAA’s Sustainability Strategy, and UK Government policy. Identify gaps in the UK’s aviation environmental knowledge base and apply or develop interdisciplinary research programmes to fill them. Ensure the CAA remains at the forefront of emerging research, data, and policy developments in aviation sustainability.
- Research Quality and Delivery: Drive the use of innovative approaches and ensure high-quality research design and analysis that support policy and regulatory decision-making.
- Evidence Translation and Policy Impact: Translate high-quality research findings into clear, actionable, evidence-based policy proposals, working across CAA teams to inform regulatory practice and strategic positioning.
- Forge and maintain partnerships across the wider research ecosystem, including academic institutions, research councils, and government departments (e.g. DfT, Defra etc). Proactively identify, shape and secure external funding opportunities (e.g. UK Research Councils, Horizon Europe and other international programmes) to support CAA’s sustainability strategy.
- Thought Leadership and Impact: Promote the CAA’s role as a leader in high-quality, evidence-based environmental aviation policy and regulatory science. Support the work of the international team, Chief Technical Noise Adviser and ERCD at international environmental meetings and regulatory science groups (e.g. ICAO, EASA, EU ACARE).
- Team and Programme Management: Build and lead a high-performing, multidisciplinary team of subject matter experts and policy advisors. Embed a culture of collaboration, creativity transparency, and policy-readiness within the team’s outputs working alongside the rest of the sustainability team.
About You
Essential:
- Proven direct experience developing and delivering complex research programmes and strategies in an environmental or aviation-related field, ideally within an academic or comparable research-focused setting. Strong understanding of wide range of research methodologies, including both quantitative and qualitative approaches.
- Expertise in environmental impact areas relevant to aviation, such as noise, local air quality, greenhouse gas emissions or climate policy.
- Demonstrable leadership of multidisciplinary teams, with experience building new capabilities or functions.
- Excellent communication and influencing skills—capable of engaging both technical and non-technical stakeholders at senior levels.
- Strong understanding of how research informs regulation and public policy—and the ability to bridge technical analysis with policy application.
Desirable:
- Experience in using evidence to develop policy
- Track record of working with government departments and agencies, including successful funding proposals and strategic alignment.
- Experience of managing large-scale, complex research programmes from inception through delivery and impact assessment.
The post-holder will embody the CAA’s core values of Do the Right Thing; Never Stop Learning; Build Collaborate Relationships; and Respect Everyone. They will also be committed to delivering the CAA strategy and our team goals.
