Aviation Service Delivery Manager

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 Aviation Service Delivery Manager to own the successful delivery of assigned DEA Aviation customer contracts, ensuring contracted deliverables are achieved safely, consistently and in line with agreed Service Level Agreements (SLAs), Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), customer requirements and business priorities.

The Service Delivery Manager will act as the principal link between the customer and DEA's internal delivery functions, translating contractual demand into clear delivery requirements and coordinating the resources, priorities and actions needed to deliver.

The role will maintain a clear view of contract health, performance, risk and customer satisfaction, leading service reviews and recovery activity where performance is at risk.

Strong commercial awareness is essential, including understanding contract scope, cost and revenue implications, change requirements and the effect of operational decisions on contract value and margin.

Key Duties & Responsibilities

• Own service delivery performance for assigned customer contracts, ensuring contracted outputs, Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are achieved.
• Act as the primary customer point of contact for delivery, building strong relationships and maintaining clear, timely communication.
• Monitor contract performance, identify emerging shortfalls and drive recovery actions where delivery is at risk.
• Lead regular customer performance reviews, covering delivery, KPIs, risks, actions and forward priorities.
• Ability to identify emerging opportunities for further revenue growth or business development with each customer.
• Translate contractual requirements and customer demand into clear operational and resource requirements.
• Work with the Head of Delivery Ops and functional teams to align aircraft, people, engineering and other resources against contract and business priorities.
• Identify resource constraints, competing priorities and delivery dependencies early, escalating with clear impacts and recommended actions.
• Maintain a forward view of customer demand, key milestones, risks and dependencies to support effective planning.
• Maintain clear ownership of contract risks, issues and actions, ensuring mitigations are implemented and followed through.
• Coordinate the response to significant delivery failures or operational issues, including customer communication, corrective action and lessons identified.
• Maintain a working understanding of contract scope, commercial commitments, service credits or penalties and change mechanisms.
• Identify scope creep, additional customer demand and decisions that may affect cost, revenue or contract margin, escalating appropriately.
• Use performance data and customer feedback to drive continuous improvement in delivery quality, efficiency and resilience.
• Provide the Head of Delivery Ops with a clear view of contract health, including SLA/KPI performance, customer sentiment, resource outlook, risks and commercial concerns.
• Ensure delivery remains aligned with DEA procedures, customer requirements and relevant safety, security and quality standards.

Technical Experience & Qualifications

• Demonstrable experience in customer or service delivery, contract or programme delivery, operations management or a comparable customer-facing or programme management role.
• Proven experience managing performance through SLAs, KPIs, service reviews, dashboards or other contractual and operational performance measures.
• Experience coordinating cross-functional teams and resources, including influencing priorities where resources are owned by other functional managers.
• Strong commercial awareness, with the ability to understand contract scope, cost, revenue, margin, change control and the consequences of delivery decisions.
• Experience in aviation, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), defence, government, security or another regulated operational environment is desirable.
• Relevant project, programme, service, operations or business management qualifications are desirable; equivalent experience will be considered. Must meet company and customer security, travel and site access requirements.

Skills Profile

• Strong ownership and accountability, focused on measurable customer and contractual outcomes while maintaining control of priorities, risks and actions.
• Commercially aware and able to balance customer need, contractual commitment, operational practicality, cost and wider business priorities; particularly revenue and margin protection.
• Data-driven and analytical, able to turn performance information into clear priorities, decisions, recovery actions and improvement activity.
• Credible customer-facing communicator, comfortable leading performance reviews, difficult conversations and presentations to senior stakeholders.
• Collaborative and influential, able to align teams and drive action across functions without direct line management authority, while remaining calm and decisive under pressure.