Job Details
Salary: Competitive per annum
Hours: Full Time (37.5 hours), Monday - Friday
Location: Heathrow Terminal 3
Contract: Permanent
Closing Date: 7th July 2025
In a nutshell
Are you ready to shape the future of our Heathrow operations? We’re looking for a Planning Manager to lead our brand-new operational planning team in LHR. You will be bringing together people, data, and proactive thinking to elevate how we plan, do, and review. You’ll work hand-in-hand with our suppliers and operational leaders, guiding a team of three planning coordinators, and partnering with our Duty Manager team to turn insight into action. It’s all about smarter planning, smoother delivery, and setting the pace for what’s next.
Day to day
A key part of this role is to lead a new operational planning team at Heathrow, working closely with suppliers and operational leaders to shift the focus from reactive execution to proactive planning. Here is what a typical day will look like as a LHR Planning Manager.
- Lead the strategic development and continuous improvement of the planning function, while driving day-to-day process enhancements across Heathrow’s above and below wing teams.
- Work in partnership with the Duty Manager team, supporting the Hub Duty Manager with ensuring the Planning Coordinator team are effectively designing and analysing the plans.
- Collaborate with senior managers across Cobalt, ABM, fuel services, and ICTS to shape and strengthen operational planning performance, while building clear, data-informed expectations for delivery.
- Review best-practice planning across the industry and other forms of transport to improve our daily planning.
- Manage and develop a team of three Planning Coordinators to build and review the daily operational plan, ensure effective collaboration with the Hub Duty Manager, analyse review outputs to drive process improvements, and support team growth.
About you
We are looking for someone who has the following:
- Proven leadership experience, ideally of the LHR operation above and below wing.
- Proven experience in engaging with senior leaders, bringing clarity, influence, and calm under pressure.
- Ability to plan effectively and efficiently.
- Demonstrated communication skills where you’re a natural communicator with the ability to influence key stakeholders.
- Proven experience of analysing and presenting complex data to provide solutions for business challenges.
If this sounds like you, then we would love to hear from you!
Internal info
Hiring manager: Corine DarreuyreGlobal grade: C
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Our customers come from all walks of life and so do our colleagues. That’s why we’re proud to be an equal opportunity employer and actively encourage applications from all backgrounds. At Virgin Atlantic, we believe everyone can take on the world - no matter your age, gender, gender identity, gender expression, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disabilities, religion, or beliefs. We celebrate difference and everything that makes our colleagues unique by upholding an inclusive environment in which we can all thrive. So that everyone at Virgin Atlantic can be themselves and know they belong.
To make your journey with us accessible and individual to you, we encourage you to let us know if you’d like a little extra help with your application, or if you have any individual requirements at any stage along your recruitment journey. We are here to support you, so please reach out to our team, ([email protected]) feeling confident that we’ve got your individual considerations covered.