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Passenger Operations and Safety Manager

Airport Operations

  • Vacancy type: Full-Time Permanent
  • Closing date: 22/01/2026
  • Salary: £41,626 + shift allowance

About the role

The Passenger Operations & Safety Manager is responsible for delivering a safe, secure, compliant and efficient passenger operation.

The role includes responsibility for the passenger journey end-to-end (excluding security) across Scotland’s busiest airport ensuring the business operates at maximum efficiency.

This role has a rotational roster, covering dayshift, backshift and night shifts. Shifts are up to 12hrs in length, with the earliest start currently being 0500.

You can find out more about the team here.

About the Recruitment Process

The recruitment process for this role will comprise of 2 stages with members of our Airport Operations and Service team. The first interview will be with our Terminal Operations and Passenger Services Managers, to find out more about your experience and some competency based questions. The second interview would include a senior member of our Airport Operations team, and may involve a task or presentation. Please note, depending on the volume of applications, the recruitment process for this role may change.

We are committed to supporting diverse ways of thinking and working, so if you require adjustments in the recruitment process, please let us know on your application. You can find out more about our interview process here.

What you’ll be doing

The Passenger Operations & Safety Manager is instrumental in the delivery of exceptional passenger experience by working collaboratively and proactively with internal and external business partners

Lead our passenger journey end-to-end

  • Overseeing the entire passenger journey across the terminal, playing a leading role in enhancing passenger operations. Identify and implement any opportunities for improvement, and ensuring third-party service performance
  • Responsible for delivering a successful passenger operation by monitoring forecasted passenger flows, identifying and communicating potential issues, and collaborating with the Airport Operations Control Centre and Airport Operations Manager to deliver an optimal end-to-end journey
  • Identify and mitigate against areas of operational risk by working with internal and external stakeholders to ensure minimal disruption to passengers and the airport operation
  • Responsible for the day-to-day shift management of the Airport Service Agent teams, ensuring the teams are best utilised to support the terminal and trolley operations. Supporting the Service Delivery Managers to manage these teams, including training the team and completing HR administration, such as monitoring attendance and completing return-to-work paperwork.
  • Complete future operational planning, including day-to-day planning of the check in hall operations and working with the wider Airport Operations and Service team to ensure events and additional flights can take place while maintaining business as usual operations
  • Support the delivery of our passenger experience strategy, working with Customer Support and Business Analytics teams to understand the needs of our passengers
  • Lead meetings both face-to-face and over teams with internal, external stakeholders and 3rd party service providers driving improvements in passenger experience and safety

Ensuring campus safety

  • Working with Health & Safety, the fire service and compliance teams, develop and deliver the airports safety inspections programme as part of our airport safety auditing plan
  • Conduct daily and monthly audits of terminal common user areas, ensuring any identified safety or cleaning issues are promptly resolved or escalated
  • Work with EAL/EASL departments and third parties to address any safety concerns, and monitor health and safety across the campus, identifying and mitigating trends
  • Lead with initial investigation to accidents (Terminal, landside campus) to identify immediate causes and taking necessary actions to drive improvement, including the ability to develop and deliver briefings to senior leadership levels
  • Audit campus cleanliness (both visually and using identified reporting methods e.g., apps) to ensure the airport maintains cleanliness standards and remains a hygienic and contaminant free environment

Provide on scene incident management and emergency response

  • Be the lead for response to fire, medical and emergency incidents in the terminal, roads and our landside infrastructure
  • In conjunction with the Airport Operations Manager, responsible for the deployment and execution of contingency plans and Edinburgh Airport Emergency Orders to enable the full restoration of operations as quickly as possible, whilst assuring the welfare and safety of all terminal and campus users.
  • As part of Edinburgh Airport command structure, assume the role of Bronze commander when appointed by the Airport Operations Manager to lead the on-scene response to incidents
  • Create and regularly review contingency and recovery plans relating to passenger operations

Drive continuous improvement with our partners

  • By co-ordinating all aspects of the day-to-day service provisions, continually review and develop them to ensure that passengers receive the highest levels of customer service to give passengers great service
  • Working closely with Ground Handling and Airline partners to ensure they can provide a smooth operation for passengers and maintain on time performance
  • In line with the departmental objective matrix, work on assigned areas of focus throughout the year. Including working on projects and presenting suggestions to senior management on how to improve performance and operations.
  • Working with the Edinburgh Airport projects team to ensure all projects can be completed while maintaining operations and ensuring safety of all passengers and staff

What we’re looking for

To apply for this role, you’ll need

  • This role requires the successful candidate to obtain a Counter Terrorist Check, so you must have been living in the UK for the last 3 consecutive years

Qualifications and credentials

  • Degree level qualification or equivalent experience in Hospitality, Travel and Tourism or a related discipline.
  • A clean driving licence, current and valid for driving within the United Kingdom

Specific Experience

  • Essential: Exemplary inter-personal and communication skills.
  • Essential: Exemplary self-organisation skills, including ability to self-direct.
  • Essential: Excellent team-worker with the ability to work constructively in and between different teams, and to lead/motivate others (including ability to challenge and change behaviours).
  • Essential: A passion for delivering an excellent passenger experience including hidden disabilities or additional needs.
  • Essential: Ability to filter information, see the bigger picture and determine where to focus.
  • Essential: Strong understanding of Edinburgh systems and operational data; Logic-driven problem-solving.
  • Essential: Deep understanding of Airport operations to include a minimum of 3 years’ experience in both operations and continuity/contingency planning within Aviation.
  • Desired: Strong understanding of Edinburgh systems and operational data; Logic-driven problem-solving.
  • Desired: Good knowledge of life safety systems and EAL terminal fire strategy and evacuation arrangements
  • Desired: Holder of first aid at work certificate, defib and medical gasses

If your experience looks slightly different to what we’ve listed here, we encourage you to still apply. You could add something we didn’t know we needed.

What we’ll offer you

  • Pension scheme- employer contributions can be up to 7%
  • 256 hours holiday, based on full time roles, increasing with service
  • Annual discretionary bonus
  • Supporting your health and wellbeing- private healthcare after 1 years’ service, access to our Employee Assistance Programme and occupational health services
  • Free car parking on site and when you go on holiday
  • We offer a range of other benefits, find out more here

Why EDI?

We are Edinburgh Airport, where Scotland meets the world. The success of the airport comes down to our people, and you can help us deliver even more big days for our passengers and colleagues. The development of your career is important to us, and we’ll support and encourage this every step of the way. We offer in-house and external training, both role specific and based on your objectives.

As a business we’re driven by our values – they’re at the core of our culture and everything we do. We will ask questions based on our values during your interview, as we’re looking for people who will demonstrate these values day-in, day-out. So if this sounds like you, apply now and get ready for your career to take off. 

As a Disability Confident Leader, we are committed to ensuring applicants with a disability can participate fully in our recruitment process. Please let us know in your application form if you require any adjustments, such as parking arrangements or alternative methods of communication.

We work with Inclusive Employers, who are a leading organisation for employers committed to prioritising inclusion. We are supported by them through leadership workshops, a variety of resources and webinars,  demonstrating our commitment to an inclusive workplace and ensuring all our employees feel valued. This partnership is part of our wider Diversity and Inclusion strategy, and you can find out more here.

We give colleagues the opportunity to engage with different people and projects, within our business and beyond. You can get involved in a variety of different employee groups, including Diversity, STEM, Wellbeing, or create your own community – it’s important to us that you can share your interests and be yourself at work.