Ground Services Contracts Manager

Airside Operations

Vacancy type: Full-Time Permanent
Closing date: 13/05/2026
Salary: £54,813 + depending on experience

About the role

The Ground Services Contract Manager is responsible for managing the 3^rd party operation within the Ground handler community and any potential 3^rd parties who we deem necessary to work within a licenced operation at EAL. They will be responsible for delivering improvement from 3^rd parties through good communication, collaboration and working within the licence conditions that each party has signed up to.

Using various management techniques, the role will allow the Ground Services Contract Manager to use specific licence powers to identify & define problems and manage change to deliver positive business outcomes and improvement to performance standards for both EAL and the 3^rd party operators.

You can find out more about the team here

About the recruitment process

The recruitment process for this role will be a one stage, in person interview, with our Head of Airside & Baggage and Senior Airside Manager. This will be a competency based interview, with questions on our values and a presentation on a topic to be confirmed on invite to interview.

Please note, our interview process may be adjusted depending on the volume of candidates. 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 and the types of questions we ask here.

What you’ll be doing

Ensure that safety is given the highest priority at all times in meeting operational standards, create an environment that actively encourages a safety culture in the day-to-day management of the 3^rd party.
Drive relevant 3^rd party performance and asset utilisation to improve productivity (e.g. OTP performance, baggage delivery and make-up, check-in resource, ramp resource &etc.).
Work closely with all business partners to deliver a compliant, safe and efficient operation.
Ensure that the relevant 3^rd parties deliver a customer focused and professional service, responding to customers concerns and requirements.
Proactively defining project briefs for any development or process improvement initiatives which impact on the operational performance of the airport environment.
Oversee the implementation of solutions, policies, processes or procedures across the 3^rd party estate, actively contributing to the formulation of the 3^rd party Operating licence, manage its content and implement actions if/when required.
Define and own the management of relevant 3^rd party operations, providing guidance and purpose to the relevant 3^rd parties to support them to achieve the stated outputs as per the licence agreement, ensuring compliance with all regulatory, legal and statutory obligations.
Ensure performance standards are maintained during periods of operational disruption (e.g. adverse weather, industrial action, system failures, etc.). Contribute to contingency planning and respond as per the requirements of Edinburgh Airport current policies and procedures (e.g. Emergency Orders, Winter Operation Plans, Aircraft Recovery Orders, etc.).
Active participant in contingency programmes (e.g. Crisis Management).
Anticipate and develop contingencies with GHA’s any operational issues due to:

Staff availability
Training
ID passes
Equipment

What we’re looking for

Qualifications, experience and technical competence

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
Management of 3^rd party operations preferred
Demonstrable knowledge of problem solving and removing waste and variation from process.
Able to evidence relationship building with mixed business partners (both internal and external)
Sound operational knowledge of the boundaries and constraints involved in a regulatory environment.
Astute commercial awareness.
A high level of competence in IT; to utilise all relevant internal and external IT systems
Able to work with minimal supervision and prioritise workload.
The ability to communicate effectively at all levels of the organisation and with external organisations.
Understanding of complex agreements

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%
32 days 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.