Network Readiness Manager - Bronze Commander

Salary - £73,995.84 - £97,778.08
Closing date - 19th November 2026 NATS is the UK’s leading air navigation service provider, handling over 2.5 million flights each year. We provide air traffic control services from control centres in Ayrshire and Hampshire, and at 15 airports across the UK. We also provide a wide range of commercial products and solutions internationally. Our people are at the heart of our purpose to advance aviation and keep the skies safe.

Help shape the UK air traffic network’s operational readiness and lead a coordinated response when disruption occurs.

As a Network Readiness Manager, you will provide a clear and timely picture of on-the-day network performance, ensuring operational leaders, airlines, airports and other stakeholders understand any emerging risks, their impact and actions being taken.

You will connect forward planning with operational delivery, assessing network readiness, identifying performance risks and coordinating action to reduce disruption. You will lead the development and delivery of the Network Agreed Plan, bringing together operational teams and stakeholders as required.

During disruption, you will act as Bronze Commander within the NATS incident management structure, directing the Bronze response, coordinating timely communications and recovery activity and escalating when required.

This is a role with responsibility and influence across NATS’ Swanwick and Prestwick centres and the wider aviation industry network. You will be part of a team of eight working shifts and with out-of-hours rostered on-call responsibility.

Lead operational communications: provide timely and clear information to internal leaders, customers and external partners, including chairing incident coordination calls.

Lead network readiness: maintain a clear assessment of readiness and performance risk, ensuring these are understood, mitigated and escalated appropriately.

Deliver the Network Agreed Plan: coordinate operational and stakeholder inputs to create, maintain and communicate the plan through to the day before operation.

Shape capacity planning: provide specialist advice on seasonal capacity, major events, airspace coordination and European network measures.

Challenge and influence: work with operational leaders to test planning assumptions, address any gaps and agree actions that support safe, efficient and sustainable service delivery.

Command the Bronze response: lead Bronze Incident Management response, elevate to Silver and coordinate recovery.

Turn learning into improvement: use operational analysis, performance trends and incident lessons to improve future plans, processes and tools.

Represent Network Readiness: lead relevant meetings, contribute to international planning groups and maintain effective relationships across the aviation network.

Significant and demonstrable experience of coordinating complex operations, assessing risk and delivering operational plans.

Strong leadership, diplomatic and influencing skills, with the confidence to challenge constructively and bring stakeholders together.

Sound judgement under pressure, including the ability to prioritise, make decisions and escalating concerns.

Excellent communication skills, including chairing meetings and explaining complex information clearly to senior leaders and customers.

The ability to interpret operational data, identify trends and turn analysis into practical action.

Evidenced experience of improving processes or delivering change through to successful implementation.

Strong IT skills and the ability to learn specialist planning and operational systems.

Knowledge of air traffic operations, airspace capacity management or a related operational…