Project Director

Aviation is a vibrant, dynamic industry that generates economic growth, supports employment, facilitates international trade and tourism and brings people together. But aviation is also facing numerous, complex issues. Join ICF’s Aviation practice as we help clients navigate industry challenges, be it rebuilding tourism and connectivity after Covid, driving operational transformation, advising policy makers on how to facilitate industry decarbonisation, delivering digital modernisation solutions or maximising returns on investment.

ICF’s aviation practice is one of the world's largest specialist aviation consulting teams. Aviation is, by its nature, a global industry, and from our offices in the UK, US, India and Spain, we work together as a single global team to offer a truly global solution to our clients. As a member of our consulting team you will have the opportunity to work on projects across all regions and service lines, including opportunities for travel. A more complete description of ICF experience and capabilities can be seen by visiting our website, https://www.icf.com/aviation.

The Role:
As a Principal / Project Director in the ICF Aviation team, you will be responsible for leading consultancy projects, selling new projects and developing new business areas. The role is in the Airlines & MRO practice within ICF’s Aviation division, joining a team of senior airline and MRO operational experts with decades of experience in the industry. You will be supported by a talented pool of analysts and associates who specialise in Aviation, as well as colleagues from outside of Aviation but with highly relevant skills and capabilities in digital modernisation, beneficial electrification, renewable fuels among others.
The role is tailored for someone with extensive experience in the field of ground handling operations, but experience across the supply chain from passenger handling to airline tech ops will be useful additions. Many of the projects you will be working on will be multi-dimensional, and potentially wide-ranging in their scope. Clients could be airlines, ground handlers or airports looking to improve their operations, or to understand the impact of new technologies (e.g. eGSE). Alternatively you could be providing due diligence to potential investors on the revenue, cost and capex outlook for a target.
Your role will also include administrative responsibilities such as developing budgets and scopes of work, project tracking, and liaising with ICF’s Contracts and Finance teams (for which training will be provided). You will also be expected to contribute to business development efforts by building a network of client relationships, working on proposals, speaking at conferences, and contributing to ICF’s thought leadership.

Key Responsibilities:

• SME / Focal point for ground handling operations within the Airlines & MRO practice
• Be the senior point of contact with customers’ project sponsor / senior management.
• Lead medium to large project teams composed of internal and external resources
• Ensure quality of deliverables in terms of content and structure
• Lead the creation of proposals and pitch presentations for new project opportunities
• Lead the production of thought leadership articles
• Present at conferences on relevant industry topics
• Develop own sales pipeline through personal network
• Collaborate with wider team on creation of large project proposals
• Be ready to travel extensively and be on-site with clients
• Promote a culture of fairness and inclusiveness
• Demand from yourself and your team a high work ethic
• Support corporate growth and business development initiatives, such as the development of proposal responses, intellectual capital, white papers, and marketing materials;
• Help train and develop junior staff.

Qualifications and Professional Skills:

• Extensive airline / ground handling ops experience – 15+ years, including in management positions
• Project and team management experience
• Consulting experience
• Degree in Engineering, Maths, Finance, Business or ability to prove these competencies through work experience
• Outstanding written and spoken English
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (PowerPoint, Word & Excel);
• Experience managing projects or initiatives and creating structured workflows;
• Ability and willingness to travel extensively for work as necessary.
• Ability to work collaboratively with multi-cultural, multi-disciplinary teams spread across different countries and time zones to achieve established goals;

About us:

Working at ICF means applying a passion for meaningful work with intellectual rigor to help solve the leading issues of our day. Smart, compassionate, innovative, committed, ICF employees tackle unprecedented challenges to benefit people, businesses, and governments around the globe. We believe in collaboration, mutual respect, open communication, and opportunity for growth.

We can only solve the world's toughest challenges by building an inclusive workplace that allows everyone to thrive. We are committed to creating a culture where we embrace our differences in ideas and identities. Together, our employees are empowered to share their expertise and collaborate with others to achieve personal and professional goals.

The benefits of joining ICF:

Our people at ICF are our most important asset, so we invest in them from the moment they arrive. When you join our team, you’ll have access to a vast array of benefits to help you live your life well.

We offer a hybrid working policy, which will provide you with the flexibility to collaborate in the office, as well as in the comfort of your own home, ensuring you are able to successfully deliver the requirements of your role.

To support you, our employee wellbeing hub is designed to provide highly personalised support across a comprehensive range of wellbeing issues, such as mind, body, finances, community, career programs and HR support.

We enjoy celebrating success, which is why we have a competitive recognition program called ‘You Matter’, which awards points as a ‘thank you’ for your work achievements. These can be spent on a large variety of high-quality items, as well as online or high-street vouchers, all with zero tax payable by the employee.

ICF also offers a range of competitive benefits, which include:

• Single Private Medical Insurance cover with no restrictions on existing conditions.
• Dental insurance and an online GP service.
• 25 days annual leave, plus UK bank holidays (annual leave increases with years of service).
• Pension scheme with 5% of salary employer contribution
• Life assurance paying 4x annual salary and Group Income Protection paying 66% of salary for up to 5 years if you are off work on long-term sick.
• Enhanced parental leave policies, enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption, and shared parental pay.

At ICF, we are committed to ensuring a fair and equitable interview process for all candidates based on their own skills and knowledge. As part of this commitment, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to generate or assist with responses during interviews (whether in-person or virtual) is not permitted. This policy is in place to maintain the integrity and authenticity of the interview process.

However, we understand that some candidates may require accommodations that involve the use of AI. If such an accommodation is needed, candidates are instructed to contact us in advance at candidateaccommodation@icf.com. We are dedicated to providing the necessary support to ensure that all candidates have an equal opportunity to succeed.