Overview

Climate change is Heathrow's top mid- to long-term business risk. The Carbon Strategy team sets the company's net zero strategy, translates strategy into delivery across the business, sponsors a £200m capital investment programme in solutions from airspace modernisation to EV charging, provides analytics to track, forecast and disclose performance, and engages external stakeholders to understand concerns and tell our story.

The Head of Carbon Strategy is a key strategic role shaping the decarbonisation of Heathrow’s business "in the air" and "on the ground" and protecting future operation and growth prospects. The role is the custodian of our Net Zero Plan, developing and maintaining plausible but ambitious targets and plans, and acting as a key interface with the Carbon & Sustainability Programme in solutions. The role has a significant externally-facing dimension—working with aviation industry partners to develop and maintain a shared industry net zero roadmap, promoting policy solutions to Government officials and political decision-makers, and collaborating with academics to research solutions.

Responsibilities

• Leading the creation and ongoing refinement of Heathrow's net zero strategy across all emission scopes, including aviation and ground operations, with clear interim targets and annual delivery plans.
• Establishing and managing a business partnering framework to embed carbon targets and plans across all functions, offering strategic and technical support, and directly partnering with key areas like finance.
• Collaborating with finance to embed carbon considerations into investment decisions, annual planning, and regulatory business plans, including the use of a shadow carbon price.
• Acting as Heathrow's lead expert on decarbonising flight operations, staying abreast of developments in aircraft efficiency, sustainable aviation fuels, and zero-emission technologies.
• Leading carbon removal strategies, including natural climate solutions and engineered removals, identifying risks and opportunities for Heathrow's net zero goals.
• Sponsoring enterprise-wide improvements in carbon data quality and automation, ensuring integration with existing systems and alignment with decision-making needs.
• Building strategic relationships across government, industry, NGOs, and academia to inform and advance Heathrow's net zero strategy through collaboration and horizon scanning.
• Demonstrating strong carbon and sustainability experience with a focus on corporate and policy responses to climate change.
• Experience of leading complex, cross-functional work programmes and delivering business outcomes to time and budget.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication/presentation skills.
• An interest in/heathrow's leadership role as a sustainable business using scale and influence to decarbonise flight.
• Experience of dealing with external stakeholders and representing a large organisation externally.
• Proven ability to work with and influence senior internal stakeholders up to and including Senior Leadership Team, Exec Committee and Board members.
• Ideally you will also have worked at a senior level in partnership with/negotiated with external stakeholders including industry partners, other businesses, Government officials and political decision-makers, non-governmental organisations, academics in the UK, EU and globally.
• Line management experience of a team of senior experts.

About Us

There's something so special about working at the world's most iconic airport. Its sights. Its sounds. Its constant air of excitement. Heathrow is an amazing backdrop to a career filled with unique opportunities. Every day, you'll discover a world full of fresh possibilities and end the day buzzing with stories to tell, as you encounter people from all cultures, nationalities and experiences. A world full of pride for what we do and no end of exciting career prospects to explore. It brings out the best in all of us and inspires everyone to deliver on our ambitious plans. Together, we're working to welcome millions more passengers while ensuring aviation can continue to be a force for good by leading global efforts in sustainability. Join us on that journey and we'll help you achieve your ambitions too. Supporting you to learn, encouraging you to be yourself, backing you to achieve more than you might ever have imagined. Because there's no place like Heathrow.

Our rewards: We offer competitive salaries and excellent benefits that will support you now and in the future. As well as performance-based annual bonuses and our longer-term Share in Success Bonus plans, we also offer generous annual leave allowances and market-leading pensions. With family friendly policies, access to private health insurance and a wide range of wellbeing tools, we'll support you to be at your best inside and outside work. And of course, we'll provide varied learning and development opportunities too. Here you'll find everything you need for a fulfilling career journey that can take you in exciting directions.

Working Location

Our Hybrid working approach offers the opportunity for colleagues in some roles to work from home for an average of two days a week, providing the flexibility to work in an agile way whilst ensuring we deliver for the operational needs of Heathrow. Working arrangements vary from team to team and will be confirmed during the recruitment process. You'll need to be based in the UK and within a commutable distance to Heathrow.

Equal Opportunities

As an equal opportunities employer, we encourage applications from all. We believe that diverse talent makes us stronger — not least because we welcome passengers from all corners of the globe, every single day. Heathrow is an accessible place to work. With five diversity networks, we champion inclusivity and celebrate individuality.

About the Team

There's no place like Heathrow when it comes to the scale of our ambitions. Together, we're working to welcome millions more passengers while ensuring aviation can continue to be a force for good by leading global efforts in sustainability. Our Communications, Communities and Carbon function brings together engagement, communications and sustainability leadership. This is about more than protecting and enhancing our reputation. We focus on the experiences of our passengers, colleagues and partners to ensure Heathrow thrives, our people are supported, and our communities and country benefit. Our sustainability strategy, Heathrow 2.0, is central to everything we do. We are committed to sustainable aviation, delivering net zero and building a better place to live and work. We work with industry-leading experts to deliver on our ambitions, meeting growing international demand for flight in a way that creates a positive impact far beyond our airport. Heathrow Airport