The Organisation: The Civil Aviation Authority
Role: Chair – Environmental Sustainability Panel
Remuneration: £650 per day
Time Commitment: Approximately 2 days per month
Location: Flexible
About Us
The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is the UK’s independent specialist civil aviation regulator. Alongside its core regulatory responsibilities, the CAA plays an important role in supporting the aviation and aerospace sectors as they respond to the environmental challenges facing the industry and work to reduce their environmental impacts.
The CAA’s sustainability work includes reporting on the environmental impacts of aviation, undertaking and commissioning research, and influencing policy and practice across the UK and internationally. To support and constructively challenge this work, the CAA established its independent Environmental Sustainability Panel in 2022. The Panel provides expert insight, evidence and challenge to help ensure environmental sustainability is meaningfully embedded across the CAA’s strategy and decision-making.
About the Role
We are seeking an outstanding Chair to lead the Environmental Sustainability Panel and help shape the future of sustainable aviation in the UK. The Panel acts as a critical friend to the CAA, providing independent advice and constructive challenge as the organisation delivers its Environmental Sustainability Strategy and integrates sustainability considerations into its wider regulatory and operational work.
As Chair, you will build strong, credible relationships with the CAA, particularly at Board and Executive level, enabling the Panel to offer robust, evidence-based challenge and insight. You will represent and champion the Panel’s advice, ensuring that complex scientific, technical and strategic evidence is clearly framed in ways that resonate with regulatory and strategic priorities.
You will also provide collaborative and inclusive leadership to the Panel, creating an environment where members feel safe and supported to share diverse perspectives and challenge constructively. Working closely with the CAA, you will shape a clear and purposeful forward agenda, ensuring meetings and outputs are focused, insightful and outcome-driven, and that the Panel’s expertise is translated into clear, practical advice that informs decision-making.
Success in the role will be reflected in the Panel’s advice being understood, trusted and influential across the CAA’s work; in strong, constructive relationships between the Panel, Board and Executive; and in a culture where members feel engaged, valued and confident to contribute openly.
What You’ll Bring
We are committed to creating an inclusive and respectful environment and welcome applications from candidates with diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. We recognise that effective Chairs come from many career paths and encourage applications from those who bring a passion for sustainability and environmental issues and who meet most, though not necessarily all, of the following criteria.
You will bring experience of operating at, and influencing, Board and Executive level, with the credibility and judgement to build trusted relationships while offering robust and constructive challenge. You will be an exceptional communicator, able to engage and challenge courteously, represent independent views grounded in sound evidence, and navigate complex policy and regulatory contexts.
You will have strong industry experience and the ability to engage credibly with both technical specialists and senior decision-makers. An understanding of how sustainability evidence, innovation and emerging science translate into regulatory, commercial and operational decisions will be important, as will an appreciation of the strengths and limitations of scientific evidence in decision-making.
Crucially, you will bring a collaborative and inclusive leadership style, with the ability to listen, engage and draw out diverse perspectives. Experience of chairing or participating in expert groups will be valuable, alongside a genuine commitment to sustainability and environmental issues.
This is a unique opportunity to contribute to one of the most important strategic challenges facing aviation and to help shape the CAA’s approach to environmental sustainability through independent leadership and insight.
If you are interested in this opportunity, please visit our microsite https://micro.green-park.co.uk/caa/ or reach out to our executive search partners at Green Park for a confidential conversation. Please contact Emma Law - Emma.law@Green-Park.co.uk or Richard Grayling - Richard.Grayling@Green-Park.co.uk
Role Closes: 11:59pm Sunday 29th March 2026