Head of Customer Strategy & Planning

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Job Description

The Head of Customer Strategy & Planning plays a critical leadership role within Heathrow's Commercial Leadership Team, shaping and driving the integrated commercial planning agenda to deliver sustainable revenue growth and strategic outcomes.

Sitting on the Customer leadership team, this role provides oversight and leadership of the Customer & Commercial Programme benefits and ensures alignment between functional strategies, investment priorities, and Heathrow's business plan.

Responsibilities

• Shape and Drive Commercial Strategy- Own the development and evolution of the Heathrow Customer Strategy, ensuring alignment to the corporate strategy, Heathrow Business Plans and long term growth ambitions, while balancing experience, flow and revenue outcomes.
• Governance and Performance Excellence- Champion robust governance across commercial planning and investment activities, embedding risk management, compliance, and assurance frameworks that enable confident decision-making.
• Capital Investment Leadership - Provide senior Customer leadership into capital planning and regulatory strategy, ensuring customer priorities are clearly articulated, evidenced and aligned to investment decisions across regulatory periods.
• Act as the principal business case lead for One Stop Security and supporting T5O - accountable for shaping and progressing the end to end strategic and investment case, aligning customer, operational, regulatory, commercial and airline objectives to enable long term growth.
• Enterprise and Cross-Functional Collaboration- Inspire and lead virtual teams across multiple functions, fostering collaboration and accountability to translate strategic objectives into actionable plans and measurable outcomes.
• CLT team effectiveness - Own the strategic cadence, agendas and effectiveness of the Customer Leadership Team, including leadership of away days, ensuring decisions are aligned to strategy and translated into clear actions and delivery plans.
• Stakeholder Engagement and Influence - Act as a trusted advisor to the Customer Director and senior leadership, influencing decisions at Executive level and securing alignment across Heathrow and external partners.
• Innovation and Growth-Identify and incubate new commercial opportunities, partnering with strategy teams to develop business cases that unlock future revenue streams and enhance Heathrow's competitive position.
• Leadership and Culture- Role-model Heathrow's values, creating an inclusive, high-performing culture that empowers teams, builds capability, and drives continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in shaping and delivering commercial strategies and integrated business plans within a complex, multi-stakeholder environment.
• Strong track record of leading large-scale investment programmes and business case development, ideally within regulated or capital-intensive sectors.
• Demonstrated ability to influence and engage at Executive level, building trusted relationships and driving alignment across diverse stakeholder groups.
• Leadership experience in managing cross-functional teams and virtual networks to deliver strategic outcomes.
• Exceptional analytical, financial, and strategic thinking skills, with the ability to translate insights into actionable plans.
• Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills, capable of inspiring teams and influencing senior decision-makers.

#LI-Hybrid

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.

Sustainable Travel to work

Heathrow's Sustainable Travel Guide sets out easy and sustainable travel options that everyone can access.

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

Heathrow is a city within a city. And there's no place like it when it comes to the scale of our ambitions. You'll be part of a Customer team that drives our profitability across everything from retail, property and airport transport, through to passenger services, forecasting and contracts with airlines. Customer insight is at the heart of what we do, supported by a strong commercial strategy. We have a pioneering agenda for digital, e-commerce and innovation, as we look to transform the way our passengers spend at our airport.

We believe the best way to drive growth across our iconic airport is by improving the services offered within it. So although we know generating income is critical to driving our business forward, we're also passionate about delivering the best possible passenger experience. You'll help us to get the balance right - not least so we can continue investing in an airport that leads the world.