Job Description/Specification:
Major airport developments must transition from construction and commissioning into live operations without compromising safety, passenger experience, or operational continuity. This opportunity focuses on airport project delivery, stakeholder coordination, interface management, Operational Readiness, Activation and Transition (ORAT), and handover within a live airport environment.
The role is suited to professionals who can coordinate complex project workstreams while maintaining strong alignment between construction teams, airport operations, airlines, consultants, contractors, and other stakeholders.
Key Responsibilities
- Support the planning, execution, monitoring, and reporting of airport development and enhancement projects.
- Coordinate multiple stakeholders and project workstreams against programme objectives and operational requirements.
- Maintain project trackers, action logs, risk registers, and decision registers.
- Monitor project milestones and support the escalation of critical issues.
- Prepare dashboards, reports, presentations, and management updates for senior stakeholders.
- Support delivery from project inception and design development through procurement, construction, commissioning, and handover.
- Manage project budgets while identifying risks, challenges, and appropriate mitigation measures.
- Coordinate design and consultant teams to ensure responsibilities are completed effectively.
- Lead project teams and stakeholders toward agreed project KPIs.
- Maintain robust quality systems and support service excellence throughout project delivery.
ORAT and Operational Readiness
A major part of this position involves ensuring that completed airport facilities and systems are genuinely ready for operational use.
Responsibilities include:
- Supporting Operational Readiness, Activation and Transition (ORAT) activities across project workstreams.
- Coordinating readiness plans, trials, simulations, training, and familiarisation exercises.
- Ensuring operational stakeholders remain involved throughout the project lifecycle.
- Integrating construction, testing, commissioning, and operational activation programmes.
- Facilitating readiness reviews and tracking actions through to closure.
- Supporting transition and handover planning.
- Coordinating operational acceptance and activation milestones.
- Ensuring procedures, training records, operational documentation, and readiness evidence are properly captured.
Stakeholder Management
The role acts as an important coordination point between airport operations, airline representatives, government entities, consultants, contractors, and project delivery teams.
Strong stakeholder management will involve organizing workshops, technical meetings, coordination forums, and readiness sessions while ensuring that decisions, actions, responsibilities, and commitments are clearly recorded and followed through.
Interface Management
Airport projects involve numerous interconnected packages operating within a constrained live environment. The successful candidate will help identify interface risks, coordinate information exchanges, support approvals and reviews, and resolve conflicts between project packages and operational stakeholders.
A key priority is ensuring construction activities remain aligned with live airport operational constraints.
Operational Integration and Handover
Successful project delivery does not end when construction is complete. The role supports the transition into operational use by coordinating testing, commissioning, operational acceptance, documentation, training, and handover.
The objective is a smooth activation process with minimal disruption to ongoing airport operations.
Who Should Apply?
This opportunity is well suited to project professionals with experience in aviation, airports, major infrastructure, construction, commissioning, transition, or operational readiness.
Candidates should be comfortable working across multiple organizations and disciplines and should have the confidence to coordinate senior stakeholders while maintaining detailed project controls.
Experience in a live operational environment is particularly relevant because airport projects must often be delivered while existing services continue operating.
Skills That Will Help You Succeed
Strong candidates will typically demonstrate:
- Airport or major infrastructure project coordination.
- ORAT and operational transition knowledge.
- Stakeholder and interface management.
- Project planning, monitoring, and reporting.
- Risk, action, and decision tracking.
- Construction-to-operations transition experience.
- Strong communication and presentation skills.
- Ability to coordinate multidisciplinary teams.
- Problem-solving and escalation management.
- Strong attention to governance, safety, quality, and operational continuity.
How to Stand Out
Your CV should clearly demonstrate projects where you helped move facilities or systems from design and construction through testing, commissioning, operational readiness, activation, and handover.
Quantify your experience where possible. Mention project size, number of stakeholders or workstreams coordinated, major milestones achieved, and examples of operational disruption that you helped prevent or minimize.
If you have worked directly with airport operators, airlines, government authorities, contractors, or consultants, make those interfaces clear in your experience section.
Interview Preparation
Expect scenario-based questions around operational readiness and stakeholder coordination. You may be asked how you would manage conflicting priorities between construction requirements and live airport operations.
Prepare examples covering:
- Resolving project interface conflicts.
- Managing delayed readiness activities.
- Coordinating testing and commissioning.
- Preparing an airport facility for operational handover.
- Managing stakeholder actions and accountability.
- Escalating project risks to senior leadership.
- Maintaining safety and quality during complex project delivery.
You should also be ready to explain how you would measure whether a project is genuinely ready to enter live operations.
Career Growth
Experience in airport project delivery and ORAT can lead toward senior project management, programme management, operational readiness leadership, transition management, airport development, and major infrastructure leadership roles.
Professionals who combine project controls with strong operational integration experience can develop a valuable specialization in the delivery and activation of complex aviation infrastructure.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is ORAT?
ORAT stands for Operational Readiness, Activation and Transition. It focuses on preparing people, processes, systems, facilities, and operational stakeholders for the successful transition of a completed project into live operations.
Why is stakeholder management important in airport projects?
Airport projects involve operators, airlines, government entities, contractors, consultants, and multiple project teams. Effective coordination helps ensure decisions, interfaces, approvals, and operational requirements remain aligned.
What is the main objective of the role?
The objective is to support successful airport project delivery and ensure a smooth transition from construction and commissioning into safe, efficient live operations.
What does successful handover involve?
Handover includes coordinating testing, commissioning, operational acceptance, documentation, training records, procedures, readiness evidence, and activation activities.
What type of environment does this role involve?
The role is embedded within a live airport environment, requiring close coordination between project delivery activities and ongoing airport operations.