Technical/Flight Safety Specialist at South African Airways (SAA)

Job Purpose    

• The incumbent of this role is responsible for developing, managing, and implementing safety and quality assurance programmes across Maintenance, Flight Operations, Dispatch, and the Operational Control Centre (OCC). This role ensures full compliance with regulatory standards, proactively identifies hazards, monitors operational risks, and drives continuous improvement through structured audits, inspections, and investigations.
• The role is further responsible for interaction with various levels of management both internally and externally to recommend, initiate and approve corrective action in these instances in line with SAA’s Safety and Quality Assurance Programme and ISO standards, to ensure the principles of continual improvement are applied throughout the organisation.
• The incumbent will support the Airline’s compliance with:
• Airline Safety Management System
• SACAA Regulations/Technical Standards (Part 121 & Part 140)
• ICAO standards (Doc 9859)
• IATA/IOSA/ISAGO requirements
• Internal policies, safeguarding the Airline’s safety performance and service delivery
• Continual safety improvement and compliance

Principal Accountabilities    

• Engage as a subject matter expert with stakeholders, both internally and externally, who are at the highest levels of industry, including regulatory authorities by using specialised operational and regulatory expertise so as not to expose the organisation to possible non-compliance to industry standards and/or compromised safety standards
• Ensure the Airline meets its corporate and departmental goals and objectives related to aviation safety
• Conducting Incidents/Accidents investigations and the monitoring of implemented corrective actions resulting from the investigations
• Assist with the structuring and implementation of IOSA and/ or ISAGO principles to enable the retention of required certifications, as and when requested
• Facilitate implementation of strategies within the applicable areas of the organisation
• Promote, create awareness and conduct educational sessions
• Liaise & negotiate with all levels of management and provide information and advice on effective and efficient corrective actions and improvement initiatives
• Maintain the safety management programme in line with the airline Safety Management System
• Assist in the event of an aircraft disaster and other crisis situations
• Conduct daily operations inspections and compile reports as required
• Assist with the re-writing and maintaining of the Safety Management Systems Manual (SMSM) as per regulated SACAA regulation as well as International Civil Aviation Organisation and IATA (International Air Transport Association) Operational Safety Audits (IOSA) standards a Starr Alliance requirement
• Conduct safety audits and third-party audits and compiling of audit reports
• Maintain an effective safety corrective action programme and schedule
• Maintain a supporting role on all Safety meetings
• Assist with Safety training programs
• Ensure all safety reports are processed
• Development and publishing of Safety bulletins and safety notices
• Conduct safety studies and research
• Assist with the reviewing and evaluating applicable research material and results of industry seminars of interest to Safety
• Maintenance of a Safety Library
• Compile Safety presentations
• Conduct hazard identification and risk assessment
• Development, implementation and maintenance of the Aviation Safety Risk Register, the Technical Recommendation Logs and the Management of Change process within the organization to ensure optimal safety performance
• Promoting of Technical Safety by means of training, communiqués, presentations and promotions
• Management of all Safety reports
• Conduct line operations safety inspections/audits and safety audits on third parties
• Compile safety audit reports
• Maintaining an effective safety corrective action programme and schedule
• Monitor corrective action plan and mitigation strategies
• Oversees the correct application of processes and systems in area of responsibility
• Utilises resources in area of responsibility/ own area of work in a time and cost-effective manner
• Utilises technology to enhance internal and external customer expectations
• Executes work outputs according to customer requirements
• Adheres to Governance and Risk Management policies, processes and systems
• Delivers on regular, irregular and timeous reporting of information to key stakeholders
• Participates in continuous optimisation programmes, projects and initiatives

Qualifications & Experience    

• Hold / have held Commercial Pilots License (Air Transport Pilot) or National Diploma: Aircraft Piloting with a minimum of 500 total flying hours
• A 3-year diploma in A/C Mechanical or Avionics and/or Bachelor Degree in Safety Management and/or related field at NQF level 7
• Higher Tertiary Qualifications in Maintenance will be an advantage
• Aircraft Maintenance License will be an advantage
• IATA (or equivalent) qualification in aviation Safety Management Systems or Human Factors in Aviation
• Comprehensive knowledge of Part 121, Part 140, and/or Part 145 Operations
• Comprehensive knowledge of SACAA Civil Aviation Regulations and SACAA Civil Aviation Technical Standards
• Certificates in SMS, Human Factors, Crew Resource Management, Risk Management, Root Cause Analysis, Accident/Incident Investigation
• Dangerous Goods qualification and familiarity with Jeppesen, EFB, MEL/CDL
• Related tertiary qualifications (advantage)
• At least 3 – 5 years’ operational experience in Aircraft Maintenance or Quality Assurance and/or 5-7 years experience in Aviation Safety
• IOSA auditor training completed and/ or auditor qualification in an associated field
• Experience in conducting Safety Inspections
• Assessor and Moderator qualification (advantageous)
• Certifications required:
• CPL Pilot license or Technician licence with 5 years’ experience within SAA operations or any Part 121 Airline operations and Auditor certification in one of the following IOSA Auditor or ISO Auditor

Knowledge and Skills    

• Civil Aviation Regulations (SA-CARs & CATS), ICAO Annexes, IATA IOSA standards
• Audit principles, procedures and methods/ ISO principles & requirements
• Management systems and reference documents – applicable SAA manuals containing Flight Operations, Dispatch and Maintenance requirements & standards (e.g. FOM Parts/ MCM/ CCMM/ OCC)
• Organisational context (aviation/ foreign regulations/ industry best practice/ aviation programmes) as well as Civil Aviation
• Structures, business and management practices within applicable areas of the function
• Cultural and social aspects of auditees
• Sound knowledge of Airline Operating procedures
• Human Factors in Maintenance
• Maintenance Operations
• SMS Methodology, Risk Management, Root Cause Analysis, Quality Management Systems
• Accident/ Incident Investigation (advantageous)
• Crew Resource Management (CRM)
• Aviation Medicine (AVMED)
• Dangerous Goods (DG) L6
• Comprehensive knowledge of Airline Technical/ Flight Safety and Emergency Procedures
• AVSEC Awareness Training
• Familiarity with IQSMS or similar QA databases
• Statistical analysis
• Knowledge of Jeppesen and EFB (Electronic Flight Bag)
• Familiarity with SAA route structure, Flight planning and Mass & balance
• Understanding of M.E.L / CDL and Maintenance functions
• Advanced Computer Literacy (Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook)
• Application of codes of conduct
• Application of audit principles, procedure and methods
• Strong administration skills
• Strong analytical, report-writing, and problem-solving skills
• Information processing
• Resource utilisation
• Good communication skills (verbal and written)
• Interviewing, listening, facilitation, and conflict resolution
• Time management, multitasking, and decision-making
• Project and change management
• Attention to detail
• Versatility and flexibility within a team
• Proactive under pressure
• Take initiative
• Deadline driven
• Attributes    
• Effective communication
• Technical expertise
• Proactive problem-solving
• Stakeholder relationships
• Flexibility and adaptability
• Drives results
• Organisational awareness
• Ethics and integrity
• Team collaboration
• Manages projects
• Facilitates change & innovation
• Implements & aligns to vision
• Delivers value
• Values team diversity
• Role models behaviours and values
• Manages Projects
• Facilitates Change and Innovation
• Implements and aligns to vision
• Delivers value
• Values Team Diversity
• Role models behaviours and values