Having gained operational experience in the aviation industry, working for an airline as well as an airport, and after submitting my PhD thesis at Imperial College London, I decided to apply for a job at Helios because of the company’s diverse aviation portfolio. Helios seemed like the right choice to develop my professional interests further and gain more project management experience.

Since joining Helios I have carried out a variety of projects in safety and operations. Some of these include:

• helping develop a new service aimed to support small to medium airports in the development and implementation of their safety management systems
• supporting the development of the Eurocontrol Operational Concept for Airport Surface Safety Nets
• developing safety cases for ATM systems
• and the application of ESARR4 and ESARR6 in the AIS department of a European ANSP.

In addition I was involved in the production of a Validation Plan for the Eurocontrol Time Based Separation concept of operations. Through this project I learned about validation procedures, including the Eurocontrol Operational Concept Validation Methodology (E-OCVM). This new expertise meant I was able to work as a validation expert on projects such as: the production of a Validation Strategy and Plan for Eurocontrol Time Based Separation concept of operations; the Airport Safety Nets for Pilots and Controllers; and the development of E-OCVM Standards and Regulations Guidance Material.

At the beginning of 2009 I was also given the opportunity to supervise an MSc thesis on Airport Safety Reporting and Analysis Database.

The scope of my work and the range of clients has enabled me to expand my professional network, mostly through working for Eurocontrol, airports and ANSPs. I was given the opportunity and freedom to develop my project management skills and apply my technical knowledge to a variety of projects and with a variety of clients. All of this has been achieved in an organisational climate that supports a very good work/life balance.