HEAD OF CREW READINESS

We are looking for a Head of Crew Readiness!

Are you excited about pilot recruitment and ensuring efficient flight operations? Do you take pride in delivering high professional standards, fairness and creating positive candidate experiences? If so, the Head of Crew Readiness role might be the perfect fit for you! 

In this role, you will be responsible for driving and developing our pilot recruitment process, ensuring that SAS continues to attract, assess, and select the right candidates to meet current and future operational needs.

As our Head of Crew Readiness, you will lead and govern SAS’ pilot recruitment processes and work closely with the Pilot Talent Acquisition Team, psychological advisors, pilot interview assessors, and simulator assessors to deliver the best possible candidates for SAS Operations and our AOCs.

You will be accountable for ensuring the required number of successful candidates, while also securing adequate pilot assessor resources in line with SAS’ operational requirements.

Challenges you will work on:

• Initiating, managing, and developing the pilot recruitment process based on approved recruitment volumes, operational needs, and market developments.
• Supporting long-term pilot recruitment planning by staying close to market trends, demographic developments, future pilot supply, and emerging talent pipelines, in close collaboration with Talent Acquisition, Employer Branding, flight schools, and pilot academies.
• Continuously improving the efficiency and quality of the recruitment process.
• Managing the pilot recruitment assessor team, including rostering, coordination, selection, training, supervision, and ongoing competence follow-up.
• Working closely with Talent Acquisition to ensure a strong candidate pipeline and a recruitment process fully aligned with the SAS Pilot Recruitment Manual.
• Ensuring that all recruitment methods comply with relevant requirements and are based on scientifically validated assessment tools suitable for aviation operations.
• Managing key stakeholders, presenting and updating on the weekly Crew Steerco meeting, and following up on agreed actions. 
• Reviewing feedback from AOCs and Crew Training together with Talent Acquisition and the Pilot Assessor Team to continuously improve selection and recruitment outcomes.
• Maintaining and updating the SAS Pilot Recruitment Manual.

The Team

You will be part of a high-performing team of talented professionals with a wide range of backgrounds and expertise. We value collaboration, innovation, and a strong commitment to excellence in everything we do.

We support one another and are committed to creating a positive, inclusive work environment where everyone has the opportunity to succeed and contribute to delivering the best possible experience for our customers.

To be successful in this role, we believe you have:

• Documented leadership experience, ideally from leading assessors, operational teams, or cross-functional aviation-related processes.
• Extensive knowledge of pilot recruitment, structured assessment, competency-based evaluation, and simulator and interview assessment methods.
• Experience leading assessors or operational teams, including planning, supervision, calibration, and competence follow-up.
• Sound understanding of AOC operational responsibilities, EASA compliance expectations, aviation safety culture, GDPR and data protection considerations, and recruitment governance.
• Ability to balance high assessment standards with positive candidate experience, cost effectiveness, and timely delivery of recruitment volumes.
• Proven stakeholder management skills, with the ability to coordinate across Talent Acquisition, AOCs, Crew Training, Resource Management, psychological expertise, and operational leadership.
• Structured, analytical, and improvement-oriented approach, with the ability to use feedback from assessments, training, and line operations to improve future selection quality.
• Clear communication style, high integrity, and the ability to represent SAS professionalism throughout the recruitment and assessment process.
• Collaborative mindset and ability to work effectively with both internal and external stakeholders.

Why SAS?

At SAS, we offer extensive opportunities for professional development in an international, fast-paced working environment. We are dedicated to the continuous growth of our employees. Working with us comes with a variety of benefits, including:  

• Travel Perks: Enjoy discounted travel opportunities around the world with SAS.  

• Health & Wellness: Access to health and wellness benefits, including a newly renovated gym with complimentary classes such as CrossFit and yoga.  

• Discounts: Receive discounts from a wide range of brands, as well as on transportation to and from airports, airport shops, hotels, and car rentals.  

Our Culture at SAS

At SAS, we are dedicated to caring for each other, delighting our travelers, and driving the transformation towards sustainable aviation. As a future colleague on our team, you’ll join a culture where we work collaboratively towards common goals, recognize each other's contributions, and celebrate successes. Our focus is on safe, sustainable, and punctual execution, and we are committed to protecting our planet while transforming SAS for the future. This is an empowering workplace where you can thrive, grow, and take ownership of your work.

Additional information

• Deadline for application: 31/07/26. Please submit your CV as soon as possible, as interviews are conducted continuously, and the position may be filled before the application deadline. Note that we cannot handle any applications that are sent by email, due to GDPR regulations.  

• Desired start date: Asap

• Position: Fulltime (100%) administrative role, starting with a 6-month probation period  

• This position is based in one of our offices, Stockholm, Copenhagen or Oslo, and you will be expected to work onsite. Partly remote work may also be an option, depending on the agreement made with your manager.  

• A background check will be conducted at the final stage of this recruitment process, as this role is security classified. If you are aware of any specific matters that may come up during this background check, we kindly ask you to be transparent about them early in the recruitment process.  

If you have questions about this position, you are welcome to contact Johan Gauermann, Head of Crew Training, via email: johan.gauermann@sas.se.

Please note that we are not able to handle any applications that are sent by email due to the GDPR regulations. 

Join us at SAS and be part of shaping the future of aviation!