Good luck
The NATS Director Safety & Quality was the title of the job when I was in NATS. The first Director Safety was Richard Profit (came to NATS after retirement from the RAF). After him came Euan Black - also RAF background. There was Fergus Cusden (appointed Director in 2003). He became GM at Luton when Gretchen was appointed Director in, I think, 2006.
The Director Safety role is not in ATC "line management." The role was concerned with ensuring that there was a suitable Safety Management System within NATS and the post also headed up "Quality."
I think Gretchen only came to NATS in 2000. I was in NATS (and its various predecessors) from 1963-2002. However, I remember Gretchen coming and she made some immediate impact on (as far as I remember) incident investigation.
I guess she will make a positive impact at CAA.