Contents Location About the job Benefits Things you need to know Apply and further information Location Lerwick About the job Job summary You answer a 999 call, someones in trouble at sea and they need help quickly. You work with a close team of professionals to organise a response coastguard, ambulance, police, fire. You make the critical difference in one of the most important ways possible. You are a Maritime Operations Officer. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) implements the governments maritime safety policy in the United Kingdom and works to prevent the loss of life and occurrence of pollution on the coast and at sea. Safer lives. Safer Ships. Cleaner Seas. Our vision is to be a world-leading organisation, accelerating the transition to sustainable shipping with non-negotiable safety standards. We put our people, our customers and our planet at the heart of everything we do. We are committed to giving all our colleagues purpose, professionalism and pride in what we do. We work in supportive, diverse and inclusive teams. We want everyone to feel valued and supported to achieve their potential at MCA. This culture of inclusion is underpinned by our staff networks groups covering, Womens, LGBTQI, Race, Carers, Mental Wellbeing and volunteer Respect Ambassadors. Job description You will be operating through the radios, phones, and various other systems in one of our Rescue Coordination Centres, so whilst you wont be out at sea, that doesnt make what youre dealing with any less real. You alone will be the first point of contact for people who need our help. This could range from a call that someone appears in distress in the waters and needs help, through to a ship that requires assistance, sometimes with life-changing consequences to everything in between. Key Responsibilities Act as the first point of call for all public contact. Coordinate responses to both emergency and routine issues. Work as part of a team to organise the response to emergencies. Work with other Emergency Services to ensure the most effective and robust outcome is achieved. Ensure that you work to strict operating procedures. Accurately record, update and maintain incident logs, records and databases. For further information about the role, please see the attached Role Profile or Click Here to hear from one of our Maritime Operations Officers. Person specification About You This is an excellent opportunity to access a new career path, we don't ask for you to be an expert in this role and you should rest assured that we will provide you with all the training you need. What we particularly need from you are a number of core skills such as: Communication - you have to be a good communicator, you will be speaking to people who could be going through one of the most difficult experiences of their lives, they may be scared and panicked. You will have to keep them calm to be able to get the right information from them quickly and then effectively pass that on to others. Resilience - this can be a very difficult job, you will be involved in responses to incidents that don't always end well and this can include keeping people in serious distress calm and even incidents that end in fatalities. Teamwork - you will often have to act alone and you individually will be the first and sometimes only person a member of the public may speak to, but you will work with a team to coordinate responses. It's essential that you're the kind of person who can work effectively with others when it really counts. Additional Information We are an emergency service and have to be able to respond 24/7/365, so you will be working in a way that can be antisocial. Maritime Operations Officers are required to work a 12-hour shift pattern (a mix of day and night shifts as laid out in the example) to allow HMCG to provide its 24-hour emergency service to the public, 365 days a year. On average the shift pattern equates to 37 duty hours per week over a 12-month period. As such, this position attracts a number of allowances to reflect the shift working and unsociable hours. Please see attached document containing a template shift pattern. Any further questions in regards working pattern please contact katrina.smartmcga.gov.uk Please note: This is a uniformed role and uniform will always be required when on duty. Medical Successful candidates will be expected to undertake a physical and mental health medical for this role, please see the attached document. Please contact if you have any further questions HR.Resourcingmcga.gov.uk You will be required to start in your role prior to the 24/03/25 as your training will begin online on the 06/05/25 .You will then be required travel to our Coordination Centres in Fareham and Southampton frequently throughout your training (expenses will be paid). Open session We will be holding a drop-in session for candidates to join and ask questions about the role on 10/12/24 at 16:30 and 12/12/24 at 10:00. If you wish to attend one of these sessions please email katrina.smartmcga.gov.uk. Behaviours We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process: Delivering at Pace Making Effective Decisions Communicating and Influencing Benefits Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits. We offer generous annual leave, attractive pension options, flexible working, inclusive working environments and much more to support a healthy work/life balance. The Civil Service offer a pension contribution of 28.97%. Click here to get a copy of the MCA Staff Benefits Brochure. Find out what it's like to work at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency Things you need to know Selection process details This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths, Ability and Experience. As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a CV and 750 word personal statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form. After submission of the first stage of your application (personal details) you will be invited to complete a Civil Service Numerical Test. If you successfully pass the test, you will be invited to complete the final stage of the application (CV and Personal Statement). Please complete the online test as soon as possible (within 24-48 hours is recommended) to give yourself enough time to complete your full application (CV & Personal Statement). Should you complete the test too close to the close date/time, where this does not enable you to submit the next part of your application (CV/Personal Statement) then your application will not be considered. Therefore, it is encouraged to complete the test a considerable amount of time before the advert close date. The closing date for the test is 23:55 on Sunday 15th December 2024 (which is the same as the advert). If you fail to complete the online test before the deadline your application will be withdrawn. Guidance for the test will be available when you are invited to take the test. The tests are administered online and accessed via the CS Jobs website. As part of the application process, you will be asked to provide a CV and Personal Statement (750 words). Please tailor your CV to demonstrate your suitability to the role and the essential criteria. For your Personal Statement, please provide detailed evidence of the following: Ability to work in a high-pressure environment, whether that pressure comes from the volume, pace or nature of the work. Experience of working in a fast-paced, service-led environment. That you can communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, so you are properly understood by all. Please make sure to provide specific examples of when you have evidenced these skills rather than talking theoretically about what you could or would do. The sift is due to take place 16th-18th December 2024. If you are successful at sift stage, you will be invited to the below: A first stage assessment process to test your abilities which will include 1) a call listening exercise, 2) an IT skills exercise. If successful at this stage, you will then be invited to a final interview. This interview will be conducted via a video interview, details of which will be provided to you should you be selected for interview. 1st Stage - The assessment process will likely be held 3rd January 2025. 2nd Stage - Interviews will likely be held 16th & 17th January 2025. We will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change. You will be provided with sufficient notice of the confirmed dates. This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying. Reasonable Adjustments As a Disability Confident Leader employer, we are committed to ensuring that the recruitment process is fair, accessible and allows all candidates to perform at their best. If a person with a visible or non-visible disability is substantially disadvantaged, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. Complete the Assistance required section in the Additional requirements page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need during the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at an interview, or if youre deaf, a Language Service Professional. If you need a reasonable adjustment so that you can complete your application, you should contact Government Recruitment Service via dftrecruitment.grscabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs. Document Accessibility If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section. This job advert contains links to the DfT Careers website. Our website provides useful guidance and information that can support you during the application process. If you cannot access the information on our website for any reason, please email DRGCommsdft.gov.uk for assistance. Further Information For more information about how we hire, and for useful tips on submitting your application for this role, visit the How We Hire page of our DfT Careers website. You can find detailed information about the recruitment process and what to expect when applying for a role. Pre-employment Checking Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicants details held on the IFD will be refused employment. A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government. Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment. Security Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks. Nationality requirements This job is broadly open to the following groups: UK nationals nationals of the Republic of Ireland nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window) nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020 Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window) Working for the Civil Service The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy. Diversity and Inclusion The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window). Apply and further information This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative. The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window). Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records. Contact point for applicants Job contact : Name : Katrina Smart Email : Katrina.smartmcga.gov.uk Recruitment team Email : dftrecruitment.grscabinetoffice.gov.uk Further information If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact Government Recruitment Services via email: dftrecruitment.grscabinetoffice.gov.uk If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website Here Attachments Role Profile Opens in new window (pdf, 128kB) Annex C - 20211015 MCA Health Standards 2021 HMCG Opens in new window (pdf, 723kB) Share this page Print Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn GMail