Location

Lerwick, Scotland, ZE1 0AX

About the job

Are you a resilient and high energy individual who has experience leading operational teams in a response environment?

Do you have a passion for developing people and love to build and support others to achieve their best?

If so, this is your opportunity to help save lives with the Maritime Coastguard Agency (MCA). Job description

As Senior Coastal Operations Officer, you have the responsibility of the operational management, readiness and safety of volunteer Coastguard Rescue Officers (CRO) within Coastguard Rescue Teams. As a calm and focused person, you are dedicated to managing the effective delivery of a brilliant emergency response service. This is a crucial service that is capable of responding to people either in distress or at risk of death on the coast.
 

Responsibilities

As part of the role, your responsibilities may include:

• The role holder is responsible for leading and managing a number of Coastguard Rescue Teams, under the supervision of the Coastal Operations Area Commander to ensure that the Operational Area is at a state of constant readiness.
• recruiting and inducting volunteers, including the monitoring of their probation and the provision of training in foundations skills
• leading and delivering training, identifying training and development needs for individual and teams
•Responsible for the supervision and management of operational equipment, vehicles and estate belonging to a number of Coastguard Rescue Teams.

You will be based in Shetland but regular travel across the UK will be required .

We operate a 24/7 on-call roster for 1 in every 5 weeks and you will be required to participate in this, acting in a leadership, direction and standards role for the Coastguard Rescue Service. By exception, this will include deployment anywhere in the UK.

If you would like more information, please find the role profile attached.

About you

Are you passionate about helping others?

Want to be part of making a difference to people's lives?

Interested? We would welcome your application.

We are looking for a dynamic individual who can flexibly embrace the requirements of the role.

As you'll be working at an operational level which may be remote from your manager, we need someone who is comfortable to act on their own cognisance, sometimes for considerable periods of time. We would love someone who has superb communication and interpersonal skills and who is committed to working collaboratively to provide the best possible service.

Your application will not be considered if you have been dismissed from the MCA in the past 24 months for failing to pass the required training for operational posts within HM Coastguard.

You must be willing to operate throughout Coastguard Areas, which may entail overnight stays.

Please note, this role is subject to health standard requirements and fitness assessments I.A.W. policy. For more information, please see the attached Health Standards.

About us

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) implements the government's 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 the best maritime safety organisation in the world.

Find out what it's like to work at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency

We are part of the Department for Transport (DfT). DfT is a great place to work, and our ‘one team’ approach really makes a difference. We value our staff and that’s why we’re committed to nurturing an inclusive environment across the Department.

You’ll be part of an innovative organisation that invests in all our people, ensuring we have the diverse skills to deliver transport that moves Britain ahead now and into the future.

DfT’s inclusion is recognition of our commitment to make the Department a great place to work through our culture of equality and inclusivity and the great strides we’ve made to raise the number of women in senior positions.

When considering your experience, please tailor your CV and Personal Statement to provide evidence of when you have:

• demonstrated good communication and interpersonal skills
• managed individuals either full-time or in the voluntary sector
• demonstrated command, control and management of operational teams in emergency response situations
• worked independently or remotely (from your manager), managing your time against conflicting demands

After submission of your short application you will be invited to complete a (Numerical and Verbal Reasoning test). You must be successful at each stage to progress to the next test. If successful on each test you will be progressed to the next stage to complete a full application. Please complete the online tests as soon as possible ( 48 hours prior to the closing date is recommended), the closing date for the full application is Midnight on 17th December. If you fail to complete the online test and submit your full application before the deadline your application will be withdrawn. Guidance for each test will be available when you are invited to take the test. The tests are administered online and accessed via the CS Jobs website.

Licences

Full UK Driving Licence

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Changing and Improving
• Managing a Quality Service

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Coastguard - 3. MISSION CONDUCT & INCIDENT COMMAND - All
• Coastguard - COASTAL - 11a. MANAGEMENT - TEAM - All

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.

Allowances

Public Holiday and Weekend £1000 & 'On call' £3000.

Allowance Purpose The Scottish Distant Islands Allowance (SDIA) is paid to compensate staff posted to inaccessible locations in the Scottish Isles (Shetland Islands, Orkney Islands) in order to cover three return trips to the mainland, annually. The allowance is paid at two rates depending on whether an employee is ‘unaccompanied’ or ‘accompanied’ (i.e. married/civil partnership). For the Shetland Islands the rate is £1,398 and £2,250

Things you need to know Security

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check.

Medical

Successful candidates will be expected to have a medical.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours, Ability, Experience and Technical skills.

After submission of your short application you will be invited to complete a (Numerical and Verbal Reasoning test). You must be successful at each stage to progress to the next test. If successful on each test you will be progressed to the next stage to complete a full application. Please complete the online tests as soon as possible ( 48 hours prior to the closing date is recommended), the closing date for the full application is 23.55 on 17th December 2019. If you fail to complete the online test and submit your full application before the deadline your application will be withdrawn. Guidance for each test will be available when you are invited to take the test. The tests are administered online and accessed via the CS Jobs website.

When considering your experience, please tailor your CV/Personal Statement to provide evidence of when you have:

• demonstrated good communication and interpersonal skills
• managed individuals either full-time or in the voluntary sector
• demonstrated command, control and management of operational teams in emergency response situations
• worked independently or remotely (from your manager), managing your time against conflicting demands

The sift is due to take place on or after 19th December 2019.

Interview/assessment will be held week commencing 6th January 2020.

Interview location to be confirmed.

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.

The selection process will be designed specifically for the role. As a result, your assessment could include:
• an interview
• an interview with one or more exercises

The Department for Transport alongside other Government Departments recruit using Success Profiles. This means for each role we consider what you will need to demonstrate in order to be successful. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, drives up performance and improves diversity and inclusivity. For further information on Success Profiles please click here

Your interview may consist of a range of question types. These may include questions about:
• what energises and motivates you
• how you would manage situations relevant to the role
• your previous experience
• your professional skills and knowledge

You’re encouraged to become familiar with the role profile, as you may be assessed against any of the criteria recorded within.

Further Information
We have adopted anonymised recruitment. This means that your name, date of birth and other personal details will not be seen by the sift panel.

We may hold a merit list for up to twelve months. During this time, if a similar role is identified and you have been placed on the merit list you may be considered for the post. Within the merit list period, your application form and selection information may be shared across the department and its agencies.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check maybe carried out.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

Reasonable adjustment
If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

Contact Government Recruitment Service via [email protected] as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.
Any move to the Department For Transport will mean you will no longer be able to carry on claiming childcare vouchers.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Nationality requirements

Open to UK, Commonwealth and European Economic Area (EEA) and certain non EEA nationals. Further information on whether you are able to apply is available here.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code 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.

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. There is a guaranteed interview scheme (GIS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Apply and further information

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 :   Dave Sweeney Email :   [email protected]   Recruitment team : Email :   [email protected] 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: [email protected] If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Click here (https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/) to visit Civil Service Commission