Head of Operational Assurance 7 views

Do you have extensive operational experience in HM Coastguard Maritime, Coastal or ARCC operational roles or within a similar emergency or search and rescue service environment?

Are you a confident communicator who enjoys collaborating with a variety of stakeholders to achieve successful outcomes?

Could you lead and manage a remote, diverse team across multiple locations?

If so, we are looking for a Head of Operational Assurance to join us at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and we’d love to hear from you!

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 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, Women’s, LGBTQI+, Race, Carers, Mental Wellbeing and volunteer Respect Ambassadors.

HM Coastguard is the operational arm of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency with responsibility for 6 key missions – Search and Rescue, Pollution Response, Vessel Traffic Management, Maritime Safety, Maritime Security and Emergency and Disaster Management. There are three delivery disciplines within HM Coastguard, Maritime & Aeronautical Operations, which coordinates activities from an operations room environment, and Coastal Operations which manages resources and operational service provision on the coast.

We are looking to be joined by a motivated individual as the HM Coastguard Head of Operational Assurance within the Headquarters Policy, Standards & International (PSI) Branch who will lead a team to support HM Coastguard Operations, through assessing and measuring quality and performance.

Reporting directly to the Deputy Head of Policy, Standards & International, the successful applicant will take responsibility and accountability for evaluating, monitoring, measuring, and reporting on the performance of HM Coastguard’s functions across aviation, maritime and coastal branch locations.

The HM Coastguard Head of Operational Assurance will oversee and provide guidance in relation to incident reviews, reviewing processes and ensuring compliance with MCA policies, procedures and practices and ensuring the timely delivery and action of reports and learning.

The role holder will take leadership of the Standards Officers team to ensure they carry out their role effectively and competently ensuring excellent support for operational standards reviews, and will travel to lead the team in complex investigation cases.

This role brings lots of internal and external stakeholder engagement and the HM Coastguard Head of Operational Assurance will liaise across the HM Coastguard business to facilitate and measure lessons learned activities, ensuring lessons are taken forward and recommendations are identified and acted upon.  The successful applicant will provide direction and guidance and technical advice and subject matter opinion across the organisation.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• The development and implementation of HM Coastguard Standards processes to provide assurance that the policies and procedures laid down by Coastal, Maritime and the Aeronautical Response are effective, consistent, and robust.
• Ensuring that regular review is undertaken of the 6 Coast Guard Functions and Aeronautical procedures and processes as set by the respective Heads of discipline, to ensure that these obligations are met in accordance with current MCA and HMCG direction and policy and any relevant national legislation, and as required by international conventions and treaties.
• The implementation of formal reviews of Coastguard incidents under the direction of the relevant Head of discipline and the Head of Policy, Standards & International branch and ensuring that they are conducted correctly and with due attention to impartiality, fairness and balance.

For an in-depth insight into the role, please refer to the Role Profile attached to this advert.

This role requires an individual who has extensive operational experience in HM Coastguard Maritime, Coastal or Aeronautical operational & strategic level roles or equivalent within a similar emergency or search and rescue service environment.  You will also bring experience of command, control, and management of teams in a response environment.

You are a strong leader who is committed and driven, with the ability to inspire your team and lead from the front with the skills and aptitude to develop yourself and colleagues to ensure continuing professional development.

You have great communication skills, clear and credible with the confidence and ability to influence at a strategic level, taking a holistic approach.

Stakeholder engagement skills are key and you will be a good networker, able to build solid professional relationships to develop understanding and impacts across other business areas.

You will have good judgement and problem-solving skills with the ability to handle difficult situations and make decisions with a sense of personal responsibility and integrity.  You can identify risks and trends and can build on established good practice and observations to provide clear guidance in order to ensure operational excellence.

We welcome applications from individuals who have an Internal Auditor qualification and/or incident investigation skills or have a willingness to work towards these once in post.

Additional information

This role will be based in the Southampton HQ. MCA supports flexible working and operates a hybrid working model between home and office for this role, giving you greater flexibility over where and when you work.

The expectation is that you will spend a minimum 60% of your working time based at your principal workplace or out on official business. Details of the arrangement will be discussed further with your line manager.

Please note: This is a uniformed role and uniform will be required to be worn at all times when on duty.