Customer Service Advisor

Job summary

Are you an organised individual who enjoys working in a fast-paced, contact centre environment?

Are you an excellent communicator who prides themselves on delivering an accurate, first-class customer service?

Would you like to make a difference by supporting customers across the UK?

If so, we’d love to hear from you!

Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here

• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave), plus 8 bank holidays a privilege day for the King’s birthday

• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Read more in the Benefits section below!

Find out more about what it's like working at Maritime and Coastguard Agency - Department for Transport Careers

Job description

The UK Ship Register (UKSR) is part of the MCA and works to promote the UK flag worldwide to Quality Owners with Quality Ships. Within the UKSR the Registry of Shipping & Seamen (RSS) in Cardiff is responsible for providing front line Customer Service and the issuing of Ships Registration and Seafarers Documentation.

As the Customer Service Advisor, it will be your responsibility to provide a first class, professional Customer Service to existing and potential UK Ship Register customers. Working as part of the team, you will deal with all customer enquiries, maintain accurate records, process customer and online activity in line with the requirements for Ship Registration and/or the issue of Seafarer documentation.

This is an exciting opportunity to join our team as a Customer Service Advisor where you will provide a first class, professional Customer Service to existing and potential UK Ship Register customers. The role does not involve any sales.

During probation period, you will be expected to work full time at our office based at the Registry of Shipping and Seaman in Cardiff.

Your responsibilities will include, but aren’t limited to:

1. Answering customer queries via telephone and providing accurate information in a polite and professional manner.
2. Proactively managing all customer queries in line with Regulations, delivering first-call resolution where possible.
3. Responding to customers via written and electronic correspondence by ensuring all UK Ship Register documentation is correct and complies with relevant Regulations.
4. Ensuring all customer and vessel details are accurately recorded on the Digital UKSR system and other MCA databases used.
5. Providing a registration process which is delivered within agreed service levels, dealing with all customer enquiries and issues as they arise.
6. Achieving a level of personal performance which meets required key performance indicators and volume targets and contributes to the success of the team.
7. Processing customer applications and all documentation to ensure all certification and issued documentation is accurate and received by the customer in a timely manner.
8. Processing all customer payments ensuring all action taken is GDPR compliant.

For further information on the role, please read the role profile. Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only - whilst all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process. This job advert will detail exactly what will be assessed during the recruitment process.

Person specification

We are looking for someone who can bring proven experience of working in a fast-paced, service-led, high volume, customer-facing Contact Centre environment. With a passion for providing exceptional service to your customers, you have excellent written and verbal communication skills, including a professional telephone manner, and the ability to understand your customer’s needs and to provide workable solutions to problems.

You have an eye for detail and produce work quickly, which is accurate and to a high standard and are confident using online systems to record information including taking notes of customer calls. You work well as part of a team as well as under your own initiative, taking responsibility for your own performance to ensure you deliver against agreed KPIs and objectives.

To be successful in this role you will need to have the following experience:

1. Experience of working in a fast paced, serviced-led, customer-facing environment.
2. Experience of delivering to set KPIs and objectives.
3. Excellent communication skills: good telephone manner, including clear speech and the ability to
   demonstrate empathy and problem solve.
4. Experience with keeping accurate records and data input.
5. Effective written and spoken communication

Additional Information

Operational Delivery Profession (ODP) is the largest and most diverse professional community across the Civil Service. Many of us will have an association with several professional communities or specialisms, ODP applies to all public facing roles / or a role that is primarily aligned to supporting the work of those with public facing roles. All critical to the delivery of UK public services.

Working hours, office attendance and travel requirements

Full time roles consist of 37 hours per week.

This role is suitable for hybrid working, which is a non-contractual arrangement where a combination of workplace and home-based working can be accommodated subject to business requirements.

The expectation at present is a minimum of 60% of your working time a month will be spent at either your designated workplace (one of the locations cited in the advert) or, when required for business reasons, in another office/work location/visiting stakeholders. Your designated workplace will be your contractual place of work. There may be occasions where you are required to attend above the minimum expectation.

If you have a question about hybrid working, travelling for work, or require a reasonable adjustment, please contact the Vacancy Holder during the recruitment process to avoid possible disappointment later in the process should your working arrangements not be compatible with the requirements of the role (see below for contact details).

The Registry of Shipping and Seaman is open 7 days a week including some Bank Holidays.

This role will participate in a rota across a number of shifts and there is a requirement to work a minimum of 1 in 4 weekends (Saturday and Sunday).

Opening hours are:
7.30am - 6.00pm Monday – Friday
9.00am - 4.00pm Saturday & Sunday

The Registry of Shipping and Seaman will be closed on the following days: New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day.

Visa Sponsorship

Please note that we will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa where a role has been deemed to be business critical. This role does not meet that category, and we will not sponsor a visa. Therefore, this role is not open to applications from those who require sponsorship – candidates must ensure they have the appropriate right to work in the UK before applying. Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

Behaviours

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

• Managing a Quality Service
• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £26,607, Maritime and Coastguard Agency contributes £7,708 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave).
• 8 Bank Holidays plus an additional Privilege Day to mark the King’s birthday.
• Access to the staff discount portal.
• Excellent career development opportunities and the potential to undertake professional qualifications relevant to your role paid for by the department, such as CIPD, Prince2, apprenticeships, etc.
• Joining a diverse and inclusive workforce with a range of staff communities to support all our colleagues.
• 24-hour Employee Assistance Programme providing free confidential help and advice for staff.
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Find out more about the benefits of working at DfT and its agencies (opens in a new window).

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

How to apply:

Our selection process ensures a comprehensive assessment of each applicant's skills, and potential fit within our organisation.

The selection process for this role will be:

Stage 1: Sift of CV and personal statement

Stage 2: Assessment & Interview

You must be successful at each stage to progress to the next stage.

Stage 1: Sift

At sift, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

• Experience – you will be asked to provide a CV (unlimited wordcount) and personal statement (500 word count). Please provide evidence of your Experience of the following:

1. Working in a fast paced, serviced-led, customer-facing environment.
2. Delivering to set KPIs and objectives.

The sift will take place 18th - 19th February 2026.

Stage 2: Interview and Role Play Exercise

At interview stage, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

• Behaviours – Managing a Quality Service, Working Together, Delivering at Pace and Communicating and Influencing
• Strengths

You will also be required to take part in a role play exercise. Guidance will be provided if you are invited to interview.

The interviews will take place from 3rd March 2026.

This interview will be conducted person at our Cardiff office, Anchor Court Keen Road, Cardiff. CF24 5JW. Further details will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.

Further information on the selection process

We will also hold a 12-month reserve list for this role, which may lead to potential opportunities beyond the role you applied for. You can read more about our reserve lists here.

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 you’re 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.grs@cabinetoffice.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 DRGComms@dft.gov.uk for assistance.

Further Information

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.

For more information about how we hire, and for useful tips on submitting your application for this role, visit theHow 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 applicant’s 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.

All External applicants and current employees of accredited non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) will be required to undergo a Social Media Check. A Social Media Check is a review of your publicly available online activity, typically across platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and others. The purpose is to identify any public posts or content that could raise concerns for employers, such as:

Hate speech or discriminatory behaviour

Threats or acts of violence

Illegal activity or substance misuse

Sexually explicit material

Extremist views or affiliations

Importantly, this check does not involve hacking into your accounts or accessing private messages. It only considers content you have chosen to make public.

Employers use this kind of screening to help ensure their workplace remains safe, inclusive, and aligned with company values. It’s not about judging your personality or lifestyle—it’s about checking for potential red flags that might affect the role or company culture.

If you have questions or concerns about the social media check, we would be happy to explain in more detail what’s being looked at and how your data is handled securely and fairly.

Feedback

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 theCivil 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 : Alyx morgan
• Email : alyx.morgan@mcga.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.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.grs@cabinetoffice.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, 164kB)