Future Technologies Human Element Specialist

Job summary

Can you get to grips with complex information quickly, understand new and emerging trends and communicate well with a variety of stakeholders?

Do you have a passion for the health, safety and wellbeing of essential workers such as seafarers? Do thrive in looking at future issues and dealing with uncertainty?

Have you had experience in a policy role, or elsewhere gained an understanding of shipping and/or a human factor?

If so, we’d love to hear from you!

The seafarer safety and human element team work with other departments and stakeholders to improve the life of those working aboard ships in the UK and beyond. Alongside safety at work regulations, we look at human factors/human element issues such as seafarer wellbeing, mental health and fatigue. Increasingly, our work involves preparing for future technologies such as automation and decarbonisation.

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 MCA roles: Maritime and Coastguard Agency - Department for Transport Careers

Job description

In this role you will support resolution of policy issues regarding the health, safety and living and working conditions of seafarers, in the contexts of automation and other emerging technologies. You will identify new policy issues for seafarer safety/wellbeing and participate in horizon scanning as appropriate. This may include data analysis, discussions with stakeholder groups and research in to emerging issues and technologies. Topics include seafarer fatigue, ship-shore interface and the impact of autonomy on wellbeing.

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

1. Work with future technologies technical leads to ensure the human element is considered at every stage of policy development
2. Identify new/emerging policy issues affecting health, safety or wellbeing of seafarers
3. Be a source of human factors/human element knowledge within the MCA
4. Contribute to development of policy at international level, in liaison with future technologies technical and seafarer training policy leads
5. Provide policy advice and guidance on seafarer wellbeing issues, in particular where future technologies can help/hinder efforts to improve seafarer welfare

Great line management is important to us as an organisation, and we will equip and support line managers to develop the skills they need. We aim to empower line managers to create teams where people can flourish and deliver excellent outcomes for the public.

For further information on the role, please read the attached 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

Required Experience:

1. Demonstrable experience of working in a policy or advisory capacity. Knowledge of the policymaking process such as International Conventions, UK Government, Parliamentary process or the role of stakeholders.

2. Knowledge of appropriate use of data.

3. Understanding of the maritime industry including current issues and future challenges, with knowledge/experience of future technologies such as automation/remote operations.

4. Suitable experience of working in a field of human sciences, research or technical and analytical work with a good understanding of human element science.

Essential qualifications:

• Recognised appropriate qualification at degree level (psychology, human factors, ergonomics, human behavioural science etc) and/OR;

• Other recognised qualification (engineering, science, mathematics, management, with a good understanding of human factors, human behavioural science, human element science)

Essential licenses:

• Valid Passport for overseas travel

You will be required to provide evidence that you hold any essential qualifications/licenses at some point during the recruitment process. If you cannot provide evidence, your application will be withdrawn.

Additional Information

Working hours, office attendance and travel requirements:

Full time roles consist of 37 hours per week.

Whilst we welcome applications from those looking to work with us on a part time basis, there is a business requirement for the successful candidate to be able to work at least 25 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.

Occasional travel to other offices will be required, which may involve overnight stays, travel out of country will require a valid passport.

If you have a question about hybrid working, part time/job share hours, flexible 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).

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.

Licences

Valid Passport for overseas travel

Qualifications

- Recognised appropriate qualification at degree level (psychology, human factors, ergonomics, human behavioural science etc) and/OR;

- Other recognised qualification (engineering, science, mathematics, management, with a good understanding of human factors, human behavioural science, human element science)

Behaviours

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

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together
• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £35,663, Maritime and Coastguard Agency contributes £10,331 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Offered Benefits

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.
• 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 and Experience.

How to apply:

Our selection process ensures a comprehensive assessment of each applicant's qualifications, 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: 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 (750-word count). Please provide evidence of your Experience of the following:

• Suitable experience of working in a field of human sciences, research or technical and analytical work with a good understanding of human element science.
• Understanding of the maritime industry including current issues and future challenges, with knowledge/experience of future technologies such as automation/remote operations.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

The sift will take place week commencing 26th January 2026

Stage 2: Interview

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

• Behaviours –
  • Seeing the Big Picture
  • Delivering at Pace
  • Working Together
  • Communicating and Influencing
  • Making Effective Decisions

The interviews will take place week commencing 2nd February 2026

This interview will be conducted online via Microsoft Teams. Further details will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.

You can find out more about our hiring process, how to apply, and application and interview guidance on our careers site (opens in a new window).

Please note that we will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change.

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

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 : Hazel Lewis
• Email : hazel.lewis@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

Future Technologies Human Element Advisor HEO Opens in new window (pdf, 190kB)