Ship Construction & Equipment Lead

Job summary

Are you interested in using your technical knowledge and research skills to contribute to the maritime sector?

Can you communicate complex information clearly and produce high-quality written work for a range of audiences?

If so, we’d love to hear from you!

This is an exciting opportunity to join a specialist policy team working within the Directorate of UK Technical Maritime Services (UKTMS), where you’ll apply scientific and technical knowledge to support important areas of work in developing UK regulations for the shipping sector. You’ll use your research, analytical and communication skills to explore complex technical matters and produce clear, high-quality written outputs, while working with colleagues and stakeholders across the maritime sector.

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: MCA Homepage , Civil Service Careers

Job description

This role offers an exciting opportunity to help shape the UK’s approach to maritime regulation. You will proactively support the development and management of UK objectives, regulations and guidance, drawing on your knowledge and the technical expertise of colleagues. Working with stakeholders across government, industry and the maritime sector, you will help ensure regulation supports a safe, innovative and commercially successful UK fleet, while contributing to wider government priorities, regulatory development and goals.

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

1. To contribute to, and where appropriate lead, the negotiation, development, implementation and management of regulation in order to maintain and further develop a safety-focused, consistent and proportionate regulatory framework for merchant ships in the UK, in particular where this relates to policies concerning ship construction and equipment, with a focus on, but not limited to Inland Waterways, SOLAS XIV (Polar Code), SOLAS XII (Bulk Carriers), SOLAS XV (Industrial Personnel), Inland Waterways, Load Line, Tonnage and Stability.
2. To provide a focal point for industry and colleagues on matters regarding UK policies covered by the ship construction and equipment team and maintain a positive and proactive role in liaison with MCA consultant surveyors, relevant Directorates and Branches within the MCA, DfT, and external stakeholders.
3. Participate in discussions and negotiations at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) as the UK representative for your areas of responsibility.
4. Develop and maintain an awareness of the national and international political and regulatory context of the subject area through discussion and liaison with key stakeholders, for example, internal and external government colleagues, industry, Non-Government Organisations, Red Ensign Group, other governments etc. Handling of technical questions, especially those related to policies covered by ship construction and equipment team raised both internally and externally, and provide advice to senior managers in the MCA, DfT, other government departments and Ministers.
5. Act as regulatory lead for relevant international and domestic regulations covered by Technical standards and to assist in other areas as assigned by line manager.
6. Work collaboratively across Technical Standards, MCA, and wider network of stakeholders to support the effective delivery of their own work and the work of the team.

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

Required experience:

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

• Due to the technical subject matter, a Degree level education in a STEM based subject, evidence to demonstrate your research ability in a technical discipline or alternatively relevant experience in the marine regulatory or naval architecture environment would be useful.
• Ability to apply scientific and technical knowledge, drawing on your relevant experience.
• Experience of working within the maritime sector.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills and proven ability to research and draft high quality documents.
• Demonstrable knowledge and experience in use of Microsoft Office Word, Excel and emails.

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 35 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.

Some travel to other offices will be required, which may involve overnight stays.

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:

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Managing a Quality Service
• Making Effective Decisions
• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together

Technical skills

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

• 1.1 Analysis and use of evidence - Knowledge of Policy Making in your Policy Area
• 2.1 Politics and democracy - Advising, Briefing, and Drafting

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £45,900, Maritime and Coastguard Agency contributes £13,297 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

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, Experience and Technical skills.

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: 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 (1000-word count). Please provide evidence of your Experience of the following:

• Due to the technical subject matter, a Degree level education in a STEM based subject, evidence to demonstrate your research ability in a technical discipline or alternatively relevant experience in the marine regulatory or naval architecture environment would be useful.
• Ability to apply scientific and technical knowledge, drawing on your relevant experience.
• Experience of working within the maritime sector.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills and proven ability to research and draft high quality documents.

The sift will take place from 18/11/2026.

Stage 2: Interview

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

• Behaviours – (Seeing the Big Picture, Managing a Quality Service, Making Effective Decisions, Delivering at Pace, Working together)
• Experience

You will also be required to create and deliver a presentation to assess the Technical Criteria:

• Analysis and use of evidence – Knowledge of Policy Making in your Policy Area
• Politics and democracy - Advising, Briefing, and Drafting

Link to the Policy Profession Standards (atlas101.ca)

Guidance will be provided if you are invited to interview.

The interviews will take place week commencing 07/12/2026.

This interview will be conducted in person at our Southampton office (Spring Place, 105 Commercial Rd, Southampton SO15 1EG). 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.

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

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 are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert or the information on our website, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

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

If your application is successful but you have been dismissed from the Civil Service, your application could be removed at the pre-employment checking stage depending on the nature of the dismissal.

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 basic (or equivalent) 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 : Pete Rollason
• Email : peter.rollason@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 (99) Opens in new window (docx, 87kB)