Staff Officer Technical Services

Job summary

Are youa problem solver who is enthusiastic in finding creative solutions?

Do you enjoy building relationships and working with a diverse range of stakeholders?

Would you like to use your skills in IT to improve the way operational systems are used to safeguard lives?

If so, we are looking for a Staff Officer Technical Services (Coastal Operations) to join us at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and we'd love to hear from you!

His Majesty’s Coastguard (HM Coastguard, HMCG) 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.

The successful applicant will join our close knit and supportive team to contribute to improving safety at sea. We will look to you to provide technical and professional recommendations, guidance and advice on the most effective use of the Coastguard technical systems to senior management and other stakeholders and lead on the development of user requirements for future coastguard systems. You will monitor and implement coherent and consistent national procedures, processes, strategies and policies through expert contribution and ensure HM Coastguard's adherence to and compliance with agreed national and international operational legislation, regulations, procedures, processes, rules and guidelines.

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 and 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: Maritime and Coastguard Agency - Department for Transport Careers

Job description

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

• Supervise and monitor the operational use of current and future Coastguard technical systems in order to ensure high quality delivery.
• Apply specialist knowledge and provide expert advice in support of the execution of the Coastguard missions and assist MCA Technical Services and other MCA branches as and when.
• Act as senior user and business change manager during implementation of Coastguard technical systems functional system projects, chair and lead systems working groups to develop user requirements and develop, manage, and implement user acceptance testing for these systems.
• Maintain a detailed operational understanding of international and national resolutions, directives, legislation to ensure the UK meets its obligation.
• Represent the UK as a subject matter expert in working groups and in support at high level meetings with UK, European and international partners, authorities, stakeholders, and organisations to ensure that UK interests are properly represented and protected.
• Maintaining a high level of operational currency in the delivery of the key Coastguard missions to enable the provision of detailed advice, guidance and support to users and managers.

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 a proactive and adaptable individual with strong communication skills, capable of translating technical information into clear, non-technical language. In this role, you will engage with a diverse range of stakeholders, ensuring their needs are met while providing tailored support. As this is a tech-focused role, you will play a key part in simplifying processes for volunteers, helping them find practical solutions to support their life-saving work.

You will be responsible for identifying trends and resolving issues efficiently, working across multiple workstreams and portfolios. Building strong relationships with a variety of stakeholders is essential, ensuring that products and solutions deliver the best possible value for both users and the organisation.

This role requires someone who can work autonomously, using their initiative to deliver multiple high-priority projects at pace. You thrive in a fast-moving environment and are passionate about problem-solving.

• Demonstrable experience in HMCG or an organisation dealing with emergency response.
• Applicants with less experience would be considered based on evidence of competence relating to job specific knowledge and skills.
• An understanding of the operational systems in use by HM Coastguard or similar emergency response environment.
• The role holder will be required to pass a medical for this role.

Additional Information

This role will be based from one of our advertised locations. 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.

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 37 hours per week. We can accommodate part time applications via job share.

The role requires occasional domestic and international travel to attend meetings and working groups which will involve some time away from home and the regular workplace.

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:

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

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £44,241, Maritime and Coastguard Agency contributes £12,816 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 and Experience.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a CV and personal statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

The selection process for this role will be:

Stage 1: Sift of CV and personal statement

Stage 2: Interview and presentation

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 word count) and personal statement (750 words). Please provide evidence of your experience of the following:

• Demonstrable experience in His Majesty’s Coastguard or within an organisation dealing with emergency response.
• Experience engaging with a range of diverse stakeholders and effectively communicating to build relationships.
• Demonstrable experience of a continuous improvement mindset when working with operational IT systems.

The sift will take place from 29th June 2025.

Stage 2: Interview and Presentation

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

1. Behaviours (Making Effective Decisions, Communicating and Influencing, Working Together, Managing a Quality Service, Delivering at Pace, Seeing the Bigger Picture)
2. Experience

You will also be required to create and deliver a presentation to assess Behaviours (Managing a Quality Service, Communicating and Influencing). Guidance will be provided if you are invited to interview.

The interviews will take place from the 13th July 2025.

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

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.

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Medical

Successful candidates will be expected to have a medical.

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 : Heidi Clevett
• Email : heidi.clevett@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, 254kB)