Area Operations Manager South West Area 3 Temporary up to 6 months

RNLI; Bude; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

26 days annual leave

Life Insurance

Job summary

RNLI is seeking an Area Operations Manager for the South West region (Rock to Ilfracombe, including Fowey and Looe). You will lead lifeboat stations, manage full-time staff and volunteers, and ensure safe, effective lifeboat services across your designated area.

You will work with an Area Technical Manager to provide leadership, assurance, and development for your teams while being prepared to travel across the region and sometimes the UK and Ireland.

Qualifications

• Experience in commercial maritime operations.
• Experienced people manager with marine environment background.
• Operational Lifeboat crew at Navigator or Coxswain level.
• Willing to work evenings and weekends.
• Valid driving licence.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership, direction and support to lifeboat stations within the region to deliver a safe lifeboat service.
• Inspire, lead and develop your team, creating an inclusive environment for all RNLI people.
• Ensure safe and effective delivery of RNLI lifesaving services through the defined assurance framework.
• Collaborate with regional colleagues to deliver lifesaving services and objectives.
• Travel within the RNLI South West region for meetings and to support other regional managers.

Skills

Leadership

People management

Maritime operations

Training & assessment

Driving licence

Job description

Area Operations Manager, South West Area 3 Temporary, up to 6 months

Vehicle: A vehicle will be made available to carry out your duties

Contract Type: Temporary: Fixed Term Contract or Secondment

Hours: Full-time

Location Description: This AOM role will cover the RNLI's South West region; the successful candidate will need to live within the region

Interview Date: 18th and 19th November

Closing Date: 10-11-2026

Reference: 22140

About us

Our purpose is simple: to save lives at sea. 24 hours a day, every day, RNLI lifesavers are ready to launch to the rescue. Our crews need a dedicated, talented team behind them, and that is where you come in.

We are looking for an Area Operations Manager with a strong maritime professional background to join our South West team between Rock and Ilfracombe, plus Fowey and Looe. You will be responsible for visibly leading and managing the people across your designated area, to ensure you are delivering a safe, effective and inclusive lifeboat service.

Some of the benefits

• 26 days’ annual leave (plus bank holidays)
• Life Insurance

About the role

As Area Operations Manager, working alongside an Area Technical Manager, you will provide leadership, direction and support to your teams in an active maritime operational environment, looking after both full-time staff and volunteers.

Working as part of the regional team, you will be a credible people manager used to leading in an operational maritime environment. You will:

• Provide leadership, direction, management and guidance to a group of lifeboat stations, ensuring they are operating in line with RNLI values, policies and procedures, to deliver the core lifeboat service.
• Inspire, lead, support, coach and develop your team, promoting interpersonal relationships in order to create an inclusive environment for all RNLI people.
• Actively manage and be responsible for the safe and effective delivery of the RNLI’s lifesaving services through all aspects of a defined assurance framework.
• Collaborate with other colleagues within the region to deliver the RNLI’s lifesaving services and objectives through operational support, education, and influence.

About you

The role of the RNLI Area Operations Manager is to provide support and management to our lifeboat stations within the region. Each of these stations is managed by a volunteer Lifeboat Operations Manager, with the majority of boat and shore crew being volunteers.

In addition to providing day-to-day support to your stations, you will be busy carrying out assurance activities at your stations throughout the year, in order to ensure that they are being run in a safe and legally compliant way.

You will have experience operating in commercial (afloat) maritime operations.

You will be an experienced people manager and have experience in the marine environment. You should be Operational Lifeboat crew at Navigator or Coxswain level, and you will be expected to go afloat with your team, able to train and assess. You are ultimately accountable to the Regional Operations Lead for the operational effectiveness and safety of your station teams.

We are looking for a genuine team player who can bring their skills and experience to help deliver lifesaving services in this area. This is not a 9-5 job; for you, it will be a passion, being prepared to work in the evenings and occasional weekends to support your stations and volunteers at a time that suits them. You will also be on an 8-10 week duty rota, and will be prepared to turn out to support your stations when they need you, sometimes at unsociable hours.

As part of the role, the successful candidate will be expected to travel throughout the RNLI South West Region for meetings and to support other regional managers, as well as undertake occasional travel within the UK and Ireland.

This post requires a valid driving licence.

Safeguarding and referencing

The RNLI is committed to safeguarding; protecting a person’s health, wellbeing, and human rights, enabling them to live free from harm, abuse, and neglect. We expect all employees and volunteers to share this commitment and have a zero-tolerance approach. The suitability of all prospective employees and volunteers will be assessed during the recruitment process in line with this commitment. This will include relevant criminal record checks being carried out, dependent on the eligibility of the role. (England & Wales; DBS check, Scotland; Disclosure Scotland PVG, Northern Ireland; Access NI, Republic of Ireland; Garda Vetting; International, International Child Protection Certificate process).

Diversity at the RNLI

Our staff and volunteers have been saving lives at sea without prejudice for 200 years. We respect and value diversity of background, skills and perspectives within our teams, and consider it essential to help us deliver a world-class lifesaving service. We are an inclusive organisation and welcome applications from everyone. In addition to having the skills needed for the role, we also look for applicants who share our commitment to living our RNLI values (trustworthy, courageous, selfless, and dependable) and helping us work towards Our Vision: To save Every One.