Chief of Staff (AVP, Maritime Strategy & Operations) to the Chief Maritime Officer.

Carnival Corporation and plc; Southampton; Hybrid; GBP 200,000 +; Full time

Job summary

A leading global cruise company is seeking a Chief of Staff to support their Chief Maritime Officer amid complex operations. This role involves ensuring seamless communication across various maritime teams and driving strategic initiatives that enhance operational excellence. Ideal candidates will have a strong background in Industrial Engineering or consulting, thrive in high-pressure environments, and possess exceptional leadership and communication skills. Competitive compensation and benefits are offered along with hybrid working options.

Benefits

Employee Discounted Cruising

25% Annual bonus

Comprehensive health insurance

Minimum 25 days leave

Extensive learning and development opportunities

Qualifications

• Experienced in consulting or a similar high-pressure environment.
• Ability to navigate complex organizational structures smoothly.
• Capable of preparing executive-level analyses and presentations.

Responsibilities

• Work with the Chief Maritime Officer on high-stakes decisions.
• Communicate and coordinate across operational teams.
• Drive maritime transformation programs and monitor their outcomes.

Skills

Industrial Engineering background

Situation management under pressure

Clear communication

Ability to influence without authority

Strategic thinking

Education

Degree in Industrial Engineering or comparable

Job description

Job Description

At Carnival Corporation, we bring the world’s most extraordinary vacations to life. With a global fleet sailing to hundreds of destinations, we are driven by a passion for safe operations, environmental stewardship, and unforgettable guest experiences. Behind every voyage is a dedicated team charting the course and our maritime organisation is at the heart of that mission.

About the Role

We’re looking for an exceptional Chief of Staff to partner with our Chief Maritime Officer and help lead one of the most complex maritime organisations in the world. This is a role for someone who thrives on challenge, navigates complexity with confidence, and brings the discipline, judgment, and leadership expected of a best‑in‑class Chief of Staff.

It’s not a role for the faint‑hearted. You’ll be supporting high‑stakes decision‑making, coordinating across global brands and ship operations, and ensuring that our commitment to safety, sustainability, and operational excellence is advanced every single day. If you operate at your best when expectations are high and the pace is fast, you’ll feel right at home here.

What You’ll Do

Drive Clarity, Focus, and Follow‑Through

• Work side by side with the CMO to align on priorities and ensure critical maritime initiatives land with impact.
• Anticipate needs, remove obstacles, and create structure in a dynamic, matrixed environment.

Lead with Insight and Precision

• Prepare executive briefings, analyses, and presentations that translate complex maritime topics into clear, actionable insights.
• Serve as a trusted advisor who can challenge thinking, sharpen strategy, and elevate decision‑making.

Orchestrate Across a Global Fleet

• Ensure seamless communication and coordination across Safety, Marine Operations, Environmental Compliance, Technical Services, Fleet Management, and brand maritime teams.
• Help the organisation stay disciplined, accountable, and aligned on key operational goals.

Champion Key Projects and Initiatives

• Drive cross‑functional maritime programs from transformation efforts to fleet efficiency and safety enhancement projects.
• Monitor progress, risks, and outcomes with a steady hand and a solutions‑oriented mindset.

Strengthen the Maritime Organisation

• Support leadership rhythms, operating processes, and cultural alignment within a global team.
• Foster collaboration built on trust, transparency, and Carnival’s service‑oriented values.

Who You Are

• A seasoned operator with a background in Industrial Engineering, consulting, or comparable environments.
• A natural integrator who excels at bringing order to complexity and maintaining calm under pressure.
• A sharp communicator who can brief senior executives with clarity and confidence.
• A relationship‑builder who can influence without authority and build trust across brands, cultures, and time zones.
• A strategic thinker who can zoom out to the big picture and dive in when hands‑on leadership is needed.
• Someone who embraces accountability, pace, and high expectations and delivers consistently.

Why This Role Matters

Our maritime team is responsible for the safe and sustainable operation of our global fleet. As Chief of Staff to the CMO, you will help shape the future of that mission. Your work will directly support operational excellence, environmental leadership, and the guest experience that millions of travellers count on.

What You’ll Gain

• A high‑impact role with visibility across Carnival Corporation’s global leadership.
• Opportunities to influence major decisions and drive meaningful improvements in maritime operations.
• Competitive compensation, comprehensive benefits, and travel perks plus the satisfaction of supporting an industry‑leading organisation.

Why Join Us?

Positioned within our internal structure from CUK15 (entry level) to CUK1 (Brand President), this role is classified as a CUK04 offered as a full‑time or part‑time position, on a permanent basis, with an offering of hybrid work including up to two days from home.

Benefits

• Employee Discounted Cruising plus Friends and Family offers
• 25% Annual bonus
• Equity in Carnival UK
• Employee Shares Plan
• Minimum 25 days leave, bank holiday allowance and holiday trading scheme
• Regular office events including live entertainment, lifestyle events and charity partner fundraisers
• Extensive learning and development opportunities
• Employee‑led networks
• Employee Assistance and Wellbeing programmes
• Contributory Defined Contribution Pension scheme
• Company paid private medical and dental insurance and health assessment
• In‑house Occupational Health help and access to digital GP
• Life Assurance
• Parental and adoption leave
• Electric Car and Cycle to Work schemes
• On‑site restaurant offering range of healthy cooked and grab‑and‑go meals
• Discounted retail and leisure via discounts portal

Application Note

Due to the high volume of interest in our roles, we encourage early applications. This is your chance to contribute to a company that’s setting the standard for holiday experiences. Apply today to be part of our journey to create joy and memories for our customers and for you.

Don't let this opportunity sail away. Join us in making holiday dreams come true while advancing your career to new horizons.

Recruitment Journey

The recruitment journey for this role will start in Jan 2026, so please expect to hear from us in the New Year.

About Us

Holidays are one of life’s greatest pleasures. Having the chance to relax, escape and explore is a magical thing. And there is no better holiday than a cruise.

No one knows cruising like Carnival UK, where talented people from across the globe come together to create unforgettable holiday happiness. As part of the world’s largest holiday travel and leisure company, we take enormous pride in bringing to life two of the most iconic brands from Britain’s rich seafaring heritage, P&O Cruises and Cunard. Collectively, they have been delivering unbridled joy, boundless adventure and lifelong memories to millions of people for over 350 years.

Our diverse yet tight‑knit teams share high standards, heartfelt values and passion for our purpose. Our Culture Essentials describe the expectations we have for ourselves and of each other, in building a culture that supports safe, sustainable, compliant operations and celebrates diversity, equity and inclusion.

We hope to become Travel’s Employer of Choice. All colleagues who visit or work on our ships must be fully vaccinated, including boosters. We are reviewing this requirement regularly.

Carnival UK is committed to protecting against potential risks to safeguarding, security and/or fraud risks. This post is subject to the disclosure of criminal records and vetting checks in the event of an individual being offered the position. We will only ask about convictions that are defined as ‘not protected’.