General Fleet Manager - Crewing

Zodiac Maritime Limited; Greater London; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Zodiac Maritime Limited in London is seeking a General Fleet Manager - Crewing to lead the strategic crewing for our Bulk fleet of around 30 vessels, reporting to the Director of Crewing. You will ensure safe, efficient manning and align with our global crew management organisation.

The role requires strong leadership, fleet expansion planning, succession planning and ensuring compliance with charterer and regulatory requirements, RightShip, DBMS, and MLC obligations.

Qualifications

• Strong academic record; professional maritime qualifications, seafaring experience or equivalent industry experience would be an advantage.
• Proven management experience within shipping, crewing, marine operations or a comparable international operating environment.
• Strong understanding of crew management, vessel manning requirements and operational demands of managing a diverse fleet.
• Experience developing crew pools and future capability to support fleet growth.
• Expert knowledge of charterer requirements, RightShip, DBMS, SMS and regulatory obligations (MLC/Flag Admin).
• Strong knowledge of collective bargaining agreements and compliance requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to drive performance management and crew development across shore and onboard teams.
• Commercially astute with budget control and efficiency improvement experience.
• Data-driven with reporting and performance insights to support strategic workforce planning.
• Proven ability to lead projects and embed new systems and operating models.

Responsibilities

• Lead development and execution of crew strategy for the Bulk fleet, ensuring it supports current operations and future expansion.
• Build scalable crewing plans and operating models with the right capability and cost control as the fleet grows.
• Translate strategic priorities into measurable objectives for the Crew Management teams and Manning Offices.
• Apply strong commercial judgement to support operational resilience and long-term sustainability.
• Develop and maintain a strong, sustainable crew pool to meet current and future vessel growth.
• Ensure vessels are manned with qualified, medically fit and trained personnel meeting requirements.
• Drive high-quality crew planning to meet charterer and regulatory expectations (RightShip, DBMS, SMS, MLC).
• Monitor regulatory developments and ensure compliance with Flag Administration requirements.
• Drive a strong performance culture across shore and onboard teams with regular appraisal and development actions.
• Lead projects to improve crew systems, processes, reporting and fleet expansion readiness.

Skills

Crew management

Strategic planning

Leadership

Change management

Budget management

Education

Maritime qualifications

Job description

Position: General Fleet Manager - Crewing

Reporting to: Director of Crewing

Contract type: Permanent / Full Time

Location: London

Overview of role

As General Manager Crewing you will be responsible for the safe and efficient management of the fleet of Bulk vessels within our group. You will be a part of the global Crew Management organisation who together will be the driving force in ensuring we have the most effective and efficient team to manage our diverse fleet. Our success will be reflected through our highly engaged and competent leaders and teams onboard our diverse fleet.

Your knowledge in industry will be a key contributor to how we can further optimise our crew operations to build a stronger organisation for the future.

In this role you will be responsible for ensuring the strategy and standards as determined by Zodiac Maritime are always met. We have a hugely diverse fleet which is continually evolving, where you will be primary responsible for our Bulk fleet which has approximately 30 vessels.

We are looking for an individual who is excited to contribute and execute our future crew strategy, strengthening and building our organisation globally working with both our owned and 3rd Party Agents.

Key responsibilities and primary deliverables

Strategic crew planning and fleet expansion readiness

• Lead the development and execution of crew strategy for the Bulk fleet, ensuring it supports current operational needs while preparing the organisation for planned fleet expansion.
• Build scalable crewing plans and operating models that provide the right capability, capacity and cost control as the fleet grows.
• Translate strategic priorities into measurable objectives and practical actions for the Crew Management team, Manning Offices and onboard leadership.
• Apply strong commercial judgement to support operational resilience, efficiency and long-term sustainability.

Crew pool development and succession planning

• Develop and maintain a strong, competent and sustainable crew pool to meet the needs of the existing Bulk fleet and future vessel growth.
• Ensure all vessels are manned with qualified, medically fit, competent and trained personnel who meet company, charterer and regulatory expectations.
• Lead succession planning for critical onboard positions, with particular focus on the top four ranks and future leadership capability.
• Identify manning risks early and work with Manning Offices to address gaps in availability, competence, retention and promotion readiness.

Quality planning, charterer requirements and industry compliance

• Drive high-quality crew planning to ensure vessel manning consistently meets charterer requirements, RightShip standards, DBMS expectations and internal company standards.
• Maintain robust controls over crew qualifications, experience, documents and certificates to support safe operations, audit readiness and external stakeholder confidence.
• Ensure selection, recruitment and deployment decisions support vessel performance, compliance and charterer expectations.
• Monitor relevant regulatory and industry developments, including Flag Administration requirements, ILO/MLC obligations and other representative body requirements.
• Develop and implement procedures, controls and improvement actions to maintain compliance and continuously strengthen crewing quality standards.

Performance management and continuous improvement

• Drive a strong performance management culture across shore and onboard teams, working directly with vessels to ensure expectations are clear, performance is reviewed regularly and improvement actions are followed through.
• Use appraisal outcomes, promotion recommendations, retention data, welfare indicators, vessel feedback and operational performance trends to identify development needs and improve crew capability.
• Work with Masters, Chief Engineers, vessel leadership teams and Manning Offices to identify performance gaps, agree development plans and support the progression of high-potential seafarers.
• Ensure onboard feedback is used constructively to strengthen training, coaching, succession planning and long-term crew development across the Bulk fleet.
• Ensure poor performance, conduct concerns and disciplinary matters are addressed promptly, consistently and in line with company procedures.
• Use crew data, performance trends, retention metrics, appraisal outcomes, cost information and vessel feedback to inform decisions and prioritise improvement actions.
• Provide clear reporting and insight to help shore and vessel leadership understand risks, opportunities and progress against objectives.
• Turn insight into practical actions that strengthen crew planning, pool development, retention, succession planning and operational performance.

Emergency response

• Respond to and attend out-of-hours emergency response meetings in collaboration with the Director of Crewing.
• Remain flexible and available for on-call responsibilities.
• Understand emergency duties and practices onboard vessels.
• Agree the crew communication strategy and required support actions with the Director of Crewing and DPA.

SMS, safety culture and operational assurance

• Promote SMS policy, safety culture and operational discipline across vessels, Manning Offices and the Crew Department.
• Ensure SMS requirements are implemented, maintained and continuously improved within crew operations.
• Review incidents, claims, audit findings and operational feedback to identify root causes and ensure appropriate corrective and preventive actions are completed.
• Participate in Shore Safety and Management Review meetings and ensure agreed crewing-related actions are completed as soon as practicable.

Projects and change delivery

• Lead and support strategic crewing projects that improve capability, efficiency, compliance and the overall effectiveness of the crew operating model.
• Work with cross-functional stakeholders to deliver projects relating to crew systems, process improvement, reporting, policy implementation, Manning Office development and fleet expansion readiness.
• Ensure project outcomes are clearly defined, communicated and embedded into day-to-day crew operations.
• Monitor progress, manage risks and ensure agreed actions are delivered in line with business priorities and stakeholder expectations.

Skill Profile

Relevant experience and education

• Strong academic record; professional maritime qualifications, seafaring experience or equivalent industry experience would be an advantage.
• Proven management experience within shipping, crewing, marine operations or a comparable international operating environment.
• Strong understanding of crew management, vessel manning requirements and the operational demands of managing a diverse fleet.
• Experience developing crew pools, succession plans and future capability to support fleet growth.
• Expert knowledge of charterer requirements, RightShip, DBMS, SMS, Flag Administration requirements
• Strong knowledge of Collective bargaining agreements and MLC obligations and how to ensure optimal compliance while driving simplification.
• Demonstrated ability to drive performance management, crew development and continuous improvement across shore-based teams, Manning Offices and onboard leadership.
• Commercially astute, with experience managing budgets, controlling costs and delivering efficiency improvements without compromising safety, quality or compliance.
• Confident using data, reporting and performance insight to inform decisions, identify risks and support strategic workforce planning.
• Proven ability to lead projects, implement change and embed new systems, processes or operating models into crew operations.
• Highly effective at building relationships across a global, multicultural organisation, including with senior stakeholders, Manning Offices, vessel leadership and external partners.
• Strong leadership profile, with the ability to set standards, coach others and lead from the front when required.
• Flexibility to travel and respond to out-of-hours calls as required.

Due to the high volume of applications, we regret that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.