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Government Recruitment Service; Tudhoe; On-site; GBP 41,000 - 50,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Civil Service Pension

25 days annual leave

Job summary

Government Recruitment Service is recruiting for a Coastal Operations Area Commander on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. You will lead a dedicated team of officers and volunteers, guiding them through demanding operational responses to protect lives at sea and on the coast.

The role offers a unique mix of strategic oversight and hands‑on leadership, with strong collaboration across emergency services and resilience partners, and a focus on training, governance and budget management.

Responsibilities

• Leading, participating or supporting assurance and investigation teams.
• Recruiting, managing, training, supporting, coaching and mentoring full time officers.
• Reporting to the Coastal Operations Divisional Commander, ensuring governance and managing the Area budget.
• Leading, managing, and supervising volunteers within the Coastal Operational Area.
• Identifying, planning, resourcing and verifying training needs for staff and volunteers.

Job description

Are you an inspiring leader with experience of managing operational teams in a response environment?

Would you describe yourself as self‑motivated, organised and approachable?

Do you want to manage a dedicated, dynamic team of life savers - where your job REALLY matters?

If so, we’d love to hear from you!

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) implement the government’s maritime safety policy in the United Kingdom and works to prevent the loss of life and occurrence of pollution on the coast and at sea.

Safer lives. Safer Ships. Cleaner Seas.

Our vision is to be a world‑leading organisation, accelerating the transition to sustainable shipping with non‑negotiable safety standards. We put our people, our customers and our planet at the heart of everything we do.

Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensionshere
• 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

Read more in the Benefits section below!

Find out more about what it's like working atMCA.

We have an exciting opportunity to join our Coastal Operations group as a Coastal Operations Area Commander, where you will use your exceptional management skills to lead our team of dedicated Officers and Volunteers.

The Coastal Operations Area Commander will collaborate with a variety of stakeholders from Coastguard rescue staff and volunteers to other emergency services and partners within the resilience world, weighing up risks and making effective decisions to deploy and direct resources to meet operational response needs.

This is a unique and varied role which brings with it a great deal of autonomy. It is a physically challenging and rewarding role, where you will directly contribute to saving lives and really making a difference.

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

• Leading, participating or supporting assurance and investigation teams.
• Recruiting, managing, training, supporting, coaching and mentoring full time officers.
• Reporting to the Coastal Operations Divisional Commander, ensuring compliance with all governance requirements within their Area, including management of the Area budget.
• Leading, managing, and supervising volunteers within the Coastal Operational Area.
• Identifying, planning, resourcing and verifying the training need (Staff and Volunteers) within the Coastal Operational Area. Maintaining practitioner and instructor level skills in order to support, deliver and verify operations, training, and exercises.

Great line management is important to us as an organisation, and we will equip and support line managers to develop the skills they need. We aim to empower line managers to create teams where people can flourish and deliver excellent outcomes for the public.

For further information on the role, please read the attached 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.

Coastal Operations Area Commander

Company: Government Recruitment Service

Salary: £45,900 to £45,900 a year

Hours: Full‑time

Location: Newhaven

Job type: Permanent

Posting date: 7 Oct 2026

Closing date: 21 Oct 2026

Summary

Are you an inspiring leader with experience of managing operational teams in a response environment?

Would you describe yourself as self‑motivated, organised and approachable?

Do you want to manage a dedicated, dynamic team of life savers - where your job REALLY matters?

If so, we’d love to hear from you!

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) implement the government’s maritime safety policy in the United Kingdom and works to prevent the loss of life and occurrence of pollution on the coast and at sea.

Safer lives. Safer Ships. Cleaner Seas.

Our vision is to be a world‑leading organisation, accelerating the transition to sustainable shipping with non‑negotiable safety standards. We put our people, our customers and our planet at the heart of everything we do.

Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensionshere
• 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

Read more in the Benefits section below!

Find out more about what it's like working atMCA.

We have an exciting opportunity to join our Coastal Operations group as a Coastal Operations Area Commander, where you will use your exceptional management skills to lead our team of dedicated Officers and Volunteers.

The Coastal Operations Area Commander will collaborate with a variety of stakeholders from Coastguard rescue staff and volunteers to other emergency services and partners within the resilience world, weighing up risks and making effective decisions to deploy and direct resources to meet operational response needs.

This is a unique and varied role which brings with it a great deal of autonomy. It is a physically challenging and rewarding role, where you will directly contribute to saving lives and really making a difference.

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

• Leading, participating or supporting assurance and investigation teams.
• Recruiting, managing, training, supporting, coaching and mentoring full time officers.
• Reporting to the Coastal Operations Divisional Commander, ensuring compliance with all governance requirements within their Area, including management of the Area budget.
• Leading, managing, and supervising volunteers within the Coastal Operational Area.
• Identifying, planning, resourcing and verifying the training need (Staff and Volunteers) within the Coastal Operational Area. Maintaining practitioner and instructor level skills in order to support, deliver and verify operations, training, and exercises.

Great line management is important to us as an organisation, and we will equip and support line managers to develop the skills they need. We aim to empower line managers to create teams where people can flourish and deliver excellent outcomes for the public.

For further information on the role, please read the attached 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.

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About Disability Confident Disability Confident is a government scheme. It encourages employers to recruit and retain disabled people and those with long term health conditions.