About the job

Job summary

Are you customer-focused with an excellent standard of planning and organisational ability? 

Can you take ownership for your decisions, ensuring your work is accurate and precise? 

Do you have experience of working collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders?

If so, we are looking for an Information Management Assistant - Maritime to join us at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and we'd love to hear from you!   

This is a fantastic opportunity to become a part of HM Coastguard whereby your daily role provides a valuable enabling function for the delivery of a life saving service. It is a fast paced and diverse role where no two days are the same, providing you with the opportunity to be involved in all areas of coastguard and wider MCA. 

The MCA implements 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.   

We welcome applications from all communities, and we don’t discriminate against any identity. We’re interested to hear from you, regardless of your background.   

Job description

HM Coastguard (HMCG) is a key operational branch of the MCA. It has responsibility for 6 key Coastguard functions - Search and Rescue, Pollution Response, Vessel Traffic Management, Maritime Safety, Maritime Security and Emergency and Disaster management. The Coastguard Information Portal provides guidance to the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centres, Joint Rescue Coordination Centre, Aeronautical Rescue, Coastal Operations and Training. 

The role is within the Governance, Policy, International and Standards Branch at Headquarters and as a member of the Coastguard Information Management Team. The role is to support the provision of accurate, reliable, and consistent operational information which helps enable front line delivery of services provided by HM Coastguard.

As the Information Management Assistant, it will be your responsibility to update the Coastguard Information Portal. This is where we hold standard operation procedures and coastguard material. You will need to ensure the information is consistent across both sites and correct. You will liaise with policy professionals across coastal, maritime and aviation subject areas when doing so. 

It will be your responsibility to take complex/technical information you have been provided with from policy professions and translate into a non-technical format that can be delivered in a clear, concise, professional manner. 

Your responsibilities include but are not limited to: 

• Supporting, developing, inspiring and providing prompt, professional and knowledgeable creative design and publishing services, together with advice and support to enable HM Coastguard to meet its business objectives and statutory functions through high quality products and publications
• Working closely with the various branches within all of HM Coastguard to coordinate and manage all relevant briefs, supporting the development of creative solutions which are on time, on brief and within budget
• Promoting the use of plain English across the Directorate of HM Coastguard in developing products and services, maintaining the Directorate's written house style guide for spelling, grammar and punctuation to facilitate readability, readers' understanding and relevance to the Directorate's work within a UK Search and Rescue context
• Reviewing submissions and writing informative content and communicating changes to internal audiences, adjusting language to make wording clear to readers of varying knowledge
• Reviewing content to ensure accurate and consistent information across Coastguard Information Systems

For further information about the role, please see the attached.

Additional information

This role will be based in the Southampton HQ. 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. 

Person specification

To be successful in this role, you will have experience of working in a customer-focused environment and adept in determining user requirements and resolving issues. 

An excellent standard of planning and organisational ability comes naturally to you, working on a project collaboratively to develop and implement customer-focused business solutions within agreed time and cost parameters is something you can do at ease. 

You have experience of communicating with internal and external people in positions of influence and/or senior level roles, with confidence to present and lead discussions on complex and/or contentious issues and, where appropriate, use simple, succinct terms to lay audiences orally and in writing. 

You will be computer literate and familiar in the use of Office 365 suite and SharePoint administration or similar systems.

About Operational Delivery Profession (ODP)

    

Operational Delivery Profession (ODP) is the largest and most diverse professional community across the Civil Service. Many of us will have an association with several professional communities or specialisms, ODP applies to all public facing roles / or a role that is primarily aligned to supporting the work of those with public facing roles. All critical to the delivery of UK public services.  

Benefits

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits. We offer generous annual leave, attractive pension options, flexible working, inclusive working environments and much more to support a healthy work/life balance.  

Click here to get a copy of the MCA Staff Benefits Brochure    

Find out what it's like to work at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency   

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

How to Apply    

CV and Personal Statement:   

Within your CV and personal statement please demonstrate your knowledge and experience of:   

• Working with internal and external people in positions of influence and/or senior level roles and use simple, succinct terms to lay audiences orally and in writing
• Customer-focused, adept in determining user requirements and resolving issues. Excellent standard of planning and organisational ability
• Proficient in Office 365 suite and SharePoint administration, or similar systems

Your personal statement will be limited to a maximum of 750 words.   

It is essential when submitting your personal statement that you provide as much detail as possible, and utilise the full word count given, against the essential criteria outlined above as this will be used in conjunction with your CV to assess candidate suitability to move to the next round in the recruitment process.    

Sift and Interview Dates:  

The sift is due to take place from Tuesday 9th January 2024. 

Interviews are likely to be held from week commencing Monday 22nd January 2024. 

This interview will be conducted face to face at our Southampton HQ. Further details will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.   

We will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change. You will be provided with sufficient notice of the confirmed dates.   

The selection process will be designed specifically for the role. As a result, your assessment will include:  

• an interview

You’re encouraged to become familiar with the role profile, as you may be assessed against any of the criteria recorded within. 

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 the How 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.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

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.