Principal Marine Surveyor – Plan Approval

471318 Principal Marine Surveyor – Plan Approval

Maritime and Coastguard Agency

Apply before 11:55 pm on Monday 31st August 2026

📍 Location: Aberdeen, Belfast, Beverley, Cardiff, Colchester, Crosby, Paisley, Plymouth, Southampton (This role is suitable for hybrid working)

💷 Salary: £63,645

additional allowances of up to £5,500 which may include the following: £3,000 – Out of Hours Contactability & Tasking, £1,250 – Location & Deployment Flexibility, £1,250 – Operating in Hazardous Environment.
A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

🕘️ Contract Type: Permanent – Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time

🏆️ Available Positions: 1

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) plays a vital role in delivering the UK Government’s maritime safety policies, helping to protect lives, ships, and the marine environment.

The Statutory Services Delivery Team (SSDT), part of the UK Technical Maritime Services Directorate (UKTMS), supports the Government’s Maritime Strategy for “Safer Ships, Cleaner Seas.” Through surveys, inspections, approvals and certification activities, the team helps ensure high standards of maritime safety and environmental protection.

As Principal Marine Surveyor – Plan Approval, you will lead and manage the Plan Approval function within the Statutory Services Delivery Team, ensuring effective delivery of MCA business objectives. You will drive a consistent, centralised approach to plan approval activities, working closely with surveyors and business support teams to provide a streamlined service across the S&I network. As the subject matter expert for plan approval, you will champion continuous improvement, ensuring processes, procedures, and ways of working remain efficient, effective, and fit for purpose.

Top Responsibilities

Develop and coordinate an updated approach to plan approval within S&I to align with the needs of our customers and colleagues
Undertake plan approval tasks and (where qualified) stability assessment, for the most complex cases, to ensure compliance with UK and international requirements.
Act as subject matter expert (SME) for plan approval matters across UKTMS, providing authoritative technical advice.
Line manage designated surveyors, including conducting Performance Management Reviews (PMRs), objective setting, and development planning.
Mentor, coach and provide training to surveyors to maintain capability, competence, and performance in line with MCA’s Technical Training framework

For more information on the role and responsibilities please see the full job advert on CS Jobs using the link provided.

Benefits

Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave).
8 Bank Holidays plus an additional Privilege Day to mark the King’s birthday.
Access to the staff discount portal.
Excellent career development opportunities and the potential to undertake professional qualifications relevant to your role paid for by the department, such as CIPD, Prince2, apprenticeships, etc.
Joining a diverse and inclusive workforce with a range of staff communities to support all our colleagues.
24-hour Employee Assistance Programme providing free confidential help and advice for staff.
Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

About You

To be successful in this role, you will be an experienced marine professional who holds the appropriate qualification as detailed in this advert.

We are looking for natural leaders, who have the ability to engage with their team on a human level enabling them to achieve their best through encouragement and identifying where skills can be improved. You will celebrate your team’s successes whilst showing them how to learn where improvements can be made. You are approachable and have fantastic communication skills, you comfortably provide expert advice to industry partners and the public.

Please note, due to the nature of the role you will also be required to undergo a Counter-Terrorist Check (CTC) before commencing employment with us. Gaining CTC Clearance will normally require you to have been a resident in the UK for a minimum of 3 years, and only candidates who meet this requirement will be considered for the role. You will also be required to pass a medical – the health standards are attached to this advert.

Essential qualifications/licences

A valid passport for international travel
A full UK driving license
Relevant Qualifications as detailed below

You will be required to provide evidence that you hold any essential qualifications/licenses at some point during the recruitment process. If you cannot provide evidence, your application will be withdrawn.

How to Apply

👉 Read the full description and apply here: https://bit.ly/3TWlv9A

This vacancy closes at 23:55 on Monday 31^st August 2026