Overseas Programme Manager and Audit Team Member

Job summary

Do you have a demonstrable knowledge and experience of project and strategy management?

Have you got experience of preparing, writing and clearing of senior level briefings?

Can you use your superb interpersonal skills to build effective relationships?

If so, we are looking for an Overseas Programme Manager and Audit Team Member to join us at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and we'd love to hear from you!

This is a fantastic opportunity as you will have exposure to a wide range of high profile senior stakeholders enabling you to build strong, trusted working relationships.

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.

Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:

• 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), plus 8 bank holidays a privilege day for the King’s birthday

• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Read more in the Benefits section below!

Find out more about what it's like working at MCA roles: MCA Homepage , Civil Service Careers

Job description

The role sits within Maritime Governance & Regulatory Compliance (MGRC) and supports the UK Member State's overall compliance with its international maritime obligations and the International Maritime Organization's Instruments Implementation Code (III Code) through the development and delivery of MCA's projects supporting HMG's UK/ Overseas Territories (OTs) Strategy and HMG’s National Security Strategy.

You will work closely in a small, dynamic team where you will be responsible for developing and delivering a programme of activities across the OTs, including the Crown Dependencies (CDs) and other countries (where appropriate), to drive forward effective cultural change towards maritime safety and pollution prevention, and build positive sustainable capacity and capability for continual compliance with international obligations and respond quickly and effectively to maritime incidents.

You will also have line management responsibility for 2 HEO’s.

Your responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Supporting the Overseas Strategic Policy Manager to develop a programme of activities to support the OTs/CDs in achieving full compliance with their international maritime obligations. Use information and evidence from proxy audits, gap analyses, monitoring visits, capability reviews and reporting templates to inform the activity plan.
• Facilitating, leading and managing the mobilisation and delivery of multiple projects, identifying suitable resources and contractors, and implement robust audit and procurement compliance to deliver maximum value for money and the best use of financial resources.
• Leading activities with responsibility for contract management. Organising and managing a number of forums/workshops, developing agendas which actively encourages participation from all delegates. Managing, in coordination with HM Coastguard project leads, activities to develop effective response to search and rescue and pollution response incidents.
• Taking responsibility for the annual development of the programme's budget proposals (circa £2-5m), applying in-depth knowledge of Government financial requirements and working closely with each department’s financial teams to accurately forecast, profile and effectively managing available funds.
• In conjunction with the Head of External Monitoring and Assurance (MGRC) and UK III Code auditors, assisting with the delivery of III Code proxy audits of the UK and Red Ensign Group.

Great line management is important to us as an organisation, and we will equip and support line managers to develop the skills set out in the Civil Service Line Management Standards.

For further information about the role and responsibilities, please see 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.

Person specification

Required experience:

To be successful in this role you will need to have the following experience:

1. You will have strong interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to interact confidently and professionally with stakeholders.
2. You enjoy influencing others, encouraging them to make the right decisions in line with the business and departmental requirements.
3. You will have a diplomatic and tactful approach.
4. As a confident communicator, you have excellent engagement skills which enables you to build lasting, trusting relationships with colleagues and stakeholders from all levels.
5. You will be highly adaptable and flexible, adjusting to the requirements of the role and time zones when liaising with colleagues in the OTs. You will have good self-awareness and the ability to improvise when needed to achieve the required outcome.
6. You will have excellent IT skills and a demonstrable knowledge in the use of Microsoft packages, in particular Microsoft Excel.

The successful candidate must be willing to work towards completing the following qualification, if not already held:

• ISM/ISO 9001 Lead Auditor qualification or equivalent auditing experience/qualifications.

Additional information

This role will be based in the Southampton HQ.

The role may require foreign travel, frequent travel to meetings at FCO, DfT and other Government departments. There may be the need to visit other locations that could require overnight stays. The role holder would therefore be required to hold a current passport.

Working hours, office attendance and travel requirements

Full time roles consist of 37 hours per week.

Whilst we welcome applications from those looking to work with us on a part time basis, there is a business requirement for the successful candidate to be able to work at least 30 hours per week.

This role is suitable for hybrid working, which is a non-contractual arrangement where a combination of workplace and home-based working can be accommodated subject to business requirements.

The expectation at present is a minimum of 60% of your working time a month will be spent at either your designated workplace (one of the locations cited in the advert) or, when required for business reasons, in another office/work location/visiting stakeholders. Your designated workplace will be your contractual place of work. There may be occasions where you are required to attend above the minimum expectation.

Visa Sponsorship

Please note that we will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa where a role has been deemed to be business critical. This role does not meet that category, and we will not sponsor a visa. Therefore, this role is not open to applications from those who require sponsorship – candidates must ensure they hav