Principal Marine Officer

Principal Marine Officer
Grade: Senior Executive Officer
Salary: £34,076 - £41,416
Two year fixed-term appointment with potential for extension or permanency

Locations:

• Northern Marine Area: North Shields, Scarborough, Whitehaven, Preston.
• Eastern Marine Area: Lowestoft, Beverley, Harwich.
• South Eastern: Hastings, Shoreham, Portsmouth, Poole.
• South Western: Brixham, Plymouth, Hayle.

If there is one characteristic that marks us out at the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), it is pride. We are proud to use our professionalism and expertise to safeguard animal and plant health across the UK for the benefit of the environment, the economy and the millions of people who live here.

Join us and you will be part of a diverse team of over 2,000 skilled and committed professionals who share this inspiring goal. Together, we protect endangered wildlife, conduct research into bacterial, viral and parasitic diseases and vaccines, facilitate the international trade in animals, identify and control endemic and exotic diseases, and manage a programme of bee inspections, diagnostics, research and training and so much more.

Providing an important regulatory and licensing function, The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) is vital to those involved in the fishing trade, and is essential to the ongoing sustainability of the sea-faring industries and the preservation of England and Wales’ coastlines. Supporting the coastal operations and enforcement activities of the team, you will:

• Plan and monitor all surveillance and inspection activities relating to fisheries and environmental matters, striving to ensure consistently high levels of regulatory compliance.
• Oversee the work of the team, directing staff on their enforcement priorities and ensuring resources are being used to best effect.
• Support investigations into contraventions, offering advice and assistance in order to ensure the timely and fair collection of evidence.
• Oversee the accurate gathering and inputting of fisheries data and the prompt delivery of any requested reports by Headquarters.
• Offer expert advice on fisheries legislation and any new marine regulations and guidance being proposed by Defra.
• Champion marine nature conservation, taking responsibility for setting up Marine Protected Areas.

This is a fast-paced role in which you will need to make effective decisions in a time-sensitive environment. As such, you will have exceptional organisational skills, with the capacity to address workloads and re-prioritise tasks as appropriate. With a commitment to delivering results within agreed deadlines, you will provide inspirational leadership to the team, helping colleagues achieve their goals and developing their skills. You will also need a good awareness not only of your own area of work, but of the wider issues impacting on MMO, thereby identifying emerging issues. As a collaborative team-player, you will share the team’s enthusiasm for the important part they are playing in making a difference to the marine environment, and your willingness to engage with the marine and fishing industries will ensure that these bodies maintain their support for our vital work.

We aim to support the personal wellbeing of everyone in APHA. Our benefits include generous annual leave, a contributory pension, staff bonuses and recognition, salary sacrifice benefit options, and an employee discount scheme. We also offer flexible working.