Marine Licensing and Offshore Consenting Lead

Southampton

Job Summary

Are you a focused individual with attention to detail?

Do you have nautical or maritime industry/administration experience and want to contribute to reducing maritime risk and improving safety?

Have you got strong problem-solving skills and the ability to confidently influence stakeholders at all levels?

If so, we’d love to hear from you!

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (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.  

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

Job Description

Join the Marine Licensing and Offshore Consenting Team within UK Technical Services Navigation, supporting the UK’s transition to Net Zero. You’ll assess applications for major national infrastructure projects, including offshore renewables, port developments, and carbon capture. Working closely with internal leads, you’ll help ensure maritime safety, support the UK Energy Security Strategy, and deliver 50GW of offshore renewable capacity by 2030. This role contributes directly to meeting statutory obligations under the Marine Licensing regime and improving maritime safety.

Your Responsibilities Will Include, But Aren’t Limited To:

• To review and assess applications for Nationally Significant Infrastructure projects (NSIPs) including Offshore Renewable Energy Installations (OREIs), port developments, nuclear, low carbon hydrogen (carbon capture utilisation and storage), and the UK cable wide upgrade as submitted by the relevant maritime regulator. This will include advice and guidance at all stages of the zonal assessment, planning process, pre-application, and post consent stages, in accordance with DfT Guidelines and MCA established procedures.

To review and assess Development Consent Orders and Deemed Marine Licences ensuring they are accurate for MCA's requirements and are fit for purpose, working with Department for Transport (DfT) legal as required.

To lead the preparation of responses to the Examining Authority's Questions, Actions and Relevant Representations during the Hearings on 'Shipping and Navigation' and 'Development Consent Order' (DCO) agenda items for all Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects and attend and speak at the Hearings as deemed necessary.

To review and assess Marine Licence applications, in conjunction with the Marine Licensing Lead, to ensure responses are submitted within the 28 days timescales, and to provide advice and guidance to the devolved licensing authorities in the UK on marine licence applications and associated mitigation to reduce risks for safe navigation.

To continuously review and update MCA published guidance used by the Offshore Renewable industry, Marine Guidance Notes and Methodology for Assessing Navigational Risk in line with IMO's Formal Safety Assessment (FSA) requirements.

For further information on the role, please read the role profile which 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.

Join the Marine Licensing and Offshore Consenting Team within UK Technical Services Navigation, supporting the UK’s transition to Net Zero. You’ll assess applications for major national infrastructure projects, including offshore renewables, port developments, and carbon capture. Working closely with internal leads, you’ll help ensure maritime safety, support the UK Energy Security Strategy, and deliver 50GW of offshore renewable capacity by 2030. This role contributes directly to meeting statutory obligations under the Marine Licensing regime and improving maritime safety.

Your Responsibilities Will Include, But Aren’t Limited To:

To continuously review and update MCA published guidance used by the Offshore Renewable industry, Marine Guidance Notes and Methodology for Assessing Navigational Risk in line with IMO's Formal Safety Assessment (FSA) requirements.

For further information on the role, please read the role profile which 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

To Be Successful In This Role, You Will Have:

• A valid MCA Recognised STCW II/1 Officer of the Watch Unlimited Certificate of Competency
  
  

OR

• An Honours degree in a relevant subject, combined with practical experience in the shipping industry or in maritime administration:
• HNC/HND in Nautical Science: A Higher National Certificate (HNC) or Higher National Diploma (HND) in Nautical Science is a common pathway for deck cadet training.
• Foundation Degree: A Foundation Degree in Marine Operations is another qualification route, particularly through the RFA Royal Navy.
  
  

OR

• Evidence of high level of numeracy, analysis and writing skills combined with appropriate practical experience in the shipping industry in an operational capacity or in maritime administration.
  
  

AND

You Will Have:

• A good understanding of the marine licensing and offshore consenting regimes, including offshore installations and their impact on shipping and safe navigation.
• Knowledge of maritime regulations.
• An understanding of OREis (wind, wave and tide), the roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders, and processes and procedures involved in the development of operational offshore infrastructure.
  
  

Additional Information

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 35 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.

Regular travel to other offices will be required, which may involve overnight stays.

If you have a question about hybrid working, part time/job share hours, flexible working, travelling for work, or require a reasonable adjustment, please contact the Vacancy Holder during the recruitment process to avoid possible disappointment later in the process should your working arrangements not be compatible with the requirements of the role (see below for contact details).

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 have the appropriate right to work in the UK before applying. Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace
  
  

Alongside your salary of £44,241, Maritime and Coastguard Agency contributes £12,816 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic 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.

Find out more about the benefits of working at DfT and its agencies (opens in a new window).

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

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

How To Apply:

Our selection process ensures a comprehensive assessment of each applicant's qualifications, skills, and potential fit within our organisation.

The Selection Process For This Role Will Be:

Stage 1: Sift of CV and personal statement

Stage 2: Interview and presentation

You must be successful at each stage to progress to the next stage.

Stage 1: Sift

At sift, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

• Experience – you will be asked to provide a CV (unlimited wordcount) and personal statement (1000-word count). Please provide evidence of your Experience of the following:
• Working within the shipping industry, or maritime administration
• Analysing numerical and written data to inform decision making in order to demonstrate a high level of numeracy, analysis and writing skills.
• Experience of applying maritime or safety regulations and demonstrating an understanding of marine licensing activities, OREIs (wind, wave and tide) and oil and gas installations, and their impact on shipping and safe navigation.
  
  

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

The sift will take place week commencing 2nd February 2026

Stage 2: Interview

At interview stage, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

• Behaviours – (Making Effective Decisions, Communicating and Influencing, Managing a Quality Service, Delivering at Pace.)
  
  

You will also be required to create and deliver a presentation. Guidance will be provided if you are invited to interview.

The interviews will take place week commencing 23rd February 2026.

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

You can find out more about our hiring process, how to apply, and application and interview guidance on our careers site (opens in a new window).

Please note that we will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change.

Further information on the selection process

We will also hold a 12-month reserve list for this role, which may lead to potential opportunities beyond the role you applied for. You can read more about our reserve lists here.

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 governme

nt.

All External Applicants And Current Employees Of Accredited Non-departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs) Will Be Required To Undergo a Social Media Check. A Social Media Check Is a Review Of Your Publicly Available Online Activity, Typically Across Platforms Like LinkedIn, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, And Others. The Purpose Is To Identify Any Public Posts Or Content That Could Raise Concerns For Employers, Such As:

Hate speech or discriminatory behaviour

Threats or acts of violence

Illegal activity or substance misuse

Sexually explicit material

Extremist views or affiliations

Importantly, this check does not involve hacking into your accounts or accessing private messages. It only considers content you have chosen to make public.

Employers use this kind of screening to help ensure their workplace remains safe, inclusive, and aligned with company values. It’s not about judging your personality or lifestyle—it’s about checking for potential red flags that might affect the role or company culture.

If you have questions or concerns about the social media check, we would be happy to explain in more detail what’s being looked at and how your data is handled securely and fairly.

Feedback

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

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

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.

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.

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.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job Contact :

• Name : Helen Croxson
• Email : helen.croxson@mcga.gov.uk
  
  

Recruitment team

• Email : dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
  
  

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact Government Recruitment Services via email: dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website Here