Chief Coastguard

The Chief Coastguard is the senior operational leader of HM Coastguard and one of the most significant emergency service leadership roles in the United Kingdom. As the professional head of the UK’s national maritime emergency service, the role is accountable for the readiness, resilience, effectiveness and future development of a complex, nationally distributed operation that protects life, safeguards the marine environment and provides critical national resilience capability.

The role combines strategic leadership, emergency service command, organisational transformation and Government engagement. Operating at Executive and national strategic level, the Chief Coastguard provides leadership for a service that responds to incidents ranging from individual life-saving rescues to major maritime disasters, security incidents, environmental emergencies and civil contingencies.

The Chief Coastguard is responsible for ensuring HM Coastguard is appropriately structured, resourced and equipped to deliver the United Kingdom’s Coastal State responsibilities and Government priorities, while preparing for future challenges including climate change, technological advancement, evolving security threats, increased maritime activity and changing public expectations.

The role requires an exceptional leader capable of inspiring a national workforce, influencing at the highest levels of Government, and providing strategic direction during periods of significant operational pressure, national emergencies and organisational change. The leadership challenge is significant: to sustain operational readiness across a geographically dispersed workforce; maintain morale, confidence and professional standards; lead cultural and operational change; and provide visible, credible leadership in moments of acute public, operational and Government scrutiny.

Reporting directly into the Chief Operating Officer, key responsibilities will include:

National emergency service leadership

• Lead the United Kingdom's national maritime emergency service, ensuring delivery of a resilient, trusted and effective 24/7 operational capability.
• Provide strategic leadership and command during major incidents, national emergencies and periods of heightened operational risk.
• Maintain and strengthen HM Coastguard's role within the UK's emergency response and national resilience architecture.
• Provide confidence to Ministers, Government and the public regarding the capability, resilience and performance of HM Coastguard.

Strategic leadership and transformation

• Develop and deliver a compelling long-term vision for HM Coastguard, setting strategic priorities that keep the organisation fit for purpose in a rapidly changing risk environment.
• Drive organisational transformation, innovation and technological modernisation while maintaining operational excellence and public confidence.
• Balance immediate operational demands with long-term capability development, investment decisions and future operating model requirements.

Delivery of Coastal State responsibilities

• Ensure effective delivery of the United Kingdom's statutory, national and international obligations across all Coastguard functions.
• Maintain strategic oversight of Coastguard services, ensuring they remain effective, compliant, resilient and aligned with emerging risks, Government expectations and international developments.
• Provide assurance on performance, capability and resilience to the MCA Executive Committee, Ministers and Government.

National resilience and civil contingencies

• Lead HM Coastguard's contribution to national resilience and emergency preparedness arrangements, including significant maritime incidents, environmental emergencies and major national events.
• Work collaboratively with Category 1 and Category 2 responders to assess emerging risks, strengthen preparedness and maintain effective exercising, training and business continuity arrangements.

Operational assurance, standards and learning

• Set and maintain clear operational standards, doctrine, policies and procedures across HM Coastguard, ensuring consistency, professionalism and compliance across all operational disciplines.
• Provide robust assurance that HM Coastguard's operational capability, resilience, business continuity and risk controls remain effective and fit for purpose.
• Ensure lessons from incidents, exercises, audits, investigations and reviews are acted on and embedded into operational practice, capability development and continuous improvement.
• Champion a learning culture that supports safe, effective and accountable operational delivery across a complex national emergency service.

Strategic partnerships and influence

• Build and maintain influential relationships across Government, industry and the wider emergency response community, representing HM Coastguard nationally and internationally.
• Strengthen collaboration with partner organisations including the RNLI, emergency services, Defence, Border Force, devolved administrations, industry partners and international coastguard organisations.
• Influence national policy, capability development and future resilience arrangements affecting UK maritime safety.

Leadership, culture and stewardship

• Inspire a culture of professionalism, accountability, inclusion, wellbeing, continuous improvement and operational excellence.
• Develop high-performing leaders capable of operating in complex and pressured environments and build organisational capability and workforce resilience for the future.
• Ensure effective stewardship of significant public resources, infrastructure and operational assets, aligning resources and investment decisions to risk, demand and strategic priorities.
• Deliver value for money while maintaining operational effectiveness, service resilience and future capability.

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)

Please submit your CV to Michael Page using the following link Chief Coastguard - JN-112026-7139453 , Page Executive by 23:55 on 11th December.

The panel will select a shortlist of candidates whose applications best demonstrate their suitability for the role who will then be invited to assessment.​

As part of the application process, a CV is required which will evidence your experience against the following criteria:

1.Proven ability to lead organisational and cultural change at a strategic level.

2.Outstanding leadership of remote diverse multi-discipline teams and the ability to lead, motivate and empower.

3.A dynamic record of success working at a senior level which has involved extensive networking, developing, and managing relationships with complex stakeholders.

4.Proven track record of strategic operational effectiveness, improvement and delivery.

5.A demonstrable ability to understand complex stakeholder environments and to develop the levels of influence necessary to deliver challenging change agendas.

Expected Timeline

We will try and offer as much flexibility as we can, but it may not be possible to offer alternative dates for assessments or interviews. You are therefore asked to note the below timetable, exercising flexibility through the recruitment and selection process, in order to meet the dates given. Please note that these dates may be subject to change.

The anticipated timetable is as follows:

Advert Closing Date – 23:55 Friday 11th December 2026.

Shortlist – W/C 14th December 2026

Assessments - W/C 4th January 2027

Briefing Exercise & Interview - W/C 18th January 2027

Further Information

If your application is successful but you have been dismissed from the Civil Service, your application could be removed at the pre-employment checking stage depending on the nature of the dismissal.

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.

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