Certification Officer - Customer Service

Your role sits within Seafarer Operations, part of the UK Customer Maritime Services Directorate. Seafarer Operations centres around the Certification and Endorsement of seafarers, which is essentially a licence to allow them to work at sea and onboard vessels.
You will be providing class leading customer service as well as completing the assessment of applications from seafarers for marine examinations and subsequent Certificates of Competency or Flag State Endorsements. This is a customer-facing role and you will provide advice and assistance to applicants and existing Certificate or Endorsement holders.
As part of this service, you will review documents (training records, sea time, medical certificates etc.) from the applicant seafarer, assess the documents against a requirement criteria and, if the seafarer is eligible, issue the appropriate Certificate or Endorsement. Where further information is required, you will contact the seafarer to explain what is required.
Seafarer Services ensures the appropriate standards of seafarer training are maintained and that certificates and endorsements issued to seafarers comply with the relevant requirements. You will use your excellent attention to detail to accurately handle each application, ensuring a high standard of quality management whilst delivering at pace.
You will also contribute to and provide support for other administrative tasks and will be called upon to assist other teams with their workloads when required.
This is a great opportunity for someone who is looking to start their career within the MCA or the Civil Service. Full training will be provided to develop you into a multi-skilled Certification Officer. Therefore, you don’t need any maritime experience to join us, just a dedication to provide a high-quality service to the public.
The Seafarer Services phone lines are open to customers at the following times:
Monday - Friday 8.15am – 5.30pm
The role holder will be required to work within these opening hours on a rota basis. Start/finish times may be variable subject to business need.
Your responsibilities include but are not limited to:
+ Assessing applications to enable seafarers to sit Merchant Navy Yacht and Fishing Vessel Deck and Engineer oral examinations, contacting them to request further information where required.
+ Issuing Notices of Eligibility (NoE) or Notices of Assessment (NoA) to seafarers who are eligible to sit an oral examination and notifying seafarers who do not meet eligibility requirements by explaining why the criteria is not met.
+ Assessing applications for Certificates of Competency (CoC) and Flag State Endorsements (FSE) and issuing to seafarers who meet the qualification criteria.
+ Answering Certification telephone and email enquiries from seafarers, maritime colleges and shipping companies and provide class leading customer service.
For further information about the role and responsibilities, please see the attached role profile., Operational Delivery Profession (ODP) is the largest and most diverse professional community across the Civil Service. Many of us will have an association with several professional communities or specialisms, ODP applies to all public facing roles / or a role that is primarily aligned to supporting the work of those with public facing roles. All critical to the delivery of UK public services.

Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
+ Communicating and Influencing
+ Delivering at Pace
+ Managing a Quality Service
+ Working Together, As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a CV and 750 word personal statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
Within your CV and personal statement please demonstrate your knowledge and experience of:
+ Using Microsoft Office applications (Outlook, Word, Excel).
+ Working in a customer contact environment, providing excellent customer service via telephone and email.
+ Working with a high level of attention to detail to ensure work is of a high quality standard.
It is essential when submitting your personal statement that you provide as much detail as possible, and utilise the full word count given, against the essential criteria outlined above as this will be used in conjunction with your CV to assess candidate suitability to move to the next round in the recruitment process.
Sift and Interview Dates:
The sift is due to take place on 19th November 2024.
Interviews/assessments are likely to be held from 5th December 2024.
This interview will be conducted online via Teams. Further details will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.
We will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change. You will be provided with sufficient notice of the confirmed dates.
The selection process will be designed specifically for the role. As a result, your assessment will include:
+ An interview.
You’re encouraged to become familiar with the role profile, as you may be assessed against any of the criteria recorded within.
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., 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.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

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.

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.

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).

Apply and further information
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.

Do you have a keen eye for detail and an interest in Maritime?
Do you enjoy building relationships and working with colleagues and customers alike?
Are you passionate about providing outstanding customer service?
Would you say you are self-driven and motivated person? Someone who enjoys working in a fast-paced environment?, You will be a highly motivated, positive and an enthusiastic individual with a flexible attitude and a keen willingness to learn. You will have excellent organisational skills and time management skills with the ability to complete a range of interesting tasks within agreed timescales. You take great pride in the quality of your work and are experienced in following processes closely, ensuring your attention to detail is thorough and of consistently high standard.
You will have worked in a customer contact environment, providing excellent customer service via telephone and email. Passionate about providing a fantastic service, you continually strive to ensure customers’ experience is positive. You have excellent interpersonal and communication skills and can deliver information professionally, clearly and confidently both verbally and in writing. You will have excellent IT skills and a demonstrable knowledge in the use of Microsoft packages, in particular Microsoft Outlook, Excel and Word.
You are an effective multi-tasker, who is proactive in developing your skills and knowledge, so you can support the wider business in meeting its objectives. You will be team player with the ability to work on your own initiative and under pressure.
About Operational Delivery Profession (ODP)

If so, we are looking for a Certification Officer to join us at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and 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.
We are committed to giving all our colleagues purpose, professionalism and pride in what we do. We work in supportive, diverse and inclusive teams.
We want everyone to feel valued and supported to achieve their potential at MCA.
This culture of inclusion is underpinned by our staff networks groups covering, Women’s, LGBTQI+, Race, Carers, Mental Wellbeing and volunteer Respect Ambassadors.

Alongside your salary of £23,847, Maritime and Coastguard Agency contributes £6,908 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. We offer generous annual leave, attractive pension options, flexible working, inclusive working environments and much more to support a healthy work/life balance.