Are you experienced in leading specialist technical teams, managing risk and budgets, and turning strategic vision into measurable safety outcomes? Do you want to play a pivotal leadership role at the heart of the Maritime & Coastguard Agency, driving high standards, inclusion and regulatory excellence? Can you shape the UK’s maritime safety and environmental standards on a national and international stage? If so, we’d love to hear from you! The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is seeking an Assistant Director Technical Standards. 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. This opportunity sits within the Directorate of UK Technical Maritime Services (UKTMS) which is responsible for the UK's Flag and Port State function including the survey and inspection operations, the UK's safety, security and environmental regulatory regimes, navigational safety, and civil hydrography programme. The Directorate is responsible for all vessels registered on the UK flag operating anywhere in the world, the UK's domestic passenger ship and fishing vessel fleet, and foreign flagged vessels in UK waters. 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 and 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: Maritime and Coastguard Agency - Department for Transport Careers As Assistant Director Technical Standards, you will provide strategic leadership and oversight across the Technical Standards function within UKTMS, ensuring the development and implementation of effective maritime regulations and standards that promote safety, sustainability, and innovation. You will drive high performance, foster a culture of accountability and inclusion, and ensure alignment with national and international maritime objectives. You will support the Deputy Director Technical Services in shaping strategic direction, workforce planning, and stakeholder engagement, while maintaining regulatory excellence and safety. Your responsibilities will include, but aren’t limited to: Responsibility for the Technical Standards team ensuring delivery of effective regulations and standards, building regulatory best practice within the team in the following areas: Cargoes, Safety and Pollution Prevention Clean Ship Operations Fishing Vessel Safety Ship Safety Ship Construction and Equipment Providing leadership to the team and the wider Agency and create an environment in which all staff embrace individual accountability and professional responsibility.Work with the Deputy Director to develop strategic direction and priorities, ensuring alignment with wider MCA and UKTMS plans and objectives.Developing the team to be able to effectively differentiate between the needs of different types of stakeholders (e.g. CEOs, Ministers, Customers) and tailor communication accordingly. Contributing to the delivery of a regulatory climate that is clear, consistent and supportive of the UK maritime industries and ensures that the UK has standards and regulations which safeguard ships, seafarers, the environment, and the public.Ensuring objectives, regulations, and guidance relating to technical standards are developed in accordance with the Government's consultation procedures in a timely manner.Providing advice and decisions to industry and public in accordance with MCA standards and procedures. Collaborating with other Assistant Directors to explore and develop opportunities enabling UKTMS to be at the forefront of creating, improving and implementing new and existing domestic and international Standards on safety, sustainability and innovation. Providing leadership to UKTMS as the Directorate drives forward with fundamental changes and improvement to safety in the fishing sector. Representing UKTMS and the MCA at stakeholder meetings at International, National, and Local Level. Great line management is important to us as an organisation, and we will equip and support line managers to develop the skills they need. We aim to empower line managers to create teams where people can flourish and deliver excellent outcomes for the public. For further information on the role, please read the 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. Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme Disability Confident About Disability Confident A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident .