Locks Operative

Vacancy – Lock Operative

Are you seeking a role where every day is different, your skills are constantly evolving, and you’re working as part of a close-knit, supportive team? We’re seeking a Lock Operative at Chatham Docks to support the safe operation of locks and vessel movements.

Your role

As a Lock Operative, you’ll play a vital role in our dockside operations, ensuring the safe and efficient movement and berthing of a diverse range of vessels. You will operate the locks to support smooth vessel traffic, mooring vessels and directing them safely to berth.

You will communicate with crews and other dock teams, performing general site maintenance, from inspections, general machinery maintenance to grounds maintenance, escalating issues where needed and ensuring safety systems of work are followed.

You’ll play a hands-on role in supporting vessels carrying a range of commodities, helping keep our operations running safely and efficiently.

What you\’ll bring

You’ll come from a range of backgrounds and experiences, demonstrating:

• Strong communication skills;
• Being comfortable working both independently and as part of a team;
• Ability to work in confined spaces;
• Flexibility to adapt to changing shipping schedules;
• Ideally, you’ll have a VHF radio licence;
• Ideally, you’ll have a MCA/RYA commercial boat certification;
• An understanding of lock or shipping operations is a bonus, but not essential;
• Basic computer skills;
• General engineering knowledge is a bonus, but not essential.

Who are we?

Already one of the UK’s leading port and logistics companies, we are planning substantial capital investment over the next 5 years to achieve our vision of becoming the UK’s leading port operator. We have ambitious plans to grow and transform the supply chain to benefit our customers. Our investmentsare decarbonizing our operations, which in turn is helping us work towards our goal of having Net Zero Port Operations by 2040. Much of our success depends on our unrivalled facilities and technology. But in our sector, it comes down to having the right talent to enable our organisation to grow.

What we can offer you

In addition to a competitive salary, we have a strong track record of developing our people to expand their skills and experience and develop their careers. Valuing and rewarding our workforce is important to us which is why we offer a fantastic range of flexible benefits to choose from, such as:

• 27 days holiday per annum (plus bank holidays)
• Average of 45 hours per week, worked on the basis of an annualised hours shift pattern (equivalent of 2340 hours per annum)
• Matched Contribution Pension Scheme up to 10%
• Peel Ports Flexible Benefits including salary sacrifice car scheme, healthcare cash plans, Cycle2Work Scheme, critical illness insurance, gyms, retail vouchers
• Commitment to learning and personal development
• We promote good physical and mental health and can provide additional support to colleagues via our employee assistance programme when required

If you believe you have the skills and experience we are seeking and you want to join a thriving and ambitious place to work, we’d really like to hear from you! Closing date for receipt of completed applications is 29th May 2025.