Senior Station Technician / Station Technician - Kirkwall

About Us

Our purpose is simple: to save lives at sea. 24 hours a day, every day, RNLI lifesavers are ready to launch to the rescue.

Position

Due to retirement, an opportunity is available to join Kirkwall Lifeboat Station as a Senior Station Technician or Station Technician. These roles suit someone with mechanical expertise, resilience, leadership, and management skills and a strong ability to keep Kirkwall Lifeboat Station in perfect operational order.

Benefits

• Senior Station Technician salary from £35,853 (dependent on experience)
• Station Technician salary from £29,951 (dependent on experience)
• 26 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• Competitive pension scheme
• Life assurance
• Health cash plan option

Your Role

The role of Senior Station Technician is focused on you if you have an NVQ L4 or SVQ L5 in an engineering discipline or have a time‑served engineering apprenticeship or a sound background and experience in mechanical, electrical or electronic engineering. If these qualifications or experience are not held you may be offered a Station Technician role instead. In either role most of your time will be spent ensuring that the Severn Class All Weather Lifeboat (ALB) is kept in the best possible condition and that the Lifeboat Station functions on a day‑to‑day basis. You will be involved in training volunteer crew members so that they, the lifeboat and you will be absolutely prepared for emergencies.

Responsibilities

• Inspire and motivate your team, support their development, conduct shore‑based training, identify ways they can improve and impart your valuable knowledge.
• Meet and talk to the general public about your station’s work.
• Lead on quality, safety, health and environment issues, helping to develop a positive culture within the station.
• Spend time in the day‑to‑day running of the Lifeboat Station, such as answering e‑mails, ensuring records are maintained and working with the Operations Team.

Qualifications

• Knowledge and experience of the operation, maintenance and repair of marine diesel engines.
• Engineering background and mindset.
• Demonstrated leadership and management qualities and the ability to motivate and maximize people’s potential.
• Potential to be a passed‑out as an RNLI Afloat Mechanic.
• Experience of fulfilling a Lifeboat Mechanic role or equivalent, with the capacity and willingness to develop skills in other areas of seagoing duties.
• Maritime mechanical skills are not an absolute necessity; experience on cars, HGVs, agricultural, plant or generators will be trained and adapted to suit our equipment.

Additional Requirements

• Valid driving licence.
• As this is a sea‑going appointment, you must meet the Institution’s medical and eyesight standards.
• This role is an emergency response role; successful candidates must live within a reasonable distance from the station and be prepared to respond to a pager 24/7 whilst on duty.

About You

You will have the ability to build effective relationships with volunteers at the Lifeboat Station, the local supporters and RNLI staff beyond. You will act as an ambassador for the station and the RNLI within the community. You will be personally motivated, prepared to work in isolation and as part of a team, keen to solve problems, drive your own development and support others to develop. You will have high quality interpersonal skills and the ability to build open and inclusive relationships. You will take pride in your work and be willing to ask for and receive feedback.

Commitment to Safeguarding and Diversity

The RNLI is committed to safeguarding, protecting a person’s health, wellbeing and human rights. We expect all employees and volunteers to share this commitment and have a zero‑tolerance approach. The suitability of all prospective employees and volunteers will be assessed during the recruitment process. This will include relevant criminal record checks, dependent on the eligibility of the role. Our staff and volunteers have been saving lives at sea without prejudice for 200 years. We respect and value diversity of background, skills and perspectives within our teams. We are an inclusive organisation and welcome applications from everyone. In addition to having the skills needed for the role, we also look for applicants who share our commitment to living our RNLI values (trustworthy, courageous, selfless, dependable) and helping us work towards our vision: to save Every One.