Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry – Ferry Crew Support

Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee (TBTF) seek to appoint a Ferry Crew Support to join the team at the Torpoint Ferry. This is an exciting opportunity for a confident individual with good communication skills, to provide excellent customer service in a unique environment, offering longer term opportunity for advancement within the ferry service and generous benefits.

Who we are

Tamar Crossings is responsible for the management, operation, maintenance and administration of the two crossings over the River Tamar – Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry. With approx. 26,000 vehicles travelling with us every day, we play an important part in the local infrastructure, creating a link between Plymouth, Devon and South East Cornwall.

The Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry are jointly owned by Cornwall Council and Plymouth City Council. The operation, maintenance and improvement of the crossings are funded through tolls charged. The Torpoint Ferry is the largest chain ferry service and busiest estuarial vehicular crossing in the UK, whilst the Tamar Bridge provides a link on the busy A38 Trunk Road for more than 14 million vehicles a year. The crossings operate a successful electronic tolling scheme which is used to pay the toll by 60% of vehicles crossing.

At the Torpoint Ferry we provide a service to approximately 2.5 million vehicles and 750k pedestrians and cyclists per year. Three ferries provide a 24-hour/365 day a year service as an essential transport link for the South East Cornwall, its residents and businesses.

The three chain ferries come under Maritime and Coastguard Agency regulations and are in class with Lloyds Register. They are unique vessels presenting a wide range of both engineering and operational challenges. A combination of varying weather conditions, customer demand, vehicle traffic density and shipping movements on the river Tamar make for a dynamic environment where no two days are the same.

Our staff are critical in the operation of the crossings, and we are committed to attracting and retaining talent, providing opportunities for personal and professional development all whilst supporting the local community. Ferry Crew Support have an essential role in delivery of the ferry service which consists of nine crews.

• 1 x Supervisor: Shift and line managers based in a Control Tower either side of the river.
• 1 x Controller: Ferry Skipper and crew line manager.
• 1 Mechanical Assistant: Maintaining and monitoring the Engine room.
• 2 x Collectors: Coordinating the safe loading/unloading and collecting toll fees.
• 2 x Crew Support: Cleaning the ferries/slipways and assisting Collectors.

What we expect

Tamar Crossings are a local government employer that offer careers with stimulating opportunities for development and progression. In return the successful candidate will be expected to display and deliver the highest standards of conduct and professionalism including personal appearance, fidelity, integrity and equality in every role.

Based at the Torpoint Ferry the Ferry Crew Support role is a customer facing role which is integral to the delivery of excellent customer service to the travelling public. The successful candidate will be immediately trained to support crew in maintaining the ferries’ safety, hygiene and comfort and soon after will be trained to cover the Collector role. Once trained Ferry Crew Support are required to ‘act up’ regularly as a Collector, as well as other roles, and after gaining sufficient experience and knowledge, opportunity may arise to apply for progression.

The main duties and responsibilities include:

• Carrying out routine cleaning to a high standard of all ferry compartments, including passenger accommodation, crew cabin and all public walkways.
• Carrying out routine cleaning of the ferry infrastructure to a high standard. This will include: general cleaning tasks in the control towers, ensuring slipways are kept free from debris and safe for transit by foot passengers and vehicles ensuring a safe operation.
• Support boat operations used to transfer ferry staff to the ferry at the start and end of shifts. Includes the pulling of the ropes used to move the boat to the ferry and back to the slipway as required.
• Control the safe and expedient loading and unloading of pedestrian and vehicles in accordance with published operating procedures and as directed by senior staff.
• Deal with, or assist with, any emergency situations that arise, following emergency operating procedures or under the direction of incident managers. These duties include pulling of ropes, throwing of lifebuoys, handling of buoyancy aids, carrying and use of fire extinguishers and fire hoses, opening and closing of valves and ability to get through escape hatches and climb a vertical escape ladder from the Engine Room.
• Act as relief staff for other roles as required (This may attract enhanced payments in accordance with local agreements where training and sufficient competency is met).

The skills you will need

The person specification gives a high level of detail of which skills and what experience we are looking for in the successful candidate. In the first instance, you must be able to demonstrate:

• Basic IT skills (email and Office 365 packages).
• Good communications skills.
• Ability to follow technical/general instructions.
• Ability to respond positively to changing operational demands.
• Ability to develop and maintain a good working relationship amongst colleagues.
• Pro-active and assertive.
• Experience of working in a customer service environment.
• Ability to write clearly and comprehensively.
• Attention to detail and good record keeping.
• Experience of working within general Policies and Procedures.

What else you need to know

The Ferry crews work to a 9-week cyclical rota which consists of early shifts (06:00 – 14:00), late shifts (14:00 – 22:00), as well as one week of consecutive night shifts (22:00 – 06:00) in the cycle. The shifts include weekend, evening and bank holiday working.

Ferry Crew Support shift patterns do vary slightly to the above detail, and they are not routinely required to work the night shift, although once trained they support crew by ‘acting up’ on night shifts as a Collector, which attracts associated pay benefits. We run a dynamic shift rota involving over 60 staff and although the primary role is cleaning duties there are regular opportunities for Ferry Crew Support to cover Collector shifts as a result of staff absence (i.e. during staff leave, training, meetings and sickness etc.). This may involve half or full shift cover; all cover and overtime is managed on a fair basis. Ability to consistently demonstrate high standards in both cleaning and crew support duties is essential.

You will be required to climb steep and narrow stairs and access low and confined spaces, therefore a level of physical fitness is required. Due to the safety critical nature of the roles, the successful candidate will be required to meet a medical standard and are subject to random and with cause, drugs and alcohol testing.

£31,796.88 per annum based on 37.4 hrs/week (37 hours per week and 0.4 hours contracted overtime)

Regular pay award for all employees negotiated by the National Joint Council (NJC)

Local Government Pension Scheme – employer and employee contributions – currently 20% employer contribution

A minimum of 25 days annual leave (or hours equivalent), pro-rata to contract and shift allowances, plus public/bank holidays.

Staff travel card for free crossings of the Tamar Bridge and the Torpoint Ferry

24/7 access to Employee Assistance Programme for you and your family

Generous family friendly policies including shared parental leave, contractual maternity, paternity and adoption

Uniform and PPE provided – washing and drying facilities available for use on site

Learning and Development opportunities

Interested? Applications will only be accepted on the official application form available on the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry website. Letters, CV’s, or other alternative methods will not be accepted. Presentation of the application form is important and may be assessed as part of the short-listing process.

Closing date: 09:00 on 7th July 2025

Anticipated Interviews: w/c 21st July 2025

To learn more about this exciting opportunity, or for an informal conversation, please contact Claudine Jones, Operations Manager, on 01752 812233. If you have not heard anything by 25th July 2025 please assume you have been unsuccessful. We are sorry but due to the expected volume of applicants we are unable to inform people individually or give feedback to people who are not successful in reaching the interview stages.