First Mate/Standby Skipper Res. Vessel

Salary: £31,236 to £32,080 with progression to £34,610 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 31 October 2025

The Role

As First Mate and Standby Skipper, you will play a key role in supporting the research and teaching activities of the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences. Working under the direction of the Master of the Research Vessel, you will provide technical expertise on the School's Research Vessel and associated support facilities at Blyth.

You will act as standby Skipper in the Master's absence, ensuring safe navigation, crew management, and operational leadership. Alongside this, you will contribute to the maintenance and safe operation of the vessel, associated small craft, and research equipment, supporting staff, students, and external partners in their use.

This role is central to ensuring the safe, efficient, and effective delivery of world-class marine research and teaching.

Please note that if you are successful to this role, you will require medical clearance before you can commence in the role

For enquiries on this post, please email Neil Armstrong -

Key Accountabilities

• Assist the Master of the Vessel and technical team leaders in the day-to-day operation of facilities, equipment, and marine infrastructure
• Undertake fault diagnosis, testing, repair, calibration, and preventative maintenance of relevant equipment
• Ensure compliance with health, safety, and environmental regulations, including safe handling and disposal of hazardous materials, and contribute to risk assessments
• Provide training and guidance to staff, postgraduate and undergraduate students, and technical colleagues, ensuring safe and effective working practices
• Support project activities, including sampling exercises of marine organisms, after appropriate training
• Liaise with the Master, PIs, and research staff to identify and procure equipment and consumables, ensuring accurate financial record-keeping
• Design, adapt, and maintain sampling and operational equipment to meet research and teaching requirements
• Act as Skipper in the Master's absence, taking full responsibility for safe navigation, vessel operations, and crew management
• Contribute to the effective running of associated facilities at Blyth and Dove Marine Centre
• Carry out any other duties consistent with the scope and nature of the role

The Person

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Substantial work experience in a relevant marine vessel role
• Thorough working knowledge of Health and Safety procedures, with the ability to apply them in a marine setting
• Demonstrates good organisational skills with the ability to prioritise tasks, meet deadlines, and maintain high levels of accuracy and attention to detail
• Extensive operational experience of inshore vessels, including inshore fishing and familiarity with the North East coastline

Desirable

• Experience in design and specification of research and teaching activities

Attributes and Behaviour

• A strong team player with excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Demonstrates technical and problem solving capability
• Able to make safe, timely and practical decisions in dynamic environments, particularly when acting as Skipper at sea
• Capable of balancing priorities across maintenance, teaching and research demands

Qualifications

• Apprenticeship in an appropriate subject with extensive technical experience; or BTEC level 4 / HNC / HND; or A' level (or equivalent) with broad technical work experience gained through progressively demanding roles
• RYA Yacht Master Offshore commercial endorsement or equivalent
• ENG1 Medical

• Successful completion of courses relating to:

• Seafishing

• Bridge Watchkeeping
• Engine Watchkeeping
• Safe use of Lifting Equipment
• Ship Stability
• Use of VHF Radio

Desirable

Required for commercial charter activity, however training can be provided for the following:

• STCW Personal Survival Techniques
• STCW Basic First Aid
• STCW Fire Fighting
• Lifting and Slinging
• HIAB Marine Tech Training

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a gold Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC. We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.

Requisition ID: 28679