Head of Registration Regulations Reform

Are you ready to lead on consultation and research, pull different strands together, take apart whats not working and write something new?

Can you turn complex legislation into practical, modern services that deliver real impact for customers?

Do you have the strategic leadership skills to guide a nationally significant transformation with legal, operational and reputational complexity?

Are you confident influencing at senior levels to resolve complex, cross-government challenges?

If so, wed love to hear from you!

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is seeking a Head of Registration Regulations Reform implement the governments maritime safety policy in the United Kingdom (UK) and works to prevent the loss of life and occurrence of pollution on the coast and at sea.

You will join the Directorate of UK Customer Maritime Services (UKCMS) which is responsible for the Registry of Shipping and Seafarers, Seafarer Certification, Seafarer Examinations, Seafarer Safety and Health, Business Transformation and Customer Insight, the Innovation Hub and the UK Shipping Concierge. The Directorate is responsible for the registration of all vessels on the UK Flag operating globally, provides support to UK seafarers working in the UK and internationally, issues certificates and conducts examinations for seafarers, represents the UK maritime offer, as well as horizon scanning for future regulatory change required in the maritime sector.

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 Kings 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 the Head of Registration Regulations Reform, you will provide strategic leadership and overall accountability for the development and delivery of a programme to repeal and replace the Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships) Regulations.

You will set the direction for reform, ensuring the future regulatory framework is legally robust, operationally deliverable and aligned to wider UK maritime, transformation and government priorities, while managing significant legal, reputational and delivery risk.

You will sit within the Business Transformation and Customer Insight function, ensuring that regulatory reform is fully aligned with service design, customer outcomes and digital transformation, translating legislative change into modern, effective and sustainable services.

Your responsibilities will include, but arent limited to:

1. Setting the strategic direction, scope and objectives for the Registration Regulations reform, ensuring alignment with UKCMS transformation priorities and DfT policy intent.
2. Translating complex legal, policy and operational issues into a clear, outcome-focussed reform strategy.
3. Providing leadership across the Directorate and wider MCA to establish a shared understanding of priorities, risks and delivery approach.
4. Acting as the Senior Responsible Owner for the reform programme, accountable for delivery, governance, risk and benefits realisation.
5. Establishing and maintaining effective programme structures, ensuring clarity of accountability, pace and delivery confidence.
6. Overseeing the development of legislative solutions, including statutory instruments and associated mechanisms, ensuring coherence, quality and legal integrity.
7. Building and maintaining effective relationships with DfT, legal advisers, internal and external stakeholders, and senior MCA leaders, influencing and negotiating as required.
8. Ensuring regulatory reform is fully aligned with service transformation, customer experience and digital delivery, avoiding disconnect between legislation and operational reality.
9. Sponsoring the translation of legislative change into practical services, processes, guidance and user-facing products, working closely with transformation, digital and operational teams.
10. Providing oversight and control of legal, operational and reputational risk, ensuring proportionate and effective mitigations.
11. Fostering a culture of delivery discipline, collaboration and continuous improvement within the team.

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.

Required Experience:

To be successful in this role you will need to have the following experience:

1. Strong track record of leading complex, high-risk programmes or regulatory/policy change in a government or comparable environment.
2. Ability to operate effectively in ambiguous and evolving contexts, setting direction where clarity is not yet established.
3. Proven ability to influence and build credibility with senior stakeholders across organisational and professional boundaries.
4. Experience of managing risk, governance and assurance in high-profile or sensitive work areas.
5. Excellent judgement and ability to communicate complex issues clearly to non-specialist audiences.

Additional Information

This post is offered on a Fixed Term Appointment (FTA) basis to complete a finite piece of work, however this may be extended or made permanent.

Permanent Civil Servants will be appointed on an inward loan and subject to the terms of the agreed inward loan. You must have your home departments approval to return to them at the end of the loan before you apply. Internal candidates will return to their previous post at the end of the loan period, which will need to be agreed with your line manager in advance. If your home department cannot agree to release you on loan, there is the opportunity for you to move across to the department on a fixed term appointment. In this instance the Department for Transport would become your home department and if there is no role available for you at the end of this appointment, you would be subject to the redeployment and redundancy process.

If you're employed by a non-departmental public body (NDPB) by moving jobs this will involve a change of employer and you may break the statutory rules on continuity of employment.

Working hours, office attendance and travel requirements

Full time roles consist of 37 hours per week.

Whilst we welcome applications from those looking to work with us on a part time basis, there is a business requirement for the successful candidate to be able to work at least 30 hours per week.

This role is suitable for hybrid working, which is a non-contractual arrangement where a combination of workplace and home-based working can be accommodated subject to business requirements.

The expectation at present is a minimum of 60% of your working time a month will be spent at either your designated workplace (one of the locations cited in the advert) or, when required for business reasons, in another office/work location/visiting stakeholders. Your designated workplace will be your contractual place of work. There may be occasions where you are required to attend above the minimum expectation.

Regular travel to other offices will be required, which may involve overnight stays.

If you have a question about hybrid working, part time/job share hours, flexible working, travelling for work, or require a reasonable adjustment, please contact the Vacancy Holder during the recruitment process to avoid possible disappointment later in the process should your working arrangements not be compatible with the requirements of the role (see below for contact details).

Visa Sponsorship

Please note that we will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa where a role has been deemed to be business critical. This role does not meet that category, and we will not sponsor a visa. Therefore, this role is not open to applications from those who require sponsorship candidates must ensure they have the appropriate right to work in the UK before applying. Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.