Waterway Operative, sharpness Port

Location

Berkeley, Gloucestershire | United Kingdom

Job description

Job Title: Waterway Operative

Advertised Salary: £21,742 with salary progression + 42% base salary local allowance + benefits

Location: Sharpness Port

The Canal & River Trust is one of the UK’s largest charities, we maintain 2,000 miles of historic canals, rivers, docks and reservoirs, along with museums, archives and the country’s third largest collection of protected historic buildings – preserving them for future generations. Our waterways are exciting, vibrant places to work. As a Waterway   Operative at the Port of Sharpness and the Gloucester Sharpness Canal, you will play an important role helping us operate, improve, maintain, and preserve our wonderful waterway network for our customers to enjoy today and into the future.

Most of your working time is spent in our unique and wonderful outdoor environment. Your daily tasks will vary and contribute to the operation, maintenance, conservation, and improvement of the business unit’s waterway network for customers, local communities and visitors to enjoy.

Our Waterway Operatives at Sharpness Port are required to work a tidal rota of approx. 6 days on and 4 days off, which includes split-shifts and night work to provide a 24/7 Port operationThis will require some weekend working. You will also be part of a 24-hour operational standby team responsible for providing emergency cover for the Port and waterway. This flexibility is important in allowing us to respond to critical needs when they occur. 

Working annualised hours of 1931.4 takes the average working week to just over 37 hours . As the Port is tidal, the typical work pattern has Waterway Operatives working tidal watches and attending for line-handing duties around High Water (HW) times over their 6 days on. Timings are approx. HW-5hrs to HW+1hr on watches, where you will coordinate vessel movements, and HW-3hrs to HW+½hr for line-handling duties. This pattern is broken up with periods on day work, typically 0800-1500. There is flexibility in the rota, such that you will not be required to attend night time high water periods when there is no planned traffic.

This vacancy has arisen due to a planned colleague retirement. The successful applicant will therefore shadow an experienced colleague as they run-down toward that retirement. As well as an induction and basic training, the successful applicant will learn the job through on-the-job experience and regular assessment/feedback sessions.

Location & coverage

Reporting to the base at Sharpness Port . Occasionally you may also be required to work in other areas of the Wales & South West . 

See our network here:

This is predominantly an outdoor role. We love the outdoors at Canal & River Trust, and it's so important that as a member of the Waterway Operative team you enjoy all weathers! The commercial shipping operation continues in all weathers.

Working in and around our Port and canal, operating locks, boats, bridges and weirs, your role will be to provide excellent service to a variety of customers and visitors, with the safety of yourself and colleagues and all who use our waterways at the forefront of your mind. Demonstrating pragmatism, your practical mind and approach will solve issues safely as and when they occur. 

Key responsibilities:

• To work safely to Trust procedures and systems of work.
• Provide customer service through operation of the Trust’s assets (e.g. locks and bridges) in a safe and timely manner.
• Responding appropriately to enquiries to maximise customer satisfaction.
  • Tending mooring ropes during lock transits and berthing/sailing of vessels.
  • Reporting of faults and unsafe conditions to team leaders.
  • Assisting in emergency operations under supervision.
• Working outside, carry out maintenance and repair works to the Port/waterway infrastructure, to maximise network availability.
• To protect the natural and historic environment associated with the Port and waterways by ensuring their consideration during all works.
• Provide a first level of response for reactive works to ensure the safety of customers and the availability of the network, participating in an on-call rota as required.
• Work alongside and supervise volunteers , to deliver high quality works, maintaining and building on our high levels of volunteer satisfaction.
• Undertake work in a productive and efficient manner delivering the work to the correct standard and agreed programme.
• Assist in the planning of all work to ensure the correct equipment, materials and plant resources.
• Always display the Trust values and behaviours, linked to professionalism and inclusion. 

About you

It is essential that our new team members can settle in and enjoy the varied work we perform, so you really must love physical outdoor work all year round and have a genuine appreciation for respecting the needs of nature, environment and our millions of waterway visitors. Our Ports and waterways are not just for short visits by day users or holidaymakers, thousands of community members live on our boats all year and you will be playing a role in caring for their home, their space.

You might have practical skills and many years of working experience to offer, or you may just be starting out in your career and looking for a role which calls on your practical nature. You don't need to be an expert in any field, but you will be able to demonstrate that you hold the values and behaviours that ensure our customers and visitors know we care.

Technical: 

• Able to work to agreed safe systems of work, present government legislation and Trust policies and procedures.
• You will demonstrate great care in the quality and standard of your work. 
• You will be a good communicator and have excellent customer service awareness - you will be the face of the Canal & River Trust in our Port and on our waterways and will handle all communication with respect.
• Basic literacy and numeracy skills (Maths and English GCSE or equivalent).
• Experience working in manual/construction/outdoor environments, desirable - paid work or as a volunteer (outdoors related, environmental related, customer service etc).
• Experience using of plant/tools and equipment beneficial - training will be given to use appropriate plant/tools to maintain the port/waterway environment.

General:

• Must be committed and have a proactive attitude to Health and Safety and to the Port and waterway environment.
• Can work alone on occasions, however thrives as part of a team to deliver a common goal.
• Evidence that you can work or deliver activity to a plan/schedule (can be hourly/daily/weekly). 
• Willing to be flexible to assist with rapidly changing work requirements.
• Must reside within a reasonable travelling time of Sharpness.
• Must be willing to undertake shift work and be a good timekeeper.
• Willing to work in poor weather conditions to provide marine operations to the port’s customers.
• Basic IT skills - comfortable with modern handheld mobile devices for making calls, inputting information, and use of mobile applications etc.
• Valid UK driving licence (held ideally minimum 3 years) as you will be expected to drive company liveried vehicles as part of the role.

Advantageous:

• Safety qualification such as IOSH or CHIPS.
• First aid qualification.
• A knowledge of port operations and the marine industry.
• Knowledge of typical mooring arrangements of commercial shipping.
• Knowledge of marine terminology.
• Knowledge of the proper use of VHF radios.

To apply :

Click on the "Apply for this job" button and follow the process - complete the application form & upload current CV.

If you have any questions about the role please contact [email protected]

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient suitable applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

All our waterway operatives step up their salary through a salary progression plan. Starting at £21,742 .  A Sharpness port local allowance of 42% of base salary will also be applicable. 

Further to salary offered, the Canal & River Trust offers a competitive contributory DC Pension scheme arrangement, great holiday entitlement (increasing with years of service) and numerous other employee benefits, including several salary sacrifice benefits, all of which can be found here (  These include:

• Competitive contributory DC Pension scheme arrangement, where we will double your contribution to a maximum of 10%.
• 25 days paid holiday (plus paid Bank Holidays), increasing to 30 days after 5 years.
• Annual £200 personal learning & growth award to spend on any learning related activity.
• Free access to specialist counselling on a range of issues, e.g. health, financial, well-being and domestic matters.
• Access to a range of employee benefits including store discounts, boating holiday discounts and holiday purchase scheme.
• 2 days paid volunteering leave per annum, allowing you to volunteer for a local community project etc.
• Free fishing facilities across our canal network.

At the Trust we care passionately for our waterways, and as importantly, for those who look after and use them. We strongly believe that a diverse workforce brings with it a diversity of ideas, thinking and ways of working which enhances what we do as a Trust. We are striving to represent the diverse communities that we are a part of and welcome applicants from across all sectors of the community.

All candidates will be treated on the basis of their merits, skills and abilities and solely by being assessed against the requirements for the job.

When you join the Canal & River Trust you become a member of an engaged team working to preserve our heritage for future generations. Come and share your passion and knowledge with a team that makes a difference to millions of people every day.

Find out more about us on our website:

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Salary

£21.74k per annum