Ocean Youth Trust South is looking for a new Staff Skipper for our beautiful 105-foot sail training vessel Prolific:
This is an exciting opportunity to take command of a superb vessel and play a leading role in changing lives and giving young people – many of them disadvantaged or vulnerable – the skills to succeed in life.
It is very important to the charity to find the right person for this key role, and Ocean Youth Trust South has used two very different routes to fill previous Staff Skipper vacancies.
Sometimes we have recruited an experienced and qualified skipper, able to take over following basic familiarisation and handover, while at other times we have taken on someone with immense potential but who was not ready to skipper the vessel and needed a training programme lasting up to a year (and looking to stay long enough in the role to make this worthwhile).
We would welcome applications from people in either category.
Someone able to skipper Prolific from the outset would have the following as a minimum:
- RYA Cruising Instructor with commercial endorsement
- Experience in sail training with young people
- Experience in vessels over 20 metres
- Experience in vessel maintenance
Someone joining as a trainee skipper might have less experience across all four areas; or you might be very strong in some areas but with little experience in one or two. For example, you might be a hugely experienced small boat skipper – possibly a Yachtmaster Instructor – but with less time in larger vessels and little or no background in sail training with young people, though you would of course have the personality and motivation to master the youthwork side of the role with experience and support. Or you might be an experienced sail trainer with good youthwork skills and some small boat skippering experience, but you might be a first mate without command experience in larger vessels. However, you will be at least a Commercially Endorsed RYA Yachtmaster.
All applicants must have or be able to get an ENG1 medical and Enhanced DBS; and must have the right to live and work in the UK.
If you have a commitment to excellence and to delivering high-quality, safe sail training voyages for OYT South, and you are excited by the idea of becoming Prolific’s next Staff Skipper, please do look at the job description / person specification in detail, and we would love to hear from you.
For potential training skippers, you may wish to contact us before applying to discuss your current level of skills, experience and qualifications and whether you would be likely to achieve the required standard in the time expected.
In addition to the full-time role, OYT South is also looking for people qualified to sail as occasional relief skippers, so if you match the job description and person specification but are not currently looking for a full-time role, please do contact us to arrange an informal chat.
Start date
Negotiable but potentially November 2023 – January 2024 depending on availability – earlier date preferred but we would wait for the right candidate.
Salary
Expected to be in the range £32,000 – £36,000 for a qualified skipper, or £25,000 – £30,000 for a training skipper.
Application deadline
5pm Sunday 1st October 2023
Application process
Apply with a CV including 2 referees, and a covering letter which must explain why you are interested in this role with Ocean Youth Trust South, by email to caroline.white@oytsouth.org. The covering letter is important as it gives an idea of your personality, motivation, interests and understanding of the nature of OYT South’s charitable work and why you feel you would be a good fit for the organisation.