Aeronautical Control Room Officer
| Posting date: | 25 March 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £37,985 per year |
| Additional salary information: | The advertised salary is inclusive of a base salary of £30,485 and £7,500 of allowances which consists of: Night working - £2,250, Enhanced night allowance - £2,250, Rotating shift - £2,000, Public holidays & weekend working - £1,000. |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 06 April 2026 |
| Location: | Fareham |
| Company: | Government Recruitment Service |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 450652/1 |
Summary
Have you got excellent coordination skills with the ability to engage effectively with key stakeholders?
Can you work well within a team but also know the importance of working independently?
If so, this is an exciting opportunity for an Aeronautical Control Room Officer to join our team at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).
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 a privilege day for the King’s 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
Aeronautical Control Room Officers play a pivotal role in the expeditious deployment of specialised aircraft in support of Land, Maritime & Aviation Search and Rescue (SAR).
You will play an integral role in the efficient and effective tasking, deployment and coordination of UK SAR aviation assets, within land and sea areas of the UK Search and Rescue Region, and the efficient coordination of aviation Search and Rescue (SAR) incidents.
We are an emergency service and have to be able to respond 24/7/365, so you will have to work in a way that can be antisocial. Aeronautical Control Room Officers are required to work a 12-hour shift pattern (a mix of day and night shifts as laid out in the example) to allow HMCG to provide its 24 hour emergency service to the public, 365 days a year. On average the shift pattern equates to 37 duty hours per week over a 12-month period. As such, this position attracts a number of allowances to reflect the shift working and unsociable hours.
Your responsibilities will include, but aren’t limited to:
- Coordinating the response to aviation incidents and those incidents requiring SAR aviation assets, as assigned to them by the Aeronautical Duty Supervisor to support Maritime, Aeronautical and inland SAR requests.
- Identifying, tasking and deploying the most suitable SAR aviation asset following any request for SAR aircraft assistance from an authorised coordinating authority (UK Police, Fire, Ambulance or Coastguard and foreign SAR services) after determining if the request is a relevant and appropriate use of the asset(s).
- Assisting and supporting the Duty Supervisor throughout the shift in accordance with Coastguard Information Portal (CIP) instructions.
- Once SAR aviation assets are deployed to coordinate all aeronautical aspects of that incident.
- Maintaining accurate records of SAR tasking for legal and statistical requirements.
- Being responsible and accountable for own continuous personal development by participating in training, exercises and team assessments, and undertaking mandatory work.
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.
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