Coastal Lifeboat Trainer

About us

At the RNLI, our purpose is to save lives at sea. Every day, 24 hours a day, our dedicated crews are ready to launch when the call comes in. Now, we are looking for a Coastal Lifeboat Trainer to join our People team.

An incredible opportunity awaits someone looking to advance their career and step into a role where they can share their experience and maritime expertise. This rewarding position offers the chance to directly support the development of RNLI volunteers and staff, helping them to develop their skills to operate our lifeboats and enhance training delivery throughout the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

Based in the North and East region of England (from Berwick-upon-Tweed in the north to Burnham-on-Crouch in the south), you will deliver inspiring training sessions, conduct competence assessments and ensure our teams remain up to date with the latest advancements in the Search and Rescue (SAR) environment.

Some of the benefits

• Salary £34,893 - £41,050 (dependent on experience)
• Vehicle to carry out your duties
• Flexible working
• 26 days’ annual leave plus Bank Holidays
• Outstanding pension scheme (contributions of up to 16% of basic salary)
• Life assurance

Your role

As a Coastal Lifeboat Trainer, you will act as a subject matter expert and play a key role in delivering high quality, competency based training and verification to both staff and volunteers, including local trainer assessors. You will ensure that all training sessions are engaging, practical and aligned with the latest operational practices. By maintaining a strong focus on quality and consistency, you will help build and sustain a capable, confident team equipped to operate effectively in demanding environments.

This is a regional position reporting to the Coastal Training Lead, involving frequent travel across the North and East region. The role requires regular overnight stays and occasional travel to support other areas as needed. Flexibility is crucial, as volunteer availability often falls outside standard working hours, including evenings and weekends.  

About you

To succeed in this role, you will require the following skills or expertise:

• A background in maritime operations combined with instructional or training experience.
• A strong understanding of risk management, safety procedures and compliance with operational standards.
• Experience in assessment or verification processes, particularly within a training or operational environment (desirable).
• Familiarity with RNLI lifeboats and associated equipment (desirable).
• Good computer literacy, with the confidence to use digital systems effectively.

Beyond your teaching skills, you will be:

• Passionate about making a difference and helping others develop.
• Confident, well organised and a strong communicator.
• Able to collaborate effectively with volunteers and staff from all backgrounds, in a respectful and inclusive way.

If you are ready to help shape the future of lifesaving and want to be part of something truly meaningful as a Coastal Lifeboat Trainer, we’d love to hear from you.

This post requires a valid driving licence.

As this is a sea-going appointment, you will need to satisfy the Institution's medical and eyesight standards.

Safeguarding

The RNLI is committed to safeguarding; protecting a person’s health, wellbeing, and human rights, enabling them to live free from harm, abuse, and neglect. We expect all employees and volunteers to share this commitment and have a zero-tolerance approach. The suitability of all prospective employees and volunteers will be assessed during the recruitment process in line with this commitment. This will include relevant criminal record checks being carried out dependent on the eligibility of the role. (England & Wales; DBS check, Scotland; Disclosure Scotland PVG, Northern Ireland; Access NI, Republic of Ireland; Garda Vetting; International, International Child Protection Certificate process).

Diversity at the RNLI

Our staff and volunteers have been saving lives at sea without prejudice for 200 years. We respect and value diversity of background, skills and perspectives within our teams, and consider it essential to help us deliver a world-class lifesaving service. We are an inclusive organisation and welcome applications from everyone. In addition to having the skills needed for the role, we also look for applicants who share our commitment to living our RNLI values (trustworthy, courageous, selfless, and dependable), and helping us work towards Our Vision: To save Every One.