In the Seafish Fisheries Management team it’s our job to support sustainable management of some of our most important fisheries by working closely with seafood industry stakeholders, regulators, and scientific researchers. We facilitate collaborative working between different groups to identify and address knowledge gaps, explore issues impacting UK fisheries, and develop fisheries management plans. We support an industry going through significant changes in the way our fisheries are managed; this means we have a real opportunity to effect meaningful change and deliver long-term fisheries management improvements.
As our Fisheries Analyst you will have the opportunity to work on some of the knotty issues relating to the UK’s most economically important shellfish and finfish fisheries, and to work in partnership with the seafood industry, government, and research community.
At Seafish we operate a Trust and Performance working environment which focuses on performance—both what you do and how you go about achieving it. We don’t measure time in our Trust and Performance culture, instead we measure delivery. Working in this way means you have autonomy and accountability in equal parts and working in a way that is most effective for you, as long as your work gets delivered to agreed standards. You’ll have a personal development plan which clearly outlines the objectives and competencies for your role and your learning and development goals. You’ll also have regular catch ups with your line manager, along with mid-year and end of year reviews to formally discuss your performance, competences and professional growth.
Job role, responsibilities and relationships
The main dimensions of the role are:
- Play a central role in the sustainable management of UK fisheries through the coordination and delivery of a series of national fishery co-management groups.
- Support the team in the drafting and delivery of fisheries management plans.
- Work closely with the seafood industry, government and research community, to contribute to the management of some of the UK’s most economically important fisheries.
Key accountabilities will be:
- Work alongside the Chairs of Seafish-facilitated fisheries co-management groups, the Shellfish Industry Advisory Group (SIAG) and Finfish Advisory Group (FiAG) and their associated sub-groups to help deliver work on agreed priority issues facing the seafood sector.
- Work closely with a wide range of stakeholders to understand key issues facing the seafood sector and develop a work program to ensure that issues are addressed.
- Play a central role in the development and implementation of Fisheries Management Plans for key commercial species in the UK to support long-term sustainability of key finfish and shellfish stocks.
- Facilitate professional and effective communication between different stakeholders across the UK seafood sector, ranging from individual seafood businesses to government, regulators, and research agencies.
- Develop creative ways of communicating complex scientific and legislative information to ensure that stakeholders are well informed and able to engage effectively in co-management activities.
- Actively bring together stakeholders from across the seafood supply chain, regulators, and scientific researchers to work collaboratively to deliver meaningful changes to future fisheries management in the UK.
- Ensure that the Fisheries Management Team continues to help the industry seize opportunities and address challenges.
Additional responsibilities will be to:
Internal:
- Provide regular updates to the Director of Operations to ensure all work remains in-line with Seafish’s Annual Plan and stakeholder aspirations and requirements.
- Work closely with the Head of Fisheries Management and other colleagues to ensure work outputs are aligned with other activities on behalf of UK seafood stakeholders.
- Plan and prioritize own workload to deliver required work outputs.
External:
- Work with representatives of the UK administrations on future fisheries management initiatives and FMP development. Manage external contractors (if required) with minimal support to ensure successful and timely project completion, including finance (e.g., payments) in-line with Seafish’s policies and procedures.
- Represent Seafish at relevant UK stakeholder events, to keep academic peers, NGOs, fishery managers and government / regulator representatives updated on developments.
- Co-ordinate input and guidance from group members and relevant recognized external experts, to ensure that the Fisheries Management team’s work remains closely aligned with industry’s needs and expectations, and to help identify potential ongoing opportunities for further support / collaboration.
Essential working relationships will include:
- Chair / membership of the Finfish and Shellfish Industry Advisory Groups and all associated sub-groups.
- Seafish Director of Operations and Head of Fisheries Management.
- Heads of other Seafish Teams and key Seafish colleagues including communications.
- Colleagues across Defra (Marine & Fisheries Team), Marine Scotland, Welsh Government, DAERA, IFCAs, MMO and CEFAS.
Knowledge, skills and experience required
To be a suitable candidate for this role you should have:
- A degree / postgraduate degree preferably (although not essential) in a related discipline such as fisheries management or marine science.
- Demonstrable post-graduate experience working on fisheries issues (fisheries management, fisheries policy, fisheries science and research, industry engagement) – (ideally at least 1 year).
- Experience of policy / regulation development and implementation.
- Experience distilling complex information to produce user-friendly and non-technical resources.
- Excellent organizational and project management skills, and proven ability to prioritize and deliver discrete tasks across multiple different workstreams against tight deadlines and with minimal supervision.
- Experience of building and managing influential multi-stakeholder networks and associated relationships.
- Intermediate-level ‘IT skills’ and a strong working knowledge of relevant Microsoft Office packages (e.g., Outlook, Word and Excel).
- Effective communication skills and the capacity to collaborate with a variety of stakeholders and co-workers to achieve common goals.
- Organized with ability to organize and prioritize workload.
- A willingness to work collaboratively as part of a dynamic team.
- Strong decision making and judgment skills.
Special features of the role:
- This job may involve some travel around the UK.
- Driving license preferred, but not essential
Every role in Seafish is linked to our bespoke competency framework. The competency levels for this role are:
- Growing Expertise—Seeks opportunities to develop and expand knowledge base
- Embracing Change—Shows the ability to adapt to change
- Building Relationships—Builds links with others in order to develop and deliver best solutions
- Achieving Results—Overcomes challenging circumstances to achieve high-quality results
- Influencing with Impact—Communicates Complex Messages
Salary and benefits
All roles within Seafish are graded and have defined salary bands. This role is a grade 4 post and the starting salary is at £34,545. A new member’s appointment on the pay spine is dependent on the experience they bring to the role when they start. New candidates normally start at the lower end of the range unless they can demonstrate considerable experience in the requirements of the role.
Additional benefits include:
- 25 days annual leave plus Bank Holidays and Christmas office closure. Optional 5 days per year paid volunteering leave for an activity of your choice.
- Trust and Performance working environment—you get your work done to the expected standard in a way that suits you.
- A generous employer pension scheme—Seafish will double your contribution, up to a maximum employer contribution of 10%.
- A range of health and wellbeing benefits including the Cycle to Work scheme, Tech Scheme, private medical insurance, gym discounts and free eye tests.
- Our unlimited employee assistance scheme is a support service available 24/7—it offers confidential, impartial advice on anything you need such as work, family, finance support or anything else personal to you.
- We have a professional development culture with plenty of learning opportunities.
- We have a high performing culture and reward those that do well each year.
Location: Homebased (UK) or office-based in one of our offices in Edinburgh or Grimsby.
Closing Date: January 17, 2024
