Spinnaker have been helping shipowners, shipmanagers, oil majors and P&I clubs with their recruitment needs for 25 years.

We receive new vacancies on a daily basis and all of our JOBS can be found on our website, but to make life easier we have curated a list of the 10 hottest jobs currently available.

Get in touch if you’re interested but do it quickly as they won’t be around for long!

1. Head of Learning & Development and Head of HR, Qatar

We are currently recruiting for two roles within the HR team of a global leader in their field.

These roles offer tax free opportunities so please do get in touch with Teresa Peacock for more information.

Email [email protected] or call +44 (0)1702 480412

2. Marine and Commercial Operator, London, UK

We are currently looking for a Commercial Operator to join our client’s team in London.

Responsibilities include handling voyage preparation, monitoring and handle cargo operations, assisting in documentation of claims and emergency response team support.

You will need 5+ years’ experience in operations to apply for this role with exposure to tankers and bulkers preferred.

https://spinnaker-global.com/job/pr016970-marine-and-commercial-operator-london

3. Senior P&I Manager, Dubai, UAE

Spinnaker has been instructed to source a Senior P&I Manager in UAE.

The role involves managing a team of claims executives, delegating work, training and recruiting new team members when needed. You will be required to travel to meet clients and shipping principles in London, Europe and UAE and attend local training sessions regarding legal updates and new clauses.

This is a senior role that reports directly to the board and will involve managing departmental costs and ensuring the smooth running of the team. The role is based near Dubai and sponsorship is available if required.

This would suit someone with strong relationship building skills, 5 years direct line management experience along with a minimum of 10 years P&I claims experience from either a law firm, shipping company or P&I Club.

https://spinnaker-global.com/job/pr016968-senior-pi-manager-uae

4. Crude Tanker Broker, Houston, USA

We are currently partnered with an international ship brokerage that is currently looking for a Crude Tanker Broker to be based out of their office in Houston.

This would be joining a Houston based tanker team of 4 currently with the focus being on the Aframax/ Suezmax market so someone that is already connected in this market would be ideally placed for this position. Ideally you will have some accounts that you can bring with you but this isn’t essential for the position.

Ideally you will have 2-5 years’ experience as a Tanker Broker and US work entitlement would be needed for this role.

https://spinnaker-global.com/job/pr016967-crude-tanker-broker-houston

5. Procurement Manager, London, UK

We are currently recruiting for a Purchasing Manager for a Shipping company in the UK. The company specialises in the day-to-day management of a commercial fleet of ships.

You will be responsible for the ongoing management and stability of the global supply chain for companies Marine Division (Stores, Spares, Technical, and Repairs) for a fleet of vessels.

You will be responsible for optimizing the supplier performance, quality, and pricing outcomes, effective planning and risk reduction, tangible cost-savings, developing and maintaining key stakeholder relationships, be commercially astute, negotiation and contract management and effective team leadership will be critical to the success of this role.

https://spinnaker-global.com/job/pr016966-procurement-manager-london

6. Human Resources Manager, Piraeus, Greece

A well-established shipping company based in Piraeus, Greece is looking for a HR Manager to develop a new department to be responsible for all shoreside HR processes, policies and procedures.

The HR Manager will be responsible for, and have oversight for tasks including, but not limited to hiring, talent and recruitment strategy, employee engagement and performance management.

You will need experience in a HR leadership position as well as an educational qualification in HR Management or a related subject.

This is a full-time, office-based position based in Piraeus, Greece.

https://spinnaker-global.com/job/pr016964-human-resources-manager-piraeus

7. Vessel Operator, Greece

Spinnaker is working with an internationally recognised owner/operator of a fleet of dry bulk carriers.

Due to expansion, an opportunity has become available for a dry bulk operator to join their team in Greece.
Some of the responsibilities for this role are ensuring the vessel’s voyage is performed efficiently and ensuring costs are kept to a minimum, calculating and preparing hire statements, liaising with insurers and P&I

To apply you will need at least 2 years’ experience in the Operations department.

https://spinnaker-global.com/job/pr016963-vessel-operator-athens

8. Operations Manager, Athens, Greece

Due to expansion, an opportunity has become available for an Operations Manager to join an Owner/Operator of a fleet of Dry Bulk Carriers in Athens, Greece.

You will ideally have at least 5 years’ experience in operations working with dry bulk vessels. Candidates with previous sailing experience and/or shore based commercial operations experience can both be considered for this role. You will be working with a fleet of Dry Bulk Handy & Supramax vessels.

They are looking for someone with a positive disposition, eager to progress and learn also willing to adapt to their methods and vision to that of the company. Strong leadership and team management skills required with previous managerial experience.

Candidates based in Greece are preferred. EU Working Entitlement is essential.

https://spinnaker-global.com/job/pr016962-operations-manager-athens

9. Ship Agent, Hamburg, Germany

We are currently working with a leading shipping industry partner who offer shipping agency services and hub solutions.

They are looking to hire a full-time Ship Agent to join their team in Hamburg.

They are looking for someone who has a shipping background, ideally with exposure to tankers. The ideal candidate will have around 1-5 years’ experience gained through a Ship Agency. You will also need excellent English written and verbal skills.

The right candidate will need to be currently located in Germany.

https://spinnaker-global.com/job/pr016876-dry-docking-manager-png

Technical Manager, London, UK

10. Do you have Dual Fuel experience?

Are you working as a Senior Technical Superintendent or Fleet Manager? If so, we’d love to talk you through an exciting opportunity with a high-profile shipping company based in London.

Contact Liam via email [email protected] or call +44 1702 480 142.

We’re often asked ‘how’ we go about doing what we do, a question which, in truth, we find quite difficult to answer. We’ve been recruiting C-suite maritime professionals for over 20 years and in all that time, if there’s one thing we’ve learned it’s that there are no shortcuts or substitutes for good old-fashioned market knowledge and legwork.

One of our earliest assignments was recruiting a Chief Operating Officer for a global tanker owner in about the year 2000. They were ahead of their time and open-minded about recruiting outside their own familiar nationality. As is often the case with search assignments, we agreed to provide a dual shortlist, in this case of the local and non local candidates, and we are pleased to say they hired a person from Norway, and not their traditional local. This would be relatively unusual in that geographical location, even today. One of the greatest skills we learned from this assignment was how to pronounce Hadjieleftheriadis correctly and quickly!

What that assignment taught us was the benefit of a professional and engaged client. The school of hard knocks has shown us that it is important to walk away from assignments where clients cannot up their minds what they’re looking for. This is a real risk with ‘committee’ recruitment where a number of stakeholders from a variety of organisations come together to recruit – for example – for a membership organisation. Our job is to make sure the decision makers focus their minds on reaching a consensus early on in the process on what they really want, rather than working out that they all want something different at the stage of a final shortlist. Eleven years ago, we represented a membership body in their search for a new Managing Director. All bets were on the recruitment of a middle-aged man from an oil company or tanker owner. Instead, the Board opted for someone who brought an environmental and marine biology background to the role. It was another bold decision by a client that was a pleasure to work with. That makes all the difference.

Speaking of which, it isn’t always that way, but there was one occasion when we recruited a Chief Executive for a shipowner when we felt that the committee of NEDs who were handling the recruitment, were out to catch us out or trip us up. Every stage of the process felt like a test rather than a partnership. There was a formality that seemed out of place in the modern world and in hindsight we could see that permeated the whole culture of the business.

Times and people move on of course and that brings to mind the dry bulk sector which, in the case of the modern true operators, is almost unrecognisable from its former self twenty years ago. We are particularly active in dry bulk and have recruited CEOs, CFOs, COOs, heads of fleet management, crewing, risk, operations and communications. Dry bulk, you are the gift that keeps on giving and we are hugely grateful for that.

The really lovely thing is that in that sector, as in the shipping law and marine insurance sectors, we have been working with some of our clients pretty much since Spinnaker was set up in 1997. We don’t take for granted that level of repeat business – it has to be worked for anew with each assignment – but what those long-term relationships give us is a deep understanding of our individual clients and the markets we work in. This is worth its weight in gold when we approach candidates – it means we can properly sell the sector to candidates from outside (increasingly requested by clients, especially with roles in sustainability, risk and data) and speak authentically about our clients, their cultures and their people.

Give Teresa Peacock a call on +44 (0) 1702 480142 if you’re an executive ready for your next move or if you just want to be on our radar… and course if you need our services to find the next key hire for your organisation.

As a recruitment business that has put thousands of people through interview processes over the last 25 years it might not surprise you to learn that we think the art of interviewing well can be one of the most underestimated life skills you can have…

Often in tightly contested hires our clients will be torn between 2 or 3 candidates who all possess the credentials on paper so it will invariably come down to who can convince the hiring team at interview that they are the right person for the job. I’d even go as far to say that often we have seen many examples where someone with slightly less experience has landed the position over a better-qualified candidate due to being more impressive at an interview…

Given that an interview process is often 2 or 3-hour-long discussions with the hiring team, the fact that this can decide whether you secure your next role over the experience you have gained over the last 5 years vs another candidate I think highlights the importance of being able to sell yourself well at an interview.

Interviewing technique is not something that you learn at school (at least I certainly didn’t!) and some people will naturally be more competent in an interview scenario but below are some tips to improve your chances during an interview of securing that position you are pursuing…

1. Solve the problem – Identify the problem you are being brought in to fix, visualise how you will solve the problem the employer faces and walk them through exactly how you will achieve this for them. If the Hiring Team can also visualise you in the role and the benefit this will bring them this will massively boost your chances.
   
2. Always be closing – this is a classic sales mantra but it really applies to interviewing too. Try to leave the interview knowing you’ve addressed any point of concern they might have. I would recommend asking if they have any concerns about your suitability for the role. Unless you ask you might leave the interview without knowing they had a concern and therefore missing the opportunity to address this.
   
3. Research, Research, Research – This is a pretty obvious recommendation but surprisingly overlooked. You really need to research the company you are interviewing with, read any press releases you can find, find out who their key personnel are etc… Showing you know about the company demonstrates you are serious about the position and will also give you the basis from which you can answer their questions. Having not researched is a sure-fire way to put the Hiring Company off. If applying for a position via a Recruiter I would always recommend asking them for any guidance on who you are meeting with and what format to expect if they haven’t already told you!
   
4. Stick to the Question asked – Try to listen as carefully as possible to what you are being asked. You don’t need to answer right away so taking a pause and properly thinking about how to address the specific question asked of you is important. Try not to go off on tangents and lose sight of what was originally asked.
   
5. Be Honest – Questions will often be asked where you perhaps lack experience of. If you try to fabricate 9 times out of 10 you the interviewers will know that you don’t have the experience they have asked of. There is no harm in saying that something is a current blind spot in your experience but you would be excited to learn. Companies will value integrity and enthusiasm over trying to cover up for something!
   
6. Ask Questions – interviewing is a 2 way process. As much as a company is assessing your credentials for the role, you are also assessing whether the company is the right fit for you. An interview should be a conversation, not a Q and A session and asking questions yourself not only helps shape your view of the company/ the role for your own guidance but also demonstrates you are taking an interest in learning about what you are potentially going to be walking into.
   
7. Practice – Particularly relevant for those with less interview experience but applicable to even seasoned interviewees. There will be some standard questions that frequently come up in one guise or another so practicing how you would respond and having a good idea of what to say already is recommended i.e. what attracted you to this role? Involving family members/ partners in helping to ask questions will get you in the mindset of thinking on your feet even if it’s difficult to recreate an interview environment.

If you have an interview coming up I hope the above is in some way useful and good luck on securing those dream jobs!