Ferry Crew Cleaner/Relief
Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee (TBTF) seek to appoint a Ferry Crew Cleaner/Relief to join the team at the Torpoint Ferry. This is an exciting opportunity for a confident individual with good communication skills, to provide excellent customer service in a unique environment, offering longer term opportunity for advancement within the ferry service and generous benefits. Please read all the details before deciding whether the role is suitable for you and what we are looking for. This summary should be read in conjunction with the full job description and person specification.
Who we are
Tamar Crossings is responsible for the management, operation, maintenance and administration of the two crossings over the River Tamar – Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry. With approx. 26,000 vehicles travelling with us every day, we play an important part in the local infrastructure, creating a link between Plymouth, Devon and South East Cornwall.
Tamar Crossings are jointly owned by Cornwall Council and Plymouth City Council. The operation, maintenance and improvement of the crossings are funded through tolls charged. The Torpoint Ferry is the largest chain ferry service and busiest estuarial vehicular crossing in the UK, whilst the Tamar Bridge provides a link on the busy A38 Trunk Road for more than 14 million vehicles a year. The crossings operate a successful electronic tolling scheme which 60% of users utilise to pay the toll.
At the Torpoint Ferry we provide a service to approximately 2 million vehicles and 550,000 pedestrians and cyclists per year. Three ferries provide a 24-hour/365 day a year service as an essential transport link for Southeast Cornwall, its residents and businesses.
The three chain ferries come under Maritime and Coastguard Agency regulations and are in class with Lloyds Register. They are unique vessels presenting a wide range of both engineering and operational challenges. A combination of varying weather conditions, customer demand, vehicle traffic density and ship movement on the river Tamar make for a dynamic environment where no two days are the same.
Our staff are critical in the operation of the crossings, and we are committed to attracting and retaining talent, providing opportunities for personal and professional development all whilst supporting the local community. Cleaner/Reliefs have an essential role in delivery of the ferry service which consists of nine crews. Crews consist of:
1 x Supervisor: Duty Managers based in a Control Tower either side of the river
1 x Controller: Ferry Skipper and crew line manager
1 Mechanical Assistant: Maintaining and Monitoring the engine room
2 x Collectors: Coordinating the safe loading/unloading and collecting toll fees
2 x Cleaner/Relief: Cleaning the ferries/slipways and assisting Collectors
Find out more about what we have to offer!
What we expect
Tamar Crossings are a local government employer that offer careers with stimulating opportunities for development and progression. In return the successful candidate will be expected to display and deliver the highest standards of conduct and professionalism including personal appearance, fidelity, integrity and equality in every role.
Based at the Torpoint Ferry the Ferry Crew Cleaner/Relief role is integral to the delivery of excellent customer service to the travelling public. The successful candidate will be immediately trained as a Cleaner and soon after as a Collector. Once trained Cleaner/Reliefs are required to ‘act up’ regularly as a Collector, as well as other roles, and after gaining sufficient experience and knowledge opportunity may arise to apply for progression.
The main duties and responsibilities include:
- carrying out routine cleaning to a high standard of all ferry compartments, including passenger accommodation, crew cabin and all public walkways
- carrying out routine cleaning of the ferry infrastructure to a high standard. This will include: general cleaning tasks in the control towers, ensuring slipways are kept free from debris and safe for transit by foot passengers and vehicles ensuring a safe operation.
- support boat operations used to transfer ferry staff to the ferry at the start and end of shifts. Includes the pulling of the ropes used to move the boat to the ferry and back to the slipway as required.
- control the safe and expedient loading and unloading of pedestrian and vehicles in accordance with published operating procedures and as directed by senior staff
- deal with or assist with any emergency situations that arise, following emergency operating procedures or under the direction of incident managers. These duties include pulling of ropes, throwing of lifebuoys, handling of buoyancy aids, carrying and use of fire extinguishers and fire hoses, opening and closing of valves and ability to get through escape hatches and climb a vertical escape ladder from the Engine Room.
- act as relief staff for other roles as required (This may attract enhanced payments in accordance with local agreements where training and sufficient competency is met).
The skills you will need
The person specification gives a high level of detail of which skills and what experience we are looking for in the successful candidate.
In the first instance, you must be able to demonstrate:
- Basic IT skills (email and Office 365 packages)
- Good communications skills
- Ability to follow technical/general instructions
- Ability to respond positively to changing operational demands
- Ability to develop and maintain a good working relationship amongst colleagues
- Pro-active and assertive
Experience of:
- A minimum of 12 months experience working in a busy customer service environment. This experience should be based on previous employment and relevant to the last three years.
- A minimum of 12 months experience of ‘Cash Handling’ (including dealing with floats/cashing-up). This experience should be based on previous employment and relevant to the last three years.
- Ability to write clearly and comprehensively
- Attention to detail and good record keeping
- Experience of working within general Policies and Procedures
What else you need to know
The ferry crews work to a 9 week cyclical rota which predominantly consists of early shifts (06:00 – 14:00) and late shifts (14:00 – 22:00). The shifts include weekend, evening and bank holiday working.
We run a dynamic shift rota involving over 60 staff and although the primary role is cleaning duties there are regular opportunities for Cleaners to cover Collector shifts as a result of staff absence (i.e. during staff annual leave, training, meetings and sickness etc.). This may involve half or full shift cover and all cover and overtime is managed on fair basis. Ability to consistently demonstrate both cleaning and relief duties is essential.
Cleaner/Relief shift patterns do vary slightly to other roles and they are not routinely required to work night shifts, although once trained Cleaner/Reliefs will be expected to ‘act up’ to provide relief cover for other roles, which attracts associated pay benefits. See attached rota pattern for more information.
You will be required to climb steep and narrow stairs and access low and confined spaces; therefore, a level of physical fitness is required.
Due to the safety critical nature of the roles, Ferry Crews are required to meet a medical standard and are subject to random and with cause drugs and alcohol testing.
Pay & Benefits
Salary:
Basic pay for the post, Grade B, is £23,148 per annum based on 37 hours a week.
Total salary for the role is £30,283 per annum based on 37.4 hours a week – this figure reflects enhanced payments for contractual overtime and working unsocial hours (shifts and weekends).
Benefits:
- Regular pay award for all employees negotiated by the National Joint Council for Local Government Services (NJC)
- Local Government Pension Scheme – employer and employee contributions
- A minimum of 25 days annual leave (or hours equivalent), pro-rata to contract and shift allowances, plus public/bank holidays.
- Staff travel card for free crossings of the Tamar Bridge and the Torpoint Ferry
- 24/7 access to Employee Assistance Programme for you and your family
- Family friendly policies including shared parental leave, contractual maternity, paternity and adoption
- Uniform and PPE provided – washing and drying facilities available for use on site
- Learning and Development Opportunities
Interested?
Applications will only be accepted on the official application form available on the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry website. Letters, CV’s, or other alternative methods will not be accepted. Presentation of the application form is important and may be assessed as part of the short-listing process.
Closing date: 0900 on 27th January 2025
Interviews: W/C 3rd February 2025
To learn more about this exciting opportunity, or for an informal conversation, please contact Claudine Jones or Kurt Hunt, Assistant Operations Managers, on 01752 812233.
If you have not heard anything by 31st January 2025 please assume you have been unsuccessful. We are sorry but due to the expected volume of applicants we are unable to inform people individually or give feedback to people who are not successful in reaching the interview stages.