We are currently recruiting for an Operations Executive to join our global operations team, based at the UK head office in Cardiff. 

This is an exciting opportunity to join a close-knit team in a fast-paced environment at the heart of service operations. The role is crucial, as part of the wider team, in supporting the overall delivery of market-leading inspections, surveys and project services on a global scale and under the direction of the Operations Manager. 

The successful candidate will have experience in the maritime industry, ideally gained in a fast-paced office environment. An effective communicator with the ability to work independently, as well as part of the wider team and business. 

Who are idwal?

Idwal is a market leader in vessel inspections, analysis and benchmarking, operating across almost every port in the world. We are evolving from a standard survey company to a technology and data business, and we continue to scale up our team for growth. We have an expanding global workforce, with staff based at our headquarters in Cardiff UK, and at our smaller offices around the globe. Our work environment is unique and dynamic, with chief engineers and naval architects working alongside software developers and data analysts.

Idwal’s origins lie in Wales with our headquarters being based in Cardiff Bay since our inception in 2010. Our UK workforce expands at a fast rate with new colleagues joining the team every month. Working for Idwal in the United Kingdom provides a fantastic opportunity to help shape a new chapter for us and to build your career in a fast-paced environment that welcomes local maritime talent and encourages innovation and entrepreneurship.

What's it like at idwal?

We’ve got a fairly unique environment, blending the essence of a modern tech company with the heritage and market knowledge of a 100 year-old shipping company. On the one hand, we have many of the positives associated with a tech business. We work in a fast-paced environment that encourages entrepreneurship and innovation, where we both empower and support our people. We’re also
developing industry changing products using the latest technologies and are professionalising and challenging the market norms.

On the other hand, we don’t have the negatives associated with some tech startups. We’re well-funded, we’re established in market as a first class leader, and we’re a profitable business. Furthermore, we have very ambitious yet achievable growth targets, along with a
global client list that includes leading banks, financial institutions, private equity groups, ship owners, brokers, insurers and charterers.

We like to think of ourselves as a family, which isn’t surprising when you consider we originated from a third generation Welsh shipping family. We’re friendly and sociable, and regularly get together for team and charity events.

We also value our team. We make every effort to provide an environment where people enjoy coming to work and have the opportunity to thrive. As we have more than doubled our workforce in the last two years, there are plenty of opportunities for progression. Finally we have a great view of Cardiff Bay and an excellent coffee machine.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Become fully familiar with services conducted by Idwal, how process and standards differ, how the products and final reports vary for each one: 
  • General condition inspections 
  • Pre-purchase inspections 
  • Pre-sale inspections 
  • Pre-charter vetting inspections 
  • Remote inspections 
• Proactively and upon request, support the surveyor enquiry process to enable the commercial time to deliver service quotations quickly and within defined time parameters. Identify issues with surveyor location configuration, resolving these reporting these to surveyor management; 
• Become fully familiarised with assigned key client accounts and their requirements. Represent the team in relevant meetings for the account, following up on actions and offering feedback to the wider team as needed. The sales lead will lead the operations and technical leads, however being proactive in this regard is imperative; 
• Support the wider operations team and colleagues across the business at all levels, with the timely completion of global inspection and project services within your coverage area, with the general aim towards meeting and exceeding client expectations at all times; 
• Independently organise, coordinate and monitor the timely completion of assigned vessel inspections and projects, dealing directly with agents, surveyors, clients and other parties, identifying issues before they arise and/or resolving them swiftly. 
• Support the review and communication of customer requirements to surveyors under the direction of the technical team; 
• Maintain internal systems and records whilst keeping customers well posted regarding the status of services at all times, liaising with other global team members, as required, for support out of hours; 
• Maintain internal systems at the point of inspection commencement and completion, checking and setting the report due dates for planning and surveyor/client portal; 
• Coordinate other services such as remote asset review and flag state inspection, or additional services such as class record review, fastrack report delivery and decarbonisation report; 
• Support inspection report quality checking following technical review and onward delivery to the client within defined time parameters; 
• Participate in daily team stand-up and monthly meetings to raise concerns or issues and share knowledge with the wider team; 
• Monitor and resolve discrepancies with supplier invoices on the purchase invoice tracker within defined time parameters; 
• Support the effective ‘’housekeeping’’ of relevant applications/systems; 
• Participate in the operations rota to support weekend cover; 
• Generally contribute to customer, surveyor and other feedback and performance loops, supporting company standards and initiatives. Periodically attend surveyor committee review meetings along with other team members; 
• Contributing effectively and suggesting any software or process changes which may be required in order to streamline or improve process; 
• Supporting compliance with the company’s quality management system as governed by the ISO 9001 standard;
• Promote, protect and preserve the reputation of Idwal and undertake any other tasks that may be requested from 
  time to time; 
• Maintain the value and integrity of the Idwal Grade to ensure it remains an industry standard. 

Essential requirements

• Experience working in the maritime industry, to include strong administrative and organisational skills, ideally gained in a fast paced office environment; 
• Excellent work ethic, with the flexibility and willingness to go ‘above and beyond’ in a 24-hour industry; 
• Confidence in dealing with clients, suppliers and colleagues at all levels on a global scale, communicating effectively via telephone and in writing; 
• Ability to work alone, and as part of a global close-knit team, communicating effectively in team daily stand-up and monthly meetings; 
• Ability to maintain control and prioritization of workload independently.
   

Desirable requirements

• Degree level education; 
• Proficient in the use of applications such as Jira, Confluence, Outlook, Excel, Word and Power BI. 

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Interested? Get in touch with our recruitment team to find out more. Either send your CV or LinkedIn profile to allison.hetherton@idwalmarine.com or speak to Allison Hetherton on 02920 446 644.