Careers
ITOPF has responded to more than 870 incidents involving oil or chemical spills worldwide. Our highly skilled international team are ready to assist 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to provide impartial technical advice.
We operate on a not-for-profit basis and provide a wide range of technical services to promote effective response in the marine environment to back up our core role of responding to ship-sourced spills.
Our five core services are spill response, claims analysis & damage assessment, contingency planning, training & education and information.
Technical Adviser (Marine Pollution)
Technical Adviser (Marine Pollution)
Location: London or Singapore
Employment Type: Permanent, full-time
Travel: Extensive worldwide travel required
Salary: Circa £60,000 pa (London) or $8,500 per month (Singapore)
The Opportunity
Join the Technical team in our London or Singapore office as a Technical Adviser specialising in marine pollution response. This role offers the opportunity to make a meaningful impact in mitigating the environmental and socio-economic impact of ship-source spills of oil, chemicals, plastics and a variety of other cargoes across the globe.
In this role, you will respond to shipping incidents worldwide, providing objective, science-based technical advice to governments, industry, intergovernmental organisations and affected communities. This position combines emergency response work with preparedness training and compensation assessment, offering diverse and challenging work and significant international travel.
What You'll Do
- Deliver 24/7 technical advice and on-site support for global ship-sourced marine oil and chemical spill incidents.
- Provide guidance to stakeholders on effective response strategies, often in high-pressure environments.
- Conduct surveys by air, boat and on foot to assess spill movement, clean-up progress and environmental impact.
- Evaluate environmental and economic damage, prepare reports, and assess claims for compensation on behalf of the vessel insurers and/or the International Oil Pollution Compensation (IOPC) Funds.
- Serve as Duty Officer on a rotational basis, triaging incident notifications and response.
- Design and deliver tailored technical training, interactive workshops for a range of different stakeholders, and contribute to internal knowledge-sharing sessions.
- Liaise with a diverse range of stakeholders including governments, industry bodies, media and communities to help them build effective contingency plans.
- Support and participate in national and industry drills and exercises.
- Engage with international organisations and R&D bodies to provide expert input in the field of marine spill response and maintain industry relationships.
What We're Looking For
In this round of recruitment, our focus is on individuals with a chemistry background, and preferably professional fluency (in addition to English) in either Spanish, French and/or Mandarin. However, these are preferences rather than strict requirements. We welcome applications from candidates with a related scientific or technical background who meet the essential criteria below:
- A higher degree (Masters level or higher) in a related science such as marine biology, oceanography, organic chemistry, etc.
- Relevant practical experience in a scientific or technical role, preferably with experience in pollution control and/or a marine focus.
- Availability to travel internationally at short notice for emergency response.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills in English.
- Professional fluency in an additional language to English is an advantage
- Strong presentation and interpersonal capabilities.
A full job description will be available shortly for download.
What We Offer
This role is available to be based in either our London or Singapore office.
We offer a salary of circa £60,000 p.a (GBP) / $8,500 per month (SGD), with a strong benefits package. This includes 25 days annual leave which increases with length of service, company-funded private medical insurance and life assurance, training and development, annual wellbeing allowance, team social events and many more.
How to Apply
As part of your application, you will be required to complete an application form, and a covering letter explaining your interest in the role and how your experience meets the requirements.
To discuss the role further, please reach out to one of our recruitment partners in the relevant region.
- London: Fast Stream Recruitment - Isaac.Watts@faststream.com
- Singapore: Angle recruitment – info@anglerecruitment.com
There is no fixed closing date for this vacancy. We’ll review applications and hold screening interviews on a rolling basis until we find the right candidate. The vacancy may close at short notice, so we encourage you to apply as early as possible.
We are committed to ensuring all candidates have a fair and comfortable application experience. If you require any adjustments or support during the recruitment process such as alternative formats, accessibility accommodations, additional time, or anything else please let our recruitment partner know.
Privacy statement for applicants.
We have a great team of highly skilled individuals working across a number of specialisms. Our team works hard to promote effective response to spills in the marine environment, and everyone is supported to do so with appropriate training and development, a strong benefits package and a positive working environment. Our policies and practices include different ways to work flexibly and enhanced family leave, and it is important to us to ensure a dignified, respectful and supportive working environment where colleagues feel valued and are protected from any kind of harassment.
Find out what joining ITOPF is like for some of our more recent recruits:
Vision & Mission Statement
"To be a trusted source of objective technical advice worldwide on preparedness and response to accidental marine spills."
"To promote effective response to marine spills of oil, chemicals and other substances as a means of reducing impacts on the environment and affected communities."
Core Values
Collaboration – inspiring teamwork and cooperation to achieve the goal of effective spill response.
Integrity – engendering trust in our work through honesty and scientific principles.
Objectivity – providing unbiased, consistent advice to all who seek it.
Respect – empowering a friendly, supportive culture that values diversity and the abilities and experience of all.
Diligence – delivering our services to the highest standards of excellence, with skill and good judgment.