Volunteer Crew ALB & ILB - St Ives

About us

Lifeboat crews at St Ives have been saving lives at sea since 1839 and received 33 medals for gallantry. The station currently operates two boats - a Shannon class all-weather lifeboat and a D class inshore lifeboat.

St Ives lifeboat station houses both an inshore lifeboat (ILB) and an all-weather lifeboat (ALB) and is looking for volunteers to join as crew for both of these lifeboats.

The role of the boat crew is to be on call for lifeboat ‘shouts’, to attend training exercises and contribute to the overall upkeep of the station, lifeboats and equipment. You will be required to undertake and maintain competency-based training as necessary to fulfil the role of crew member.

This is a good opportunity to join a motivated and enthusiastic local team and have the satisfaction of contributing to saving lives at sea. No previous maritime experience needed, although you will need to be a team player with good general fitness and the ability to learn new skills. 

Also, you will need to have a driving licence, access to a vehicle and permission from your employer to respond to the lifeboat station call outs.

Please note that you must live and work within one of the following postcodes to be able to reach the station within the required timeframe and be aged between 18 and 50 years of age to join the crew.

The impact you will make

This role will help us save lives at sea by ensuring that our lifeboats are in a state of permanent readiness and crewing the lifeboats on service and exercise, under the command of the coxswain.

What you will be doing

• Undertake training and maintain competency-based training as necessary to fulfil the role of crew member
• Be on call for lifeboat ‘shouts’
• Attend exercises
• Contribute to the overall upkeep of the station, lifeboats and equipment

Find out more about becoming a lifeboat station volunteer

What you need for this role

• Team player
• Good communicator
• Good general fitness
• Ability to learn new skills
• Between 18 and 50 years of age
• Availability to be ‘on call’ for around 120 hours per week.
• Permission from your employer to respond to the lifeboat station call outs.

What’s in it for you

• Join an inclusive and diverse organisation
• Have fun, meet new people and join a motivated and enthusiastic team who are making a difference
• Learn skills and gain experience to enhance your CV
• Gain the satisfaction of giving back
• Training to fulfil your volunteer role will be provided and reasonable out of pocket expenses reimbursed

Safeguarding

The RNLI is committed to safeguarding; protecting a person’s health, wellbeing, and human rights, enabling them to live free from harm, abuse, and neglect. We expect all employees and volunteers to share this commitment and have a zero-tolerance approach. The suitability of all prospective employees and volunteers will be assessed during the recruitment process in line with this commitment. This will include relevant criminal record checks being carried out dependent on the eligibility of the role. (England & Wales; DBS check, Scotland; Disclosure Scotland PVG, Northern Ireland; Access NI, Republic of Ireland; Garda Vetting; International, International Child Protection Certificate process).

Diversity at the RNLI

Our staff and volunteers have been saving lives at sea without prejudice for 200 years. We respect and value diversity of background, skills and perspectives within our teams, and consider it essential to help us deliver a world-class lifesaving service. We are an inclusive organisation and welcome applications from everyone. In addition to having the skills needed for the role, we also look for applicants who share our commitment to living our RNLI values (trustworthy, courageous, selfless, and dependable), and helping us work towards Our Vision: To save Every One.