Job Title: Boat Builder, Fleet Services
Salary: The starting salary is £46,985, which includes allowances totalling £3,009.
The salary is broken down as £43,976 basic salary, which will increase annually until you reach the top of the scale £49,670. Plus, a location allowance of £2,009 and a non-pensionable allowance of £1,000.
Location: Wapping Marine Workshop, London
The police vehicle fleet is an important physical asset. It enables officers and staff to do their job, carries key equipment required, and provides safe transportation for the public / prisoners.
The role of Fleet Services is to keep the Met mobile, ensuring we can detect, respond to, and prevent crime whilst building public trust and confidence. Fleet Services are committed to leading with innovation, responsibility and environmental consciousness, striving for a fleet that is safer, smarter and cleaner, with a focused approach as follows:
1 - We will manage responsibly to deliver an excellent service and achieve value for money
2 - We will deliver strategies to manage the fleet efficiently and effectively
3 - We will deliver a fit-for-purpose, flexible and available fleet
The complex needs of modern policing requires a wide range of vehicle types. We operate a fleet of over 5,200 assets on the road and river, as well as over 1,000 pedal cycles. London is the most complex and diverse city in the UK, and our fleet is reflective of that. We currently have over 220 different types of vehicles supporting all operational commands including armed response vehicles, HGVs, patrol cars, motorbikes and pedal cycles.
Customers can be broadly grouped into three strategic pillars – Frontline Policing, Met Ops & Performance, and Counter Terrorism / Specialist Operations. Collectively this covers pan London requirements as well as national CT responsibilities.
The overall fleet requirements and volumes are owned and governed by operational leaders at the Strategic Fleet Board. Operational teams are accountable for the volume of fleet required to undertake their roles, and Fleet Services support and enable effective decision making through provision of information and technical / industry knowledge.
The Marine Policing Unit (MPU) is responsible for policing the 47 miles of the River Thames within the MPS area (Dartford to Hampton Court) as well as providing specialist response to over 250 miles of canals and waterways, lakes and reservoirs and other bodies of water in London.
The Metropolitan Police Marine Workshop, Marine Engineering staff are responsible for all the maintenance and repairs carried out on the current fleet of vessels used by the MPU. This ranges from carrying out basic engine servicing to complete engine rebuilds.
The role holder’s main purpose is to support operational frontline policing by making sure the availability of the Marine Policing Unit is optimised at all times.
Key Responsibilities
Individuals will do a number of these responsibilities, which will be slightly different depending on whether individual is a Boat Builder or a Marine Engineer.
- Vessel maintenance- Maintain fleet within Fleet Services’ workshop by providing efficient scheduled and unscheduled maintenance and repairs on the vessels. Reduce maintenance costs and maximise fleet availability by ensuring work on the fleet is timely and necessary. Follow multiple manufacturers’ repair instructions, specific methods and techniques. Accurately determine the serviceability of all components, mechanical, electrical and hydraulic; using industry recognised tools and equipment.
- Warranty jobs- Accurately follow the ‘end to end’ process for each manufacturer’s warranty process.
- Inspection and diagnosis- Visually inspect and test vessels, interpreting feedback from the correct function. Diagnose electrical faults accurately, using high and low technology electrical test equipment to ensure they achieve minimum (or exceed) manufacturers’ standards. Maintain high technology test equipment to configure / reconfigure the appropriate system correctly.
- Data / Information- Accurately record obtained measurements and data on completed work, compiling technical reports where necessary. Read, interpret and analyse wiring diagrams, making use of interactive guides available from various manufacturers’ diagnostic equipment and web-based mediums.
- Development / training- Take responsibility for personal development and keep up to date with relevant standards and legislation.
- Support colleagues- Transfer knowledge and skills to apprentices / less technical staff.
- Reception Testing- Boat Builders are required to assist with the reception testing of vessels on the River Thames prior to the vessel being brought into the boat yard for routine servicing. This is done to establish whether there are any unreported defects with the vessel, which would be impossible to detect or check when the vessel is in the workshop. The Boat Builders main responsibility during the duration of the test is to inspect all underwater fittings and to ensure that they are not leaking through into the vessels hull. Once the Boat Builder is satisfied that he has identified any potential problem, other than basic servicing, he will then bring the vessel into the boat yard using our syncro hoist lift. (Boat Builders only)
- Quality Control– Boat Builders are responsible for the examination of work for quality control purposes. They are also responsible for testing out completed jobs ensuring that all reported defects have been repaired and quality standards achieved, maintaining customer satisfaction. To take responsibility for their own work and that of others, this will include testing defective or repaired vessels as deemed necessary by supervisors. Once the vessel is launched, stringent safety and quality checks are conducted afloat, before it is allowed to return to active service. This ensures that all the work is checked by the technician who then signs of the vessels logbook (Boat Builders only)
- Repairs- Boat Builders are responsible for undertaking large Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) repairs to vessels that have been involved in severe accidents or vessel damage caused by wear and tear. Often complex GRP moulds have to be manufactured prior to work commencing. Boat Builders are responsibly for conducting hull surveys and making sure that every single component on the vessel is secure and is in good condition. It is their responsibility to determine when components have to be repaired or replaced. All police vessels have to be coded in accordance with Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) policies, as well as the Police Boat Codes 2 (PBC2). It is the Boat Builders responsibility to make sure all the equipment to be inspected is in good condition and everything is still within date. This includes life rafts, flare packs emergency position indicators etc. (Boat Builders only)
- Health & Safety focus - Take accountability for all personal equipment and work area. Ensure that accommodation is kept in appropriate condition. In the course of carrying out their duties the individual has a primary responsibility for both their own health and safety and the health and safety of others, and should implement and comply with all Health & Safety training requirements. At all times the correct personal protective equipment (PPE) required for any given task must be worn.
How to apply
To begin your career at the Met, please click the "apply button “. The application process requires a comprehensive CV, a Personal Statement, and an online application form. In your Personal Statement, you should explain your interest in the position and illustrate how your skills and experiences make you a suitable candidate. Please note that you should not submit two copies of your CV, and ensure that your documents are saved in either PDF or Word format, clearly labelled as CV and Personal Statement.
Completed applications must be submitted by 23:55 on 2nd April 2026.
Once received, your application will be reviewed against eligibility criteria, following this, your application will be reviewed by the hiring manager. The application review for this vacancy will commence 1–2 weeks after the vacancy has closed.
Following application review, successful candidates will be invited to interview. Interview dates will commence 1- 3 weeks after the hiring managers review.
