The Seafarers' Charity

Who we are

The Seafarers’ Charity has been improving the lives of those who work at sea, and their families, for over 100 years. Established in 1917 as The King George’s Fund for Sailors, to support the families of seafarers lost at sea during World War One, we support seafarers throughout their seafaring careers and beyond. We are the largest independent grant funder of maritime welfare charities – with at least £2 million in funding injected into supporting the safety and welfare of seafarers every year.

Our culture and values

Our vision is a world where seafarers and their families are free from need and disadvantage.

Our mission is to tackle the disadvantages of seafaring life by leading collaboration, funding and advocacy to improve seafarers’ lives

Equality, diversity and inclusion policy

The Seafarers’ Charity recognises and harnesses the importance of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) and is signed up to the Diversity In Maritime Charter. We are committed to a policy of promoting equality of opportunity, by providing an inclusive workplace where individual differences are valued and respected. We recognise that equality is not simply about treating everyone the same and that equity is key, making appropriate adjustment to ensure equal opportunities for all.  We have a staff led EDI working group that meets monthly and have staff ‘lunch and learns’ to push forward our work on EDI within our organisation.   

In short, we embrace anyone and everyone who works for us, or we work with… in the services we provide.  We strive to eliminate any processes with unfair treatment or discrimination (whether direct or indirect) and will not tolerate any discrimination relating to issues of equity, diversity, or inclusion.  

We encourage applications from all regardless of age, sexuality, socio-economic background, disability, ethnicity, gender, religion, or beliefs. We are committed to building a culture of belonging and inclusion and this is reflected in our policies, practices, and diversity in maritime networks and supported by our Trustees.

We are a family-friendly organisation, and we encourage flexible working as we want our employees to achieve a healthy work-life balance. Currently our full-time employees are working flexibly with 3 days in the London office per week.