Royal Navy forced to advertise for rear-admiral on LinkedIn
Navy chiefs have been forced to advertise for a rear-admiral on LinkedIn, in an unprecedented move that has exposed significant recruitment gaps in the submarine service.
The chosen candidate will replace Rear-Admiral Simon Asquith as director of submarines and will be responsible for “elite operations” and the nation’s nuclear deterrent, according to the advertisement.
Normally, senior naval officers rise through the ranks, but it is understood there is currently no one serving who is suitable for the £150,000-a-year, two-star position and also wants it.
A navy source admitted it was “unprecedented” for recruiters to resort to advertising the post on social media
Instead, recruiters have had to appeal to the retired community, in the hope someone who has left would come back on a higher salary.
The advert, which went up on LinkedIn in December, has raised eyebrows among the military community, with one former senior submariner saying it was “utterly shameful”.
He said that when the advert was first published, the only person who applied was a weapons engineer commodore, who was not properly qualified.
Former submariners have blamed senior leaders for failing to invest in a succession plan by spotting talented potential high-flyers early and ensuring they had the necessary qualifications.
There are thought to be at least six other jobs left empty that should be filled by submarine warfare officers who have passed “Perisher” — officially called the Submarine Command Course.
A navy source admitted the advert for a rear-admiral was “unprecedented” and said that although the service was indeed trying to be “more agile”, this was a case of them struggling to find a suitable candidate.
The advert said the director of submarines would be responsible for “highly classified stealth, elite operations and Trident, our nuclear deterrent”. It said candidates must be a member of the reserves forces or have served with the regular forces.
The navy source said there were ways of incentivising members of the retired community to return, such as offering more pay and assurances they would not be deployed overseas. It is understood the typical pay for such a role would be between £140,000 and £154,000.
Mike Davis-Marks, a retired submariner, said: “It’s genuinely surprising that the Navy is not able to generate a serving two-star that has the right experience and qualifications.
“The service used to take a lot of care to create sufficient officers to ensure it had a choice as to who would do a senior role.”
The former commanding officer of HMS Turbulent said that “something is not right with the naval manpower pipeline within the service”.
It is understood the position is yet to be filled, although the Royal Navy is still accepting applicants. A Royal Navy spokeswoman said: “It would be inappropriate to comment ahead of any appointment being made.”
