Manager, Maritime HR Operations

Carnival Corporation•Seattle, WA

5d•$74,100 - $100,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Manager, Maritime HR and Operations leads talent and performance management for Deck and Technical (D&T) seafarers—Officers, Petty Officers and ratings—serving on Holland America Line and Seabourn vessels. Reporting to the Director, Maritime HR and Operations, the Manager serves as a consistent shore-side contact for ship leadership on talent matters and partners with Marine and Technical Operations to support seafarer development, recognition and promotion. The role owns promotion eligibility tracking and the “Ready for Promotion” list, oversees performance appraisal and Professional Development Record (PDR) processes, and produces workforce and talent reports for Maritime HR and operational leadership. It maintains D&T job descriptions, career paths and organization charts so they reflect onboard responsibilities, competency frameworks, applicable collective bargaining agreements (CBAs), and flag-state and STCW requirements. The Manager collaborates across Maritime HR Strategy & Operations and related functions to support a transparent, coordinated career journey for seafarers. This is an individual-contributor position with no direct reports. It leads through influence, working across shipboard and shoreside teams and multiple nationalities, manning agents and employing entities. The role requires discretion with sensitive personnel information, sound judgment in applying policy and regulatory requirements, and a practical, service-oriented approach to supporting seafarers and ship leadership. The position is classified as in-office. Employees work from a designated office Monday through Thursday and may work from home on Fridays. Travel is less than 25%, with shipboard travel likely. Work is primarily in a climate-controlled environment with minimal safety or health hazard potential. The role requires remaining stationary at a desk and/or computer for extended periods.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in Human Resources, Maritime Studies, Business Administration or a related discipline, or equivalent experience.
Strong working knowledge of talent-management and performance-management processes, including appraisals, development plans, promotion processes and succession planning.
Advanced Excel and data-reporting skills.
Ability to interpret CBAs, company policies and maritime regulatory requirements, including STCW, MLC and flag-state requirements, as they apply to seafarers.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, with the ability to engage credibly with Captains, Chief Engineers and shoreside leaders.
Highly organized, accurate and detail-oriented, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
Professionalism, confidentiality and discretion when handling sensitive personnel data.
Collaborative, solution-focused approach and openness to new ideas, technology and process improvement.
Minimum of five years of experience in HR, maritime operations, talent management, performance management or crew/workforce management; maritime or cruise industry experience is preferred.
Experience administering promotion processes, performance-appraisal cycles or competency frameworks for a large, multinational workforce.
Proven experience producing workforce reports, dashboards and KPIs for leadership audiences.
Experience maintaining job descriptions, career paths and organization charts.
Track record of building effective relationships across ship and shore and working in a fast-paced, operationally complex environment.
Ability to reconcile incomplete or inconsistent data from multiple systems and sources, apply policy and regulatory requirements to individual cases, identify root causes and propose practical solutions, and escalate issues with clear facts and recommendations as appropriate.

Nice To Haves

Shipboard experience as a Deck or Technical Officer, or significant experience supporting D&T seafarers.
Experience with Power BI or similar reporting tools, crew management systems and HRIS.
Experience working with unions, CBAs, manning agencies or multiple employing entities.

Responsibilities

Maintain a per-person view of the D&T talent pool across Holland America Line and Seabourn and support timely promotion and succession decisions.
Review performance-appraisal promotion recommendations and verify eligibility against the Promotion Policy and applicable CBAs, including performance history, PDR or position-skill completion, time in rank or sea time, certificates and training, disciplinary standing, and individual ambition.
Maintain an accurate “Ready for Promotion” list and review it at least quarterly.
Prepare candidate information for talent reviews and Senior Officer promotion panels at CSMART in partnership with Marine and Technical Operations leadership and the Director.
Coordinate temporary promotions (TWC), track temporary promotion days against CBA limits, and hand promotion outcomes over to Fleet Compensation, Crew Planning/Scheduling and FRST for wage, assignment and system updates.
Identify high-potential Officers and ratings, support succession plans for key ranks, and share progression timelines and internal candidate pools with Talent Acquisition before external hiring is opened.
Identify progression bottlenecks and propose practical solutions.
Own the performance-management cycle for D&T seafarers across both brands, monitoring completion and quality of appraisals and PDRs and following up on overdue or incomplete reviews.
Support ship leadership with performance improvement, development plans and structured corrective actions, working with Employee Relations, Fleet People Partners and Training & Compliance as needed.
Monitor and document performance during temporary promotions and probationary periods.
Analyze appraisal and training-feedback trends to identify skill gaps and development needs, and contribute to annual training planning with Fleet Training & Compliance and CSMART.
Provide performance input to Fleet Compensation for annual equity analysis and other pay decisions, and promote fair, transparent and consistent performance processes.
Create and maintain standard D&T talent and performance reports, including monthly dashboards and status reports on promotion eligibility, succession coverage, appraisal and PDR completion, temporary promotions, time in rank, internal promotion rates, turnover and retention indicators, and establishment alignment with the Focus Report.
Reconcile data across the crew management system, MAPS, Mistral and related tools; identify data-quality gaps and work with the Policy & Data Analyst and system owners to correct them.
Tailor reports for the Director, VP Maritime HR Strategy & Operations, and Marine and Technical Operations leadership, supporting KPIs such as establishment alignment, PDR completion and turnover.
Use automation, Microsoft 365 and AI tools where appropriate to reduce manual effort and improve per-person career-progression information.
Maintain D&T shipboard job descriptions, career paths and organization charts for Holland America Line and Seabourn, ensuring alignment with onboard responsibilities, licenses, STCW certificates, competencies, PDR requirements, CBA rank structures and wage scales.
Maintain clear, published career paths for Officers, Petty Officers and ratings, including new and evolving ranks and pathways.
Keep shipboard and D&T organization charts current, including Table of Personnel changes and newbuild or fleet changes.
Run a controlled review cycle for job descriptions, career paths and organization charts, including version control, approvals and communication of changes to ship leadership, Talent Acquisition and HR teams.
Incorporate feedback from ship visits and fleet leadership meetings into relevant materials and processes.
Serve as a consistent shore-side contact for ship leadership on talent and performance matters, support recurring check-ins with Deck and Technical leadership teams, and participate in ship visits to engage with Officers and ratings.
Collaborate with Talent Acquisition, Fleet Training & Compliance, Fleet Compensation, the Competency Framework team, Crew Planning/Scheduling, Onboarding, Expedition Maritime HR, Fleet People Partners and corporate Performance Management to coordinate processes and handoffs.
Ensure talent and performance processes follow company policy, CBAs, MLC and flag-state requirements; maintain audit-ready records and functional procedures and SOPs; and recommend improvements based on data and fleet feedback.
Coach appraisers on objective, evidence-based reviews and represent Maritime HR in fleet leadership meetings and ship visits.