RNLI looking for a volunteer to help save lives in Looe

A gazebo goes up, a poster about spotting river dangers gets pinned to the board, and a volunteer starts talking a stranger through the risks before they ever get near the water. Multiply that scene across every cove and estuary in South East Cornwall and it starts to look like a proper job. Now the RNLI is looking for someone to run it.

📷Credit: RNLI

More than lifeboats and lifeguards

The RNLI is best known for launching lifeboats and putting lifeguards on beaches, but the charity’s reach goes further than that. Its Water Safety Team builds what are called Water Safety Lifesaving Plans, delivers interventions, shares lifesaving messages and works with partners to improve public understanding of water safety. The aim is to cut the number of preventable deaths and incidents in local coastal and inland waterway environments.

A pivotal role in the local team

Whoever takes on the Water Safety Officer post for Looe and South East Cornwall will help design and deliver that plan on the ground. The role means working closely with the local Lifeboat Operations Team and the Area Lifesaving Manager, and coordinating the wider Water Safety team.

A large part of the job is working out which groups and activities carry the most risk locally, then building targeted interventions with partners and checking whether they actually work. According to the RNLI, it suits someone confident enough to operate within the organisation while also leading a small team and working independently when needed.

How to apply

The charity says it wants to hear from anyone who fits the criteria and wants to join, or lead, what it describes as a friendly, dedicated and motivated team. Full details, plus the application form, are on the RNLI’s volunteering site.

There’s no lifeboat launch attached to this one. Just a stretch of coast around Looe, a lifesaving plan still to be built, and a chance to stop the next preventable tragedy before it happens.

📷Credit: RNLI