# Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director - SeaLearn

> Union Maritime · London, United Kingdom · — · Posted 2026-05-27

**Workplace:** on_site

**Department:** Sealearn

## Description

**Location:** London-based, with significant time in Nigeria and across global maritime hubs.

**Reporting to:** Group Managing Director

SeaLearn is the launch vertical of a new vocational training group backed by Union Maritime Limited. We are building a world-class maritime training business that will educate the next generation of officers at scale — starting in Nigeria, where we are creating the first generation of Nigerian seafarers crewing the world’s ships. The mission is generational: 10,000 officers trained by 2050, in partnership with the Tetra Foundation.

We are looking for a founder-operator: someone who has built or led a high-growth training, shipping, or services business before, and who is ready to turn SeaLearn from a launch venture into a category-defining maritime training platform.

**The Position**

As CEO / MD of SeaLearn, you will own the maritime training business end to end — strategy, P&L, cadet pipeline, curriculum, commercial partnerships with shipowners, and onboard placement. You will report to the Group MD and operate with the autonomy of a founder and the backing of an established shipping group.

## Requirements

**Strategic & Commercial Leadership**

-   Set the strategy, growth roadmap, and operating model for SeaLearn, with full P&L ownership
-   Build commercial relationships with shipowners, operators, and managers — converting them into sponsors, employers, and long-term partners
-   Deliver against ambitious cadet, revenue, and unit-economic targets

**Training Delivery & Operations**

-   Build a maritime curriculum that meets international STCW standards and sets a new benchmark for quality
-   Lead delivery across classroom, simulator, and sea-time placement
-   Establish and run training centres in Nigeria and future hubs

**People Leadership**

-   Attract, develop, and retain a world-class team of maritime instructors, operations staff, and commercial leaders
-   Foster a high-performance culture obsessed with cadet outcomes and commercial impact

**Stakeholder & Industry Engagement**

-   Partner closely with the Tetra Foundation on cadet sponsorship, outreach, and impact
-   Engage with industry bodies, flag states, and regulators across the jurisdictions where SeaLearn operates
-   Represent SeaLearn at industry forums and to shipping principals globally

**Cadet Outcomes & Growth**

-   Take personal accountability for cadet progression, qualification, and placement onto vessels
-   Build the SeaLearn brand as the destination of choice for ambitious young seafarers
-   Identify and launch new training programmes and geographies as the business scales

**Key Requirements**

-   Senior leadership experience in maritime training, ship management, or a related operational shipping business
-   Proven commercial track record — ideally with P&L ownership in a high-growth or PE-backed environment
-   Deep knowledge of STCW, IMO, and the international maritime regulatory landscape
-   Credibility with shipping principals — owners, managers, and charterers
-   Comfort operating in emerging markets, particularly West Africa
-   Founder-operator mindset: ready to build from the ground up

**Desirable**

-   Direct experience launching or scaling a maritime training academy
-   Existing network across tanker, bulker, and container operators
-   Background bridging commercial shipping and education

## Apply

[Apply at Union Maritime](https://apply.workable.com/union-maritime/j/4A446AE245/apply)

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