LA(P) Ritchie Harvey/AFP via Getty Images
- The British Royal Navy has resorted to LinkedIn to fill a vacancy for a submarine Rear-Admiral.
- The unconventional recruitment process comes as the Navy struggles to find new talent.
- A former submariner called the LinkedIn search for such a senior role "utterly shameful."
A new job advertisement posted by the British Royal Navy on LinkedIn is calling for candidates interested in the role of submarine Rear-Admiral, The Telegraph reported.
The Navy is seeking a candidate to replace the current Rear-Admiral Simon Asquith as Director of Submarines and become responsible for "highly classified stealth, elite operations and Trident, our nuclear deterrent," per the report.
The chosen applicant, who will reportedly earn a salary of around $190,000 a year, must be a member of the reserves or have served in the regular forces, the advertisement said.
The unusual recruitment process for such a senior role was described as "utterly shameful" by one former senior submariner, The Times of London reported.
Another Navy source told the publication that it was "unprecedented," adding that the Royal Navy was clearly struggling to find the right candidate.
But Tom Sharpe, a former Navy commander, defended the move, telling The Telegraph: "In an ideal world, the Royal Navy would select from within – but we're not in one, so throwing the net a little wider for this role makes some sense to me."
The British armed forces have struggled to find new talent as numbers of active personnel continue to dwindle.
The overall number of Royal Navy and Royal Marines personnel dropped by 1,450 from October 2022 to October 2023 — a 3.7% decrease, according to UK Ministry of Defence figures.
The number of active personnel across the UK's armed forces fell by 3.9% over the same period.
The Navy is so short on manpower that it has to decommission two warships, The Telegraph also reported this week.
The Royal Navy did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.