Now is an exciting time to join Mercy Ships UK. With a growing supporter base, a talented staff team and ambitious targets to reach over the next five years, we are looking for a talented Legacy Manager to join our team.

Mercy Ships is a faith-based charity, bringing safe surgery to people in Africa who have limited access to healthcare and little or no money to pay for it. For over 40 years, Mercy Ships has visited more than 55 developing nations. We are passionate to serve those in need and to leave a lasting impact for the future by working alongside governments, supporting health systems and delivering training within the countries we visit. Our volunteer crew represent our organisation onboard our two ships through excellence and diligence. Sixteen Mercy Ships offices around the world collaborate on fundraising, recruitment and public relations.

Mercy Ships UK

The UK currently raises circa £9 million a year to support Mercy Ships’ operations, benefiting from a diverse base of committed funders and partners. As well as providing financial resources for surgeries, healthcare, education and local partnerships, the UK identifies over 400 professional volunteers with medical, maritime and many other skills to crew the world’s largest charitable hospital ships ‘Africa Mercy’ and ‘Global Mercy’, – bringing immediate relief to thousands of individuals and leaving a sustainable legacy of hope and healing in every nation we visit.

Values

Mercy Ships was founded by Don and Deyon Stephens in 1978, committed Christians with a vision to follow the model of Jesus, who inspires action and guides us to imitate God’s heart for those marginalised by poverty and disease. Mercy Ships is a diverse community made of people from all walks of life, practically demonstrating love, integrity and excellence to make a lasting impact. While not all of our staff are practising Christians, they all align with and respect the Christian values that underpin Mercy Ships’ work.

Approximately 90% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa lacks access to safe and affordable surgical care. On average, there are only 1.8 beds per 1,000 people, and nearly 40% of healthcare settings lack hygiene infrastructure. The need for Mercy Ships is clear – we strive to provide safe and equitable healthcare for those who need it most.

Shelley Pigott, Executive Director, Mercy Ships UK

M E R C Y S H I P S A P P O I N T M E N T B R I E F

Impact

Since 1978, Mercy Ships has brought hope and healing to more than 2.88 million people through free, life-changing healthcare and training. Our volunteer professionals have performed over 122,000 surgical procedures and provided more than 556,900 dental procedures to those in desperate need. Alongside this, we have trained more than 55,500 local professionals in their area of expertise, equipping them to go on and impact over 252,000 others within their own communities.

Our commitment extends beyond the hospital ship—we have completed over 1,110 community development projects, including the reconstruction of schools, clinics, orphanages, water wells, and agricultural programmes. These initiatives ensure sustainable transformation by strengthening local infrastructure and skills for the future.

Today, we have proudly served across more than 55 of the world’s poorest nations, with two remarkable hospital ships:

The Global Mercy: the world’s largest civilian hospital ship, featuring 6 state-of-the-art operating theatres, 199 patient beds, the capacity for 640 crew, and a gross tonnage of 37,856.

The Africa Mercy: with 5 fully equipped operating theatres, 85 patient beds, space for 470 crew, and a gross tonnage of 16,572.

Together, these ships represent a unique and powerful force for good, bringing hope, healing, and lasting change to those who need it most.

Our work

Mariama’s story

Mariama is a lively and healthy baby, but a severe facial cleft strained her joyful smile. This facial cleft affected 7-month-old Mariama’s lip and nose, making it difficult for her to eat and causing her parents to worry about their child’s future.

Since paediatric services capable of treating baby Mariama’s condition were not available near the family, local doctors directed her father to Senegal’s capital city in hopes of finding help.

It was there that he heard about a hospital ship capable of providing healing for his little girl.

Soon after, Mariama received an operation onboard the Africa Mercy that repaired her cleft lip. After surgery, Mariama and her family stayed at the HOPE Centre, where her mother learned how to make nutritional baby formula and learned about the importance of nutrition for her child. Now, Mariama i...

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