Staff

Caroline Jupe - CEO

As the IMRF’s CEO, Caroline is charged with the responsibility of leading the organisation. She is an experienced leader and innovator who was previously the IMRF's Head of Fundraising and Projects where she was responsible for end-to-end creation, development and delivery of new programmes, conferences and events in addition to securing funding from a broad range of sources.

Since 2016, she has passionately championed new initiatives for the benefit of IMRF’s members.   
 
Caroline has worked in the UK charity sector for 16 years having worked in a number of fundraising positions at Action on Hearing Loss and The British Heart Foundation. She also spent two years volunteering in New York City, USA, on a variety of Education Training and Employment projects, as well as running a library in Rikers Island Jail. 

Location: United Kingdom

E-mail: [email protected] 

Adaora L. Okoye - Community Support Officer

Adaora is an experienced development professional with expertise in supporting the operations of cross-functional teams. She began her career as an intern with UNICEF Voices of Youth and later joined the pan-African non-profit Connected Development where she was exposed to effective advocacy and community mobilisation for sustainable change.  

She brings over three years of development experience to the team in addition to versatile communications skills.  In 2023, she earned a master's in Marketing and User Experience from Bournemouth University Business School. 

She is a lifelong learner and history lover. When she is not working, you can find her at a museum or enjoying a new episode of her favourite TV series. 

Location: United Kingdom

E-mail: [email protected]

Roly McKie - International Maritime Organization Representative and SAR Advisor

Roly spent more than 30 years with the United Kingdom’s HM Coastguard where he spent 12 years as a frontline SAR mission coordinator at MRCCs Dover and Yarmouth. This was followed by 19 years in various roles in SAR administration working on policy, procedure and process design, development and implementation. He was later part the senior management team providing strategic direction and leadership to the running of the coastguard service. The last six years of his career was as Head of Operational Standards, overseeing the conducting of regular operational audits of the Coastguard, and promoting high operational standards. 

Before joining HM Coastguard, he worked in civilian commercial aviation and then served in the UK Royal Air Force for nine years. He took up coastal sailing in the late 1970s and continued this off and on during his air force career, which led him to join HM Coastguard when he left.

Roly is based in Southampton, UK. He is married with two children and one grandchild.

Location: United Kingdom

E-mail: [email protected]

Jaakko Heikkilä - International Programme Manager

Besides working for the IMRF, Jaakko retains the position of Head of Training at the Finnish Lifeboat Institution (FLBI), where he has worked since 2016. He also serves as a volunteer lifeboat crew member at the FLBI Helsinki Station.

Prior to these roles, Jaakko spent 13 years as a Senior Researcher working for the Finnish government, contributing to various interdisciplinary research projects. He holds a Licentiate of Science degree in environmental economics, and believes in science-based decision-making. 

Outside of his professional commitments, Jaakko is a father of two children and a happy servant to a dachshund.

Location: Finland

E-mail: [email protected]

Clare Green - Finance Manager

Clare joined the IMRF team in December 2020.

She has a strong finance background, having trained with Saffery Champness, a London accountancy firm. 

Since then, she has been working in successful small- to medium-sized privately owned businesses, as well as briefly working at the RNLI in 2019 - so she is no stranger to maritime SAR! 

Clare is very friendly and extremely happy to help you with any questions or queries you may have.

Location: United Kingdom

E-mail: [email protected]