Vacancy Information
This role is within a unit where Surrey Police and Sussex Police work in collaboration, whilst continuing to be two separate legal entities/employers with different terms and conditions.
Both Surrey Police staff and Sussex Police staff are employed in this unit on their own force terms and conditions.
Successful candidates may be appointed on the terms and conditions of employment of either Surrey Police or Sussex Police, depending on organisational requirements. A discussion will be held with the successful candidate to confirm the details of location, salary, allowance and hours.
Division / Department - Specialist Crime
Status - Full Time
Contract Type - Permanent
Grade - Grade H
Salary Grade Range - £35,028 - £41,464
Politically Restricted -
Unsocial Hours Allowance -
Location - Surrey Police Headquarters, Guildford
The starting salary for this role will usually be at the bottom of the salary range and will be pro-rata if the working hours are less than full time.
The Role
The Tier 2 Digital Forensic Team environment is designed to be technically equipped to quickly process digital media in support of volume crime offences where no Indecent or Disturbing images are expected. It is specifically designed to support criminal justice outcomes, reduce bail times, elicit early guilty pleas and support the on-going transformation of summary justice. The Team Leader role will manage and facilitate examinations without creating backlogs or blockages over extended hours.
Surrey and Sussex Digital Forensic Team and Forensic Investigations are offering exciting full time Team leader opportunity in Surrey Digital Forensic Team. Team Leaders oversee, coordinate and manage workloads. They will be expected to be aware of their team’s activities and coordinate their response to demand. You will be expected to maintain a working knowledge of the demand and resources, coordinating a response to meet changing requirements and escalating cases where appropriate.
You will work with other DFT Team Leaders, managers and advisors, in order to provide a service whilst also managing customer expectations. This will require a dynamic approach and excellent communication, problem solving and organisation skills.
You will be regularly required to bring together various people to ensure that specific tasks / projects are completed on time and to an acceptable evidential standard. This will require a high level of communication skills, particularly around negotiating and influencing.
It should be noted that the nature of this role may occasionally expose the post holder to extremely distressing material and images. Consequently, welfare support (in the form of regular psychological surveillance) is regularly provided.
Key Responsibilities
Manage and lead a Digital Forensics Team (DFT) to ensure that they are clear regarding their objectives and roles, supported and developed appropriately, and held to account for their performance.
Manage DFT service delivery, including responsibility for service delivery in relation to complex and high priority cases.
Assess, prioritise and manage submissions in the DFT, ensuring that they are dealt with in line with investigative needs.
Ensure that resources are deployed effectively, and that an excellent support service is provided to police investigations.
Manage the professional relationship with a range of external stakeholders, including outsourcing companies, to maintain strong working relationships and facilitate good team performance.
Communicate, and ensure compliance with relevant digital forensics guidelines, legislation, the ISO17025 standard and force policy, to make sure that staff are clear about these and work within them appropriately.
Promote continuous process improvement assessing and overseeing the maintenance and where necessary the replacement of specialist equipment used within the DFT, to ensure that the Force can plan ahead effectively in this area, and has access to the available technology to support police investigations in a dynamic environment.
Oversee the provision of advice, guidance and recommendations to investigators regarding the use of computers and mobile phones in crime, to enable them to use the information effectively in their investigations.
Build and maintain good working relationships with peers in regional and national forces to ensure that Surrey and Sussex DFT works well with these other forces in the use of forensic technology, and shares findings and best practice appropriately.
Take responsible for the delivery and coordination of team performance and digital forensic services. Collates and presents management information.
Manage and lead the DFT through organisational change.
Work independently be able to take management decisions with confidence.
Responsible for DFT recruitment and selection processes to ensure resilience and skills profile within the office is maintained.
Skills & Experience
The successful candidate will have excellent interpersonal skills, particularly the ability to effectively engage with stakeholders using negotiating and influencing techniques and have experience of maintaining relationships with them.
You will also have a sound knowledge and understanding of the police service in the UK and the context in which it operates.
To be successful in this role you will have a relevant degree or equivalent experience in a DFT environment. Successful candidates will have a proven experience in working both independently and as part of a larger team, preferably in a law enforcement environment. They will also possess sound organisational skills, excellent verbal and written communication skills and strong attention to detail.
If you have previously applied for this role and been unsuccessful within the last year please do not apply.
Contact Details
For further information or an informal discussion about these roles contact or Mark Buttifant, DFT Professional Lead on 07786 021792 or email resourcing@surrey.pnn.police.uk
Additional Information
Following submission of your application you will receive a confirmation email with a copy of your application attached. Occasionally emails from this address can fall into spam/junk folders so please ensure this is checked regularly. You may wish to consider adding noreply@surreysussexpolice.as.recruitmail.com to your address/contact list to ensure you receive all communications.
Surrey Police and Sussex Police work together in collaboration for this role, however they remain two different employers, with differing pay scales, allowances and terms and conditions including hours of employment.
If you are an internal candidate and are conditionally offered the role your attendance record and any reasonable adjustments already in place will be discussed with yourself and your current line manager. If you are successful in your application, you may be required to resign and transfer your employment, taking on the Terms & Conditions and pay scales of the Lead Force (if this is not your existing Home Force).
This post is being advertised in parallel with Force redeployment processes. Any redeployees who are identified will be given preference. This may result in the post being withdrawn at any point during the recruitment process.
Surrey Police and Sussex Police Special Constables, Volunteers and Agency Staff (excluding self employed workers) covered under the Agency Worker Regulations (AWR) are eligible to apply for internal advertised posts.
Diversity Statement
We are only as good as our people. It's really important that our officers and staff can be themselves in the workplace and we know that as an organisation we'll grow from the variety of thinking, approach and skills that diversity brings; all of which help us deliver a better policing service. We strive to ensure how we deliver our services, provide information and how we recruit is open and accessible to all.
We have multiple staff support groups who help to improve our understanding of minority issues and ensure they are reflected in our work. We are proud members of the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index and Disability Confident, a signatory of the Race at Work Charter and aligned with the Armed Forces Covenant and the HeForShe movement.
We value the differences that people bring from all backgrounds and communities. Regardless of age, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, disability, social status or religious beliefs, we would love to hear from you.