Vacancy Information
Division / Department - Chief Officers
Grade - Grade 10
Status - Full Time
Contract Type - Permanent
Salary Grade Range - £34,329 - £37,692
Working Hours - 37.0 Hours per Week
Shift Allowance - No
Politically Restricted - No
Location - Lewes
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.
Chief Constables' Message
We really welcome your interest in joining our Police Force. It is a privilege to lead the teams in Surrey Police and Sussex Police who continuously work selflessly and tirelessly in order to keep people in our counties safe.
We are looking for talented and inspirational people who put the needs of the public at the heart of everything that they do and who want to make a difference. If you feel you are that person then we want to hear from you.
We wish you all the very best with your application.
Chief Constable Tim De Meyer & Chief Constable Jo Shiner
The Role & Key Responsibilities
This is an exciting opportunity to support the Chief Constable both locally and on a national level.
The role is demanding and fast paced, but very rewarding in its scope and exposure to the highest levels of policing and external stakeholders.
The ability to develop good knowledge of the portfolio areas covered by the Chief Constable is essential, as is a working knowledge of all the Chief Officer portfolio areas due to required cover for colleagues during leave, sickness and other abstractions being a key element of the role.
The post holder on occasions will need to challenge other colleagues across the force with regards to working practices and standards. The post holder needs to be diplomatic in their approach whilst ensuring standards are maintained.
The post holder is required to communicate with police officers and police staff throughout the force, regional colleagues, partners, the public and also with individuals on a national basis, both verbally and in writing. The ability to communicate effectively at every level is a critical element of this role. The post holder is tasked by the Chief Constable but a large part of the responsibility within this role is to have a proactive approach to problem solving, to ensure the completion of work and to relieve the workload of the Chief Constable.
On a daily basis the post holder receives information addressed to the Chief Officers. The post holder is expected to disseminate this information (received by post, email or telephone contact from a variety of sources, including central government and the Police & Crime Commissioner) requesting information and responses within short deadlines. The post holder will then prepare correspondence on behalf of the Chief Officer in response to these requests. When preparing responses, research by the post holder may be required along with knowledge of the style of the required response.
The post holder monitors the inbox of the Chief Officer and deals with suitable emails. This requires the post holder to have a proactive approach to problem solving and not being tasked by the Chief Constable.
To ensure the Command Secretarial function achieves its’ goal of planning, organising, prioritising and managing the time and work of the Chief Officers, the ability to work as part of a team is an essential element of this post.
This role undertakes additional tasks to other PA's which include but not limited to:
- Support Assistant Chief Officers and other Chief Officers in Sussex Police in arranging meetings and providing links to other key stakeholders
- Provide support for the Chief Constable’s national portfolio, which includes supporting the executive business support officer for the national portfolio, with all meeting arrangements and planning
- Act as a named point of contact nationally for enquiries to the Chief Constable’s national portfolio
- Manage high risk competing demands on a national scale
- Provide support to the Chief Constable with meetings undertaken as trustee for national charities • Coordinate on call and annual leave for the Sussex Chief Officer team
- Coordinate local Chief Officer logistics when the Chief Constable directs to do so
- Lead PA support function, chair a monthly meeting as the senior PA acting as a conduit into the Chief of Staff to escalate issues and risks and manage well-being.
Skills & Experience
Act as a main point of contact to update and manage Chief Officers’ diaries ensuring meetings and appointments are appropriately resourced and prioritised enabling the Chief Constable to make the best use of her time.
Deal with information and correspondence received by Chief Officers by email, letter or telephone, making decisions and using own judgement to action or resolve as necessary.
Draft responses for Chief Officers where appropriate. Also ensuring Chief Officers are briefed and updated on high risk or important issues.
Provide a full range of administrative support, including the electronic taking and preparation of minutes and actions, for Chief Officer or other meetings.
Coordinate local Chief Officer logistics around meeting planning when the Chief Constable directs.
Organise events, visits, travel and accommodation (via Support Services) to ensure that efficient, good value and cost-effective arrangements are made on behalf of the Chief Officer.
Plan, prioritise and organise Chief Officer’s workload (e.g. dealing with information, emails, communications, correspondence, documents and reports received) whilst managing own workload.
Ensure all relevant administrative procedures are as dynamic as possible in order to reduce any unnecessary bureaucracy and cost.
Deal effectively with all personal visitors and telephone calls, providing high levels of customer service.
Provide support for the Chief Constables national portfolio, which includes supporting the executive business support officer for the national portfolio, with all meeting arrangements, and planning.
Act as a named point of contact nationally for enquiries to the Chief Constables national portfolio, this includes from NPCC and Home Officer colleagues, as well a key stakeholders included in the national portfolio (such as Highways England)
Manage high risk competing demands on a national scale. Such demands include key meeting planning in reduced timescales, along with local force diary management.
Coordinate on call and annual leave for the Sussex Chief Officer team – responsible for planning and updating systems to reflect correct resourcing
Undertake other duties appropriate to the grade and character of work as may be reasonably required, including specific duties of a similar or lesser graded post.
Skills & Experience
▫ Good level of IT literacy with advanced Microsoft Office skills with qualifications to support.
▫ Minute taking training and experience.
▫ Accurate typing at a speed of at least 70 words per minute.
▫ GCSE English Grade C or above (or equivalent)
▫ Outlook diary management training and experience.
▫ Experience of supporting staff working at a senior/strategic level in an organisation.
▫ A sound knowledge of the police service and the context within which it operates.
▫ Experience of drafting letters, communications and correspondence at a senior/strategic level within an organisation.
▫ Advanced organisational skills, including the ability to organise time and tasks for both self and those you are supporting.
▫ Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
▫ Proactive approach to problem solving and ability to work under own initiative.
▫ Ability to work with confidential and sensitive information maintaining its’ integrity.
▫ Ability to produce good results with limited supervision and direct instruction.
▫ Excellent skills in customer service, tact and diplomacy.
▫ Ability to exercise professional judgement and sound decision making.
▫ Ability to work at the strategic level of the organisation dealing with a variety of key stakeholders and senior personnel.
Further Information
This role is based from Malling House, Lewes Headquarters. The successful applicant must be able to undertake the majority of their working hours from this location.
The successful applicant must be able to complete a basic driving assessment to enable driving support for the Chief Constable where needed.
The successful applicant must have their line manager's agreement to apply.
Please do make contact with Chief Inspector Paul Nellis (paul.nellis@sussex.police.uk) to discuss, if you are considering applying.
Applications should be no more than 500 words, explaining suitability for the role. A professional discussion will be offered to those successful at written application stage.
Diversity Statement
We are only as good as our people. It's 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 the skills that diversity brings; all of which help us to 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 Disability Confident, hold Race Equality Matters Trailblazer status, are a signatory of the Race at Work Charter and are aligned with the Armed Forces Covenant and the HeForShe movement.
We are committed to being an anti-racist police service. We promise to challenge injustice, ensure fairness and to uphold anti-racist principles in both our organisation and our communities. For more information, you can read our full anti-racism statement here.
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 belief, we would love to hear from you.
Please use the following links to find out more on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Surrey Police and Sussex Police
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.
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.
Please note that not all jobs are available for internal candidates across both Forces, the current agreed recruitment principles are;
- vacancies in collaborated units are available to all officers and staff across both Forces
- vacancies in non-collaborated units are only available to officers and staff within the Force with the vacancy unless it is advertised externally
- if the vacancy is advertised externally and an officer or member of staff from the other Force is successful it will result in a transfer of employment
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.