Assistant Chief Fire Officer – Service Delivery

Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service; Leicester Forest East; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation support

Provided vehicle for strategic duty

Job summary

Leicestershire Fire & Rescue Service seeks an outstanding operational leader for the role of Assistant Chief Fire and Rescue Officer and Director of Service Delivery. You will join the Strategic Leadership Team, directing prevention, protection, response, training and risk across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

You will lead a wide range of capabilities and shape how we reduce risk, respond to incidents, and prepare for future challenges, reporting to senior stakeholders and partners.

Qualifications

• Proven operational command at a strategic level.
• Experience leading large multidisciplinary teams.
• Strong ability to translate data into clear, actionable decisions.
• Political awareness and credibility with staff, representative bodies and partners.

Responsibilities

• Lead Operational Response, Training, and Protection across the service.
• Oversee Community Risk, Fire Control, and Strategic command responsibilities.
• Shape prevention, protection, response, training and risk management across the region.
• Drive improvements through the NFCC Leadership Framework and stay aligned with strategic priorities.

Job description

Job Summary

Lead the frontline of a high-performing Fire and Rescue Service.

Leicestershire Fire & Rescue Service is looking for an outstanding operational leader, as Assistant Chief Fire and Rescue Officer and Director of Service Delivery, you will join our Strategic Leadership Team and take charge of the services that keep more than a million people safe across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

Prevention, protection, response, training and risk: all of it will be yours to lead and shape. You will set the direction for how we reduce risk in our communities, how we respond when people need us most, and how we keep our people ready for whatever comes next.

We are looking for an experienced and respected commander with the ambition to make a real difference. You will bring operational credibility and the leadership to inspire staff, build trust with Representative Bodies, elected Members and partners, and drive improvements that will be felt for years to come.

What you’ll lead

• Operational Response and Training: wholetime and on-call crews, operational training and specialist capabilities.
• Community Risk: Prevention and Protection, focused on the people and places most at risk.
• Fire Control: call handling and mobilising for our communities.
• Operational Assurance and Operational Risk: planning for our risks as well as ensuring learning from incidents drives continuous improvement.
• Strategic command: a place on our Gold rota, providing strategic command at significant and multi-agency incidents.

How you’ll lead: the NFCC Leadership Framework

This role sits at the ‘Leading the Service’ level of the National Fire Chiefs Council Leadership Framework, and our recruitment process is built around it. In this role, that means:

Personal Impact: You are a visible and trusted leader who role models inclusion and our values, communicates with integrity, and embeds wellbeing across the directorate.
Outstanding Leadership: You help set the strategic direction of the Service, develop future leaders and incident commanders, and build a learning and coaching culture with clear succession planning.

Service Delivery: You align resources to risk, use evidence to drive performance and value for money, embrace innovation and new technology, and build partnerships that improve outcomes for communities.

Organisational Effectiveness: You lead and embed change, provide professional advice to the Combined Fire Authority, anticipate future risks and challenges, and benchmark our performance against the best in the sector.

What you’ll bring

Proven operational command at a strategic level, as a competent Level 4 Strategic Incident Commander with MAGIC, currently working at Area Manager level or above.
A track record of leading large, multidisciplinary teams and delivering real change at a senior level.

Strong management of performance, resources and budgets, and the ability to turn complex data into clear decisions.

The political awareness and personal credibility to earn the confidence of staff, Representative Bodies, elected Members and partners.

Resilience, energy and a commitment to our values of being Positive, Professional and Honest.

What we offer

A place on the Strategic Leadership Team of a forward-thinking service with a strong operational reputation, and a genuine opportunity to shape how our communities are protected for years to come. The role includes a provided vehicle for our strategic duty rota, and relocation support is available if needed.

The selection process

• Application: your evidence set against the four areas of the NFCC Leadership Framework.
• Assessment Centre (4 and 5 January 2027): exercises and an interview built around the NFCC Leadership Framework.
• Employment Committee Interview and Presentation (14 January 2027)
• Combined Fire Authority approval

Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service is committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Furthermore, we want to create a work environment where everyone feels safe, can be themselves and can perform their roles to the best of their abilities. We have signed up with a number of nationally recognised organisations that promote equality, diversity and inclusion and we are working with them to help us achieve our objectives. These organisations include:

• Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion
• Department of Works and Pension’s Disability Confident scheme
• Asian Fire Service Association (AFSA)

Safer Recruitment

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults. Safer recruitment practices, including identity, reference, and appropriate criminal record checks, will be applied throughout the recruitment process.

Pension Considerations

Please note that it is your personal responsibility to check whether by applying/accepting this position it would result in any Annual Allowance or Lifetime Allowance implications. A breach in the Annual Allowance threshold could result in a Tax charge. A breach in the Lifetime Allowance threshold will result in a Tax charge. Further information on Annual Allowance and Lifetime Allowance can be obtained from our Pensions team.

We strongly encourage you to read the NFCC Leadership Framework alongside the job description and person specification before you apply (see attached).

Closing date: 23:59 25 November 2026