Director for Leadership and Workforce Development

COLLEGE OF POLICING; City Of London; On-site; GBP 100,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

A national policing college in England is seeking an Executive Team member to guide leadership and workforce development. The role involves setting strategic priorities and driving change within the policing landscape. Candidates should have a strong background in strategic workforce issues and proven Board-level advisory experience. The position offers a salary of £100,000, a substantial pension contribution, and various benefits including enhanced parental leave and continued professional development.

Benefits

Defined benefit pension scheme

Up to 31.5 days holiday + public holidays

Continued professional development

Enhanced parental leave

Discounts, healthcare, and wellbeing support

Interest-free season ticket loans

Tailored learning and development

Flexible working options

Culture of inclusion and innovation

Qualifications

• Deep understanding of strategic policing workforce issues and culture.
• Proven success advising at Board level in strategic workforce planning.
• Exceptional stakeholder engagement and influencing capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Set and deliver the national strategy for leadership and workforce development.
• Provide visible, inspirational leadership and drive cultural change.
• Implement lean, effective delivery processes to create high-performing teams.

Skills

Strategic workforce issues

Stakeholder engagement

Strategic thinking

Problem-solving

Education

Level 7 qualification or equivalent experience

Job description

About the job

Strong leadership has never been more important for policing. As an integral part of our Executive team, you will bring a clear strategic vision and proven delivery skills to leading the national strategy for leadership and workforce development across policing, shaping future capability and culture. This pivotal role drives professional standards and innovation. You will be influencing at Board level and across the stakeholder landscape to lead and manage a portfolio to deliver transformational impact for the service. As College Executive Sponsor for the Police Leadership Commission, you will have a key role in considering how any recommendations are taken forward.

The College is the professional body for policing in England and Wales and is a mission-driven organisation, with a bold ambition: to ensure everyone working in policing has the skills, knowledge, and support to protect the public and keep communities safe.

Hear more about the role from our CEO: Director of Leadership and Workforce Development video for recruitment.

About the role

We've made substantial progress through our five-year leadership strategy. We've introduced national leadership standards at five key levels, launched the Executive Leaders Programme for chief officers, developed new promotion frameworks, and established talent development programmes including fast-track routes from inspector to superintendent. We know there is more to do to deliver strong and effective leadership at all levels, set the tone for organisational culture, promote high standards of professional behaviour, enables successful organisational change, and inspire delivery of the best possible policing outcomes for the public.

We've supported workforce development through a framework that includes accessible and diverse entry routes into policing, ensuring recruits receive high-quality training aligned with operational policing needs. We promote continuing professional development (CPD) to maintain and enhance skills, knowledge and competence across all roles. The recently launched national talent development strategy (NTDS) provides a consistent, inclusive approach to identifying and nurturing talent at every level, with a strong focus on leadership capacity and progression. Alongside this, professional development reviews (PDRs) offer structured conversations between staff and managers to support career growth, wellbeing and performance, embedding continuous learning and development into everyday practice.

You can find out more about us here.

Job description

As a key member of the Executive Team, you will work with the Board to set a clear strategic vision for the College and turn this into deliverable priorities that make the greatest impact on policing. The role involves leading strategic relationships within and beyond policing, driving transformational change at a national level and building a strong senior leadership team to deliver organisational objectives. You will champion a dynamic, responsive approach that connects the College with stakeholders and ensures our work is relevant to the challenges policing faces.

Person specification

Some of your responsibilities will include:

• Setting and delivering the national strategy for leadership and workforce development, ensuring policing has the capability and capacity to meet current and future challenges.
• Providing visible, inspirational leadership and driving cultural change across the organisation, embedding ethics, inclusion, and continuous improvement at every level.
• Driving the implementation of lean, effective delivery processes, creating high-performing teams and ensuring timely, proportionate outputs that meet strategic priorities.

To be successful in this role you'll need:

• A deep understanding of strategic policing workforce issues and policing culture.
• Proven success contributing to or advising at Board level in a strategic workforce planning and leadership environment.
• Exceptional stakeholder engagement and influencing capability.
• Strong strategic thinking and problem-solving skills.
• A level 7 qualification or equivalent experience.

Please see the attached candidate pack and job description for full details of the role.

We'll assess you against a range of accountabilities and essential criteria from the job description during the selection process.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £100,000, College of Policing contributes £28,970 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

This is more than a leadership role - it's a chance to make a national impact across policing. In return, we offer:

• Defined benefit pension scheme (average employer contribution of 28.97%)
• Up to 31.5 days holiday + public holidays
• Continued professional development
• Enhanced parental leave
• Discounts, healthcare, and wellbeing support
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Tailored learning and development
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture of inclusion, flexibility and innovation

Things you need to know

Selection process details

Please see the candidate pack attached for information about how to apply.

Contact point for applicants:

If you would like to discuss the role in more detail please contact Telephone: .

Timetable

Closing dates for applications: 14/12/2025.

Virtual Stakeholder Panel 13 or 14/01/2026.

Main Interview: 22/01/2026, 10 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf London E14 4PU

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

We believe that a diverse workforce brings many benefits to the organisation including diversity of thought and improvements to the way we work internally and with partners and communities. We strive to be fully inclusive but we know there is more to do. We genuinely encourage people from all backgrounds and underrepresented groups to apply for this role.

We want to continually improve our recruitment processes and to remove any barriers to equal opportunities that could disadvantage those from particular backgrounds. In order for us to have the information to do this, we ask you to please complete the diversity form attached.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window). See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

Open to UK nationals only.

Working for the Civil Service

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).