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HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary and Chief Fire & Rescue Inspector (HMCI)

Body
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services
Appointing Department
Home Office
Sectors
Prison & Policing, Regulation
Location
Flexible within England and Wales. However, in line with the Government’s Places for Growth programme, HMICFRS will be moving to a regional structure so this role will not be London based.
Skills required
Regulation
Number of Vacancies
1
Remuneration
£197,313 per annum
Time Requirements
Five years

Campaign Timeline

  1. Competition Launched

    01/10/2021

  2. Closed for Applications

    01/11/2021

  3. Panel Sift

    Expected w/c 06/12/2021

  4. Final Interview Date

    Expected w/c 17/01/2022

  5. Announcement

    01/04/2022

Announcement

An announcement has been made on the outcome of this appointment.

Andy Cooke joined Merseyside Police in 1985 having obtained an Honours Degree in Politics from Nottingham University. He served as a Detective at every rank.

Throughout his career, Andy has had numerous roles including being in charge of the Robbery Squad and Target Operations at the Major Crime Unit. He became the first Commander of the nationally recognised ‘Matrix’ team, responsible for tackling gun and gang enabled crime.

During his time as Area Commander for South Liverpool, Andy was instrumental in significantly reducing crime, antisocial behaviour and disorder and South Liverpool became one of the highest performing Basic Command Units in the country.

In 2008, Andy was appointed Assistant Chief Constable of Lancashire Constabulary where he held the roles of ACC Specialist Operations and ACC Territorial Operations. He returned to Merseyside in 2012, was promoted to Deputy Chief Constable in 2013 and in 2016 he was appointed Chief Constable. During this time, Andy led the biggest reorganisation in Merseyside Police’s 40 year history. Whilst he was Chief, the Force was graded as the highest performing metropolitan Force by HMICFRS.

Nationally, Andy held some of the highest risk portfolios in Policing. In addition to leading the creation of the United Kingdom Protected Persons Service, he was the national policing lead for serious organised crime and national lead for crime.

Andy has also been commended on 10 occasions and in 2014 was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal. He is a Deputy Lieutenant of the Merseyside Lieutenancy and an Adjunct Professor within the School of Justice Studies at Liverpool John Moores University.

He is married with twin daughters. He has a passion for football and rugby league and is chair of the British Police Rugby League Association. You can follow Andy on Twitter (Twitter link).

Andy was appointed as HM Inspector of Constabulary and HM Inspector of Fire & Rescue Services in April 2021 where he was the HMI for Northern England and the SRO for PEEL Inspection.

On 1 April 2022 Andy was appointed as HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary and HM Chief Inspector of Fire & Rescue Services.

Date: 01/04/2022

View Announcement

Assessment Panel

Panel Member
Colleen Harris MVO
Panel Role
Panel Chair
Positions
Senior Independent Panel Member
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Political Activity-
Notes-
Panel Member
Matthew Rycroft CBE
Positions
Permanent Secretary, Home Office Departmental Official
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Political Activity-
Notes-
Panel Member
Michael Fuller QPM
Positions
Non-Executive Director, Home Office Other Panel Member
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Political Activity-
Notes-

Vacancy Description

Do you want to play a key role in shaping the landscape of the policing and fire rescue services?

HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) is an independent body that inspects and reports on the efficiency and effectiveness of police forces in England and Wales, fire and rescue services in England and other nationwide law enforcement agencies. Through its inspections, the organisation monitors trends, challenges practice and identifies areas for improvement that provides the public with a clear, consistent and independent view of the quality of services in their local area. This ultimately allows both the public and their elected representatives to hold services to account.

The post encompasses the dual roles of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary and Chief Inspector of Fire & Rescue Authorities in England. The successful candidate will play a key role in the corporate leadership of HMICFRS, working closely with the Chief Operating Officer and his or her fellow HM Inspectors. He or she will confidently champion the Inspectorate before Parliament, Ministers, the media and the public, defending the integrity of the Inspectorate and its inspection programme.

Person Specification

Part One : Essential Skills and Experience

  • Successful track record of strategic leadership of a large, complex, delivery organisation.
  • Experience of working in or with the most senior levels of government or public sector services.
  • Experience of successfully leading an organisation through a period of significant transformation and redevelopment of organisational structures.
  • Strong analytical skills, predominantly with a reliance on evidence-based practice, and the capability to carry out rigorous inspections informed by robust big data analytics.
  • A first-class communicator – orally and in writing – with the confidence, authority and interpersonal skills to secure and retain the confidence of a wide range of stakeholder groups.
  • Strong relationship management skills, including the ability to build constructive relationships and effectively challenge and influence stakeholders, while maintaining impartiality and independence.
  • The flexibility and personal resilience to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances in an environment of regular scrutiny by the media, public and others.

Part Two: Desirable criteria

  • Experience of media handling;
  • Knowledge of policing and/or fire and rescue services;
  • Previous inspectorate or regulatory experience; and
  • Previous Chair or Non-Executive Board Member experience.

Additional Information

The successful candidate will be required to have / obtain Security Check (SC) level security clearance and police vetting in order to take up post. He or she must also be willing to obtain security clearance to Developed Vetting (DV) level once in post.

How to Apply

For further information and details of how to apply, please visit https://micro.green-park.co.uk/home-office-hmci/ and follow the instructions in the ‘How to Apply’ section. The closing date for applications is 23:00, Monday 1 November 2021.