Area Manager Response – Kent Fire and Rescue Service

The Area Manager Response at Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) is a critical leadership role where your foresight will ensure our organisation is ready for any challenge. You will be the architect of transformational and marginal gain changes for our response delivery. Driving the delivery of excellent services to our operational workforce and beyond. You will lead service improvement through organisational learning, ensuring that we evolve to meet the changing demands of modern emergency response. If you are a strategic thinker ready to translate complex legislative requirements into effective practice, we invite you to help us build a safer future.

What you’ll do:

As the Area Manager Response, you will be responsible for ensuring that operational response teams across the service are safe, effective and professional in the delivery of response activities. They will contribute to the implementation of the Service’s strategic actions (aligned to CRMP), providing leadership to station based operational teams across the service.  Your core responsibilities will include:

• Strategic Leadership: You will take an active leadership role as a member of the Strategic Leadership Board, shaping strategic decisions and setting organisational direction. You will ensure service wide priorities are understood and delivered consistently across the service.
• Resilience & Planning: You will ensure that effective and efficient arrangements are in place to manage operational crewing levels including resilience options and business continuity plans. They will work with corporate teams including finance, people and training to ensure there are clearly understood succession plans in place to inform and direct recruitment and crewing levels.  You will ensure the service has robust learning and development plans in place and oversee the development of a learning culture across KFRS.

• Provide visible leadership:Support to the service delivery team managers. Work with the performance team to embed an inclusive and positive performance driven culture, ensuring behaviours contribute to the successful delivery of a professional customer focussed service. Periodically report to Corporate Management Board on the performance of station-based teams, including the management of improvement plans.  
• Strategic Command: You will undertake Strategic Command Fire and Rescue duties as part of the Duty Command Rota, covering a seven-day period every four weeks.

What you’ll bring:

We are looking for a leader who acts with unquestionable integrity and personal resilience. To succeed in this role, you will bring:

• Inclusive Leadership: A profound understanding of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) principles, with a track record of fostering high-performing, inclusive workplace cultures.
• Transformational Experience: Extensive experience in driving and managing complex transformational change projects from conception to completion, delivering measurable improvements in efficiency.
• Strategic Vision: The ability to think strategically and develop customer-focused strategies that address both corporate and operational risks.
• Commucication Skills: Exceptional relationship management skills, with the ability to consult and negotiate effectively with unions, board members, and external partners.
• Sector Knowledge: A thorough understanding of the Fire Sector context, including the Fire & Rescue Services Act, Health & Safety legislation, and community risk analysis.

You are eligible to apply if you:

To be considered for this position, you must meet the essential knowledge and experience criteria in the job description / personal specification. You will also be required to have the following:

• Command Qualification: You hold an Advanced Incident Command (ICS L3) qualification.

You will be required to secure a Strategic Incident Command qualification (ICS L4, SFJ Level 7) and a Multi-Agency Gold Incident Command (MAGIC) qualification within 12 months of starting the role.

• Management Qualification: You possess a professional management qualification or have equivalent management experience at a senior level.
• Professional Membership: You are a member of the Institute of Fire Engineers (IFE) or are willing to obtain membership within 12 months of appointment.

You must be willing to work flexibly, including occasional evenings and weekends, and can travel throughout the county and nationally as required.

PLEASE NOTE: the successful applicant will:

• Be required to pass pre-employment checks including Disclosure & Barring, National Security Clearance (SC), and Non-Police Personnel Vetting Level 3.
• Live within Kent or close to the Kent border, for the purposes of being able to provide operational response cover.