Deputy Commissioner and Operational Director for Preparedness and Response – London Fire Brigade

London Fire Brigade is London’s fire and rescue service – one of the largest firefighting and rescue organisations in the world. We are here to make London a safer city. Employing over 5000 people across our operational team (our firefighters), control (our call handlers who answer 999 calls), fire safety and our non-operational team (our team who work behind the scenes to support our front-line services, which includes Fleet, IT, HR, Finance, Procurement, Communications team and many more).

As laid out in our Community Risk Management Plan – Your London Fire Brigade – our plan to keep London Safe, we have been undergoing considerable change since the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower on 14th June 2017 where 72 people died. We have also implemented changes since the publication of our Independent Culture Review in November 2022. We understand about our need to change and are committed to doing everything we can to learn the lessons, but we know that there is still more to do. Our plan and our change is founded in an acknowledgement of the greatness of diversity, of sustainability and the need to engage with our communities.

Following the announcement of the current postholder’s appointment as the London Fire Commissioner, we are seeking to appoint an exceptional individual to undertake the role, working directly for the London Fire Commissioner (LFC) and deputising for the LFC where required.

The role includes strategic oversight of our operational preparedness and response. The post holder will lead and direct the response functions of London Fire Brigade, including Fire Stations and Control. This will include driving forward an innovative approach that ensures we modernise the training and exercising of front-line staff so that they are better prepared and equipped to respond to emergencies in London.

The post holder will have significant experience of leading operational response to a variety of incidents including major incidents in a large urban city. The post holder will oversee the strategic and tactical planning of a range of emergencies, including natural disasters, terrorism and major events and provide strategic oversight of LFB’s protective security function. The post holder will also be responsible for driving and delivering significant change, improving culture and delivering against the Brigade’s corporate objectives. This role gives the post holder an unrivalled opportunity in the UK Fire Sector to deliver change on a large scale. The post holder will require a high degree of political awareness, experience of stakeholder engagement and managing external scrutiny.