Director of Corporate Development

Introduction To British Transport Police Authority (BTPA)

The British Transport Police Authority (BTPA) is the independent body responsible for ensuring an efficient and effective police force for rail operators, their staff and passengers. Its duties and functions are similar to those of the Scottish Police Authority or a Police and Crime Commissioner in England and Wales, but it oversees a force that is responsible for policing a much wider area – the railways of Great Britain. BTPA is the employer of all officers and police staff and is an Executive Non-Departmental Body sponsored by the Department for Transport.

BTPA is made up of between eleven and seventeen Members appointed by the Department for Transport and supported by a small Executive Team.  There are currently 16 Members of the Authority who provide knowledge and experience of issues that concern passengers, the railway industry, railway employees and the devolved nations. They meet up to six times a year to set British Transport Police targets, monitor its operations and allocate funds for its budget.

Role Purpose

The BTPA wishes to appoint a Director of Corporate Development to its Chief Officer Group to strengthen the leadership of BTP at this important time of change and modernisation.  The Chief Officer Group is focused on delivery of the Strategy through inspiring and motivating the workforce, setting direction and culture that builds employee, public, commercial and organisational confidence and trust in a specialist national policing service.

As an active member of the Chief Officer Group (COG), the successful candidate will be expected to provide strong and visible leadership that brings to life our Strategy by ensuring a modern and inclusive culture in which our people are well-equipped, well-trained, well-led and well-cared for and diversity is valued.

Key Accountabilities

• Financial Control - Working closely with the BTPA Chief Financial Officer, who has overall financial control, lead and oversee BTP finance management including the Force response to fiscal events.

• Commercial Services – Lead the work of the Commercial Department seeking continuous improvement in service levels delivered to stakeholders and keeping strategic oversight of contract management ensuring performance delivery of contractors and value for money.

• Estates – Lead the work of the Estates function, overseeing the performance of our outsourced facilities contract and the estates refurbishment and relocation programme, including a new Force Headquarters in London.
• Future Governance – Take an innovative lead on finance, estates, and commercial transformation work, having regard to immediate and longer-term implications, opportunities, and risk. Ensure business decisions are fully considered and aligned with key strategies.

Experience and Skills

Essential Experience and Skills:

• Able to manage substantial strategic financial, people and material resources, demonstrating commercial acumen to balance complex, competing resource demands by making appropriate risk-based decisions within the available budget

• Proven ability to drive efficiencies and identify commercial opportunities, for the benefit of the Force, stakeholders, and the public.

• Experience of providing strategic financial management advice and guidance and able to build a reputation as a trusted advisor.

• A leader with a track record of building high performing teams and instituting a culture of individuals being supported, developed, and motivated.

• Strong analytical abilities and previous experience of effective change management and implementation at an organisational scale.

Desirable Experience and Skills:

• Knowledge of developing political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors and an understanding of the implications for strategic planning.

• Able to distil complex information and provide concise, relevant and timely briefs at an executive level to inspire confidence.

• Able to analyst a wide range of information to identify emerging trends and issues and use these to inform strategic planning and hold the Force to account for performance and behaviours.

• Hold a recognised professional finance qualification.

Location 

There is some flexibility in respect of role location, but it is intended that the role will be based in one of BTP’s hubs, such as London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Cardiff or Glasgow.  It will include the requirement to visit BTP’s operational areas throughout the country, including London.  On rare occasions overseas travel may be required.

Remuneration Package 

• The remuneration package comprises a salary of £122,307.
• London Weighting Allowance of £3033.56 per annum if applicable.

Other benefits include:

• 28 days leave per annum, rising to 30 days with 5 years’ service. The leave year runs 1 January to 31 December.
• Police staff pension scheme

How To Apply

If you wish to apply for this position, please supply the following before 23:55 on Tuesday the 24th of September:

• A 2-page CV – with a font size of no smaller than 12 point.
• Supporting Statement - Your supporting statement should be no more than two sides of A4 with a font size of no smaller than 12 point. It should highlight your motivation for this role and how you meet all the essential experience.  The evidence provided must be specific and focused on your personal involvement, experience, actions and impact.  Desirable experience will be tested later in the selection process.
• A 2-minute video application outlining your suitability and motivation for the role.  As you know, video files tend to be large so please send this to recruitmentteam@btp.police.uk via ‘We Transfer’ and titled Director of Corporate Development Application. The link for use is as follows: https://wetransfer.com

Contact

If you would like an informal conversation about this role, please contact Susan Kohler Head of Governance and People at BTPA in the first instance at Susan.Kohler@btp.police.uk. All contact will be treated in the strictest of confidence.