January 2025
Dear Candidate,
Thank you for your interest in the Chief Constable vacancy at West Mercia Police.
I am looking to appoint a new Chief Constable who delivers against three key criteria:
- Working effectively with me to deliver my new West Mercia Safer Communities Plan. This means building a strong, healthy relationship with me as governing body, as well as working collaboratively with me as a partner.
- The ability to effectively lead West Mercia Police. Ensuring an engaged, motivated and high achieving workforce to operationalise and maximise the delivery of my plan.
- Working effectively with partners and communities to build on West Mercia Police’s position as a systems leader, improving collaboration and outcomes for the public.
As PCC, I committed to our communities that I would work tirelessly to make West Mercia safer in my new term of office. Our next Chief Constable must share that commitment. Our public need somebody with the vision to maximise what the police service can deliver for the people it serves, and then the drive, determination and skills to make the vision set out in my West Mercia Safer Communities Plan a reality.
Significant steps have been taken in recent years to set West Mercia Police up to succeed as an organisation, many of which have involved major investment and organisational change. West Mercia’s next Chief Constable will need to build on these foundations, capitalise on the opportunities created, and realise the maximum benefits for the force and local communities. This will require strong, consistent, stable and clear leadership to continue the development of the force, and to bring people, both inside and outside of the organisation, along on that journey. This is a challenge when leading one of the largest geographic police forces in the country that spans three largely rural counties. West Mercia is not just complicated by its geography, but also by the network of partnership agencies delivering services to its communities. West Mercia’s next Chief Constable will need to successfully navigate this complex landscape to deliver the outcomes the public need.
West Mercia Police is on a journey to re-establishing itself as a consistently high performing service. The force has had significant investment in recent years, reaching a record number of police officers, a major programme of digital reform, and ongoing investment in the police estate. Challenges remain and must be overcome, but the force is in a better position to deliver the most effective, efficient services possible. West Mercia’s new Chief Constable will need to motivate and drive the force to deliver these service improvements, maximising the value of investments and making sure the benefits are truly felt, both for the public and for the police force itself.
My commitment is that I will back my Chief Constable with the resources they need to succeed and do their vital work as effectively as possible, whilst securing the best possible value for the public. My track record shows I have been true to that commitment and I expect to work with the Chief Constable to address the challenges we face, whilst making sure the force remains sustainable and resilient.
I respect, understand and fully endorse the boundaries between the PCC and Chief Constable roles. A distinction between the roles of PCC and Chief Constable is not only necessary but healthy in respect of operational policing and governance. It is also vital however that we work together strongly as partners in order to make sure the collective strengths of our respective roles are realised and we deliver the best possible outcomes for the communities we serve. I would expect to build an open, honest and constructive relationship with our new Chief Constable predicated on trust, mutual respect, understanding and a shared vision for making our communities safer, happier and healthier.
Full details on the role, as well as the application and recruitment processes are provided in this pack. I am committed to ensuring an open, transparent and robust recruitment process and appointing the very best person to lead our police force moving forward.
Thank you for your interest in the role. If you have any questions or require any further information please do not hesitate to get in touch with either myself or my Chief Executive.
Yours sincerely
John Campion
Police and Crime Commissioner
West Mercia
Chief Constable’s role
The Chief Constable has overall responsibility for leading West Mercia Police. They will be responsible for creating the force’s vision, and setting a direction and culture that builds public and organisational confidence and trust. They will be responsible for enabling the delivery of a professional, effective and efficient policing service for today and the future.
The Chief Constable will be expected to embed genuine empowerment and accountability at all levels of the workforce. They will ensure that every member of the organisation is enabled to support key objectives including delivery of the Commissioner’s strategic direction for policing and crime in the area, understanding and responding to public needs and ensuring strong connections between the police and the communities they serve, reducing crime and enabling victims to cope and recover.
The Chief Constable is directly accountable for the operational delivery of policing services and the effective command and leadership of the policing response to crime, and major and critical incidents. They are responsible for influencing the development of regional and national policing and may be accountable for national operations or standard setting.
The Chief Constable must also lead the organisation in a professional, non-operational context. They are responsible for responsible budget management, strong internal governance, long term future planning (and delivery to that planning), workforce management, forging strong strategic partnerships and everything else that is required to secure an effective, efficient, resilient policing service.
As a Corporation Sole, the Chief Constable is responsible for fulfilling all statutory and legal obligations of the office of Chief Constable and complying with any / all Schemes of Governance or Consent that exist, which determine force governance arrangements.
Further details of the role of the Chief Constable are set out in the Professional Profile.
Change and Transformation
Policing is changing. What is understood as traditional policing has already changed dramatically and will continue to do so. Our communities need their police to be able to respond to those wider cultural, environmental and societal changes. As technology continues to speed up social evolution, it is vital that our police work with greater agility, and ideally play a greater role in shaping the operating environment, rather than simply responding to it. Added to this, we must all operate within the constraints of set budgets.
It is vital that the Chief Constable has the ability and strength of leadership to take people with them on this transformational journey. Whether that is making the case to the public for new policing approaches, securing support from the PCC or other partners, or selling the need for change within policing and securing buy-in from the workforce. The Chief Constable must be capable of leading on these complex issues and challenges, and must set the example in respect of an approach that embraces ongoing learning and development, is responsive to feedback and strives for continuous improvement.
Our collective focus will continue to be on becoming as efficient and effective as we can possibly be, right now and for the future.
There is a need to embrace a different style, culture and approach to achieve a really new, sustainable and modern way of delivering policing which reflects public needs and expectations.
Priorities
The PCC has set out a new strategic vision for policing and crime in West Mercia following his re-election in May 2024. The successful candidate will be expected to work with the Commissioner to deliver against core components of the Police and Crime Plan.
The four central pillars of the West Mercia Safer Communities Plan are as follows:
1. Cutting Crime
2. Policing with the Community
3. Supporting Victims and Witnesses
4. Maximising Resources and Value for Money
The current version of the West Mercia Safer Communities Plan is available here.
Selection process
Applicants should submit a CV together with a covering letter (each document should be no more than 3 pages) addressing the key elements of the role profile by email to: [email protected] by 17:00 on Monday 3rd February 2025.
Candidates’ applications will be acknowledged by email.
Anyone interested in the position is welcome to speak to the PCC and / or the Chief Executive, which can be arranged by contacting the Chief Executive via the email above or by calling 01905 331 656.
Shortlisted applicants will be informed on Friday 7th February and will be invited to attend a familiarisation day at Hindlip on Wednesday 19th February.
Candidates selected for interview will be invited to attend Hindlip Hall, Worcester on Wednesday 26th and Thursday 27th February 2025.
A detailed interview schedule will be provided. Candidates should expect this to include the need to develop and deliver presentations. The selection process will be designed to explore the behaviours set out in the Competency and Values Framework and candidates’ strengths in relation to the job description and person specification set out in this pack. The process will include interviews with a stakeholder panel, a staff forum, a police leadership forum, and a formal appointment panel.
If as a candidate you have a condition or disability that may impact or disadvantage your ability to take part in the recruitment process please make this known to the PCC’s Chief Executive, who will be happy to assist and make reasonable adjustments to accommodate.
The preferred candidate for the position will be required to attend a confirmation hearing with the West Mercia Police and Crime Panel. This is likely to be in March 2025.
