Chief Fire Officer

Chief Fire Officer

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

Service Headquarters – Salisbury

The Role:

Our Service is dedicated to ensuring the safety and well-being of our communities and staff. As aforward-looking organisation having the right leader to set and drive our strategic direction and cultural vision is critical to our future success and sustainability.

We are seeking a leader with exceptional judgement, high levels of self-awareness, emotional intelligence and independence of mind who can provide and receive constructive challenge and fresh thinking. You will have a successful track record of leading transformative change with the ability to inspire and encourage others combined with resilience and integrity.Your leadership will be crucial in nurturing an inclusive and progressive organisational culture, where staff feel safe and supported and behaviours align with our core values set out in our code of ethics.

As the Chief Fire Officer, you will be responsible to the Fire and Rescue Authority for the strategic delivery of our Community Safety Plan, overseeing operations, and ensuring financial sustainability. You will work within the scheme of delegation, maintaining a working relationship with the Chair and the Authority. You will be required to provide strategic operational cover and live within the Service Area.

Key Responsibilities:

• Visible Leader: Support, engage, empower and motivate others both within the organisation and externally.
• Strategic thinker: Develop and oversee the implementation of strategic plans to ensure organisational learning, development and growth.
• Financial management: Lead efforts to achieve value for money and financial savings while identifying opportunities that will deliver long-term benefits and stability.
• Cultural development: Inspire and lead cultural change initiatives, role modelling and promoting behaviours that reflect our commitment to public service, teamwork, and continuous improvement.
• Operational excellence: Ensure high standards of operational effectiveness, safety, and responsiveness across all levels of the organisation.
• Stakeholder engagement: Foster positive and trusting relationships with a wide range of key stakeholders, including local and national government bodies, community groups, and emergency services partners.
• Innovation and development: Champion new technologies and ways of working that enhance service delivery and workforce capability.

Eligibility criteria

• Competent Chief Fire Officer, Deputy Chief Fire Officer, or Assistant Chief Fire Officer.
• An accomplished incident commander, qualified at level 4- strategic command.
• Able to meet required fitness and medical standards.

If you are a charismatic and driven leader with the skills and passion to make a significant impact, and are excited about shaping our organisation to give the best possible services to our communities, we look forward to hearing from you.

How to Apply

To receive the recruitment information pack, please submit your CV (maximum 2 pages), setting out your work history, role responsibilities and confirmation of the eligibility criteria to ExecutiveSupport@dwfire.org.uk. You will then be sent the Recruitment Information Pack following which you can apply and submit your application form through our E Recruitment system.