Job Description

The Role

Deputy Assistant Commissioner (DAC) London Fire Brigade (LFB) is seeking highly motivated, talented and adaptable applicants who have the vision, leadership skills, values and potential to become part of the Brigade's management team. London is one of the largest fire rescue services in the world, serving a complex and dynamic city of 9 million residents as well as those who work in or visit the city. We are looking for the best people to lead the organisation to shape our services to provide London with a world class fire and rescue service, which is trusted to serve and protect London's diverse communities. The role Working with the London Fire Commissioner (LFC), Directors and Assistant Commissioners, our DACs have a strategic leadership role in ensuring that the London Fire Brigade is trusted to serve and protect London. DACs deliver this by ensuring the Brigade is a dynamic, forward-looking organisation of fully engaged people at the centre of the communities we serve, adapting to the needs of London. To support this, you will be responsible for the delivery of the LFC's strategic aims of: o Placing a premium on leadership skills and investing in leadership at all levels. o Fostering and embedding a culture of togetherness so that every member of staff feels respected and valued regardless of their individual differences or protected characteristics and that everyone feels able to bring their whole self to work. o Developing the Brigade's long-term strategy to become a forward-thinking service led organisation, with communities at the heart of its delivery, prioritising the development, and delivery of its Community Risk Management Plan. o Building on the Brigade's improvement plans deliver continuous improvement across its operational and support functions ensuring excellence and efficiency in everything it delivers. DACs are responsible for planning, directing, and delivering the services provided by a designated function ensuring continual improvement in efficiency and performance and compliance with regulations and the law. You will play a full leadership role within the office of the LFC as a member of the appropriate Departmental Management Team and the Senior Leadership Team. You would join the DACs' operational rota and would be mobilised to operational incidents to perform monitoring and incident command functions and represent the Brigade at Advanced Tactical and Strategic Command levels. You would also play an integral role in managing the Brigade's Strategic Response Arrangements. These roles and responsibilities represent a significant operational and strategic management commitment and will require provision of a standby or call out base in London. The person o To provide motivational leadership to the relevant function and secure staff commitment to support the delivery of the LFC aims and objectives. o To provide leadership to the Department as an integral member of the Departmental Management Team. o To lead, support and deliver corporate projects, as required. o To be a champion of diversity and equality of opportunity for staff and to ensure that that the LFC equalities policies are implemented effectively. o To ensure the relevant function's resources (people and financial) are deployed and controlled effectively to secure the LFC overall business objectives and Community Risk Management Plan. o To maintain, under continuous review, the effectiveness of the role and responsibilities within the relevant function. o To ensure the development and implementation of programmes to drive efficiency and performance improvements and to ensure the effective development of strategic partnerships with government, local authorities, and other agencies to deliver improved service performance.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply, all applicants must: 1. Be a serving wholetime operational, substantive, and competent Group or Area Manager/Commander in a UK local authority fire and rescue service. 2. Internal candidates, before submission of your application you will be required to undertake a professional development discussion with your line managers who must support your application. Please factor this into your timeline. 3. Be Level 2 Incident Command qualified and in ticket. 4. Be free of any current formal disciplinary sanctions. 5. Applicants must hold a full UK driving licence.

Assessment Overview

Your application should include: 1. Your CV Please include your current or most recent salary, and the name and contact details of two referees, one of whom must be your current line manager. 2. Please provide a supporting statement demonstrating your suitability for the role of Deputy Assistant Commissioner, addressing the four points outlined below. Your statement should not exceed 1,000 words. A. Your role in improving the performance of your team, a project or key piece of work. B. Your role in enhancing the service delivered to the community. C. Your role in stakeholder engagement and delivering positive outcomes. D. Your role in the resolution of a complex operational incident and how you considered wider organisational and/or community risks. Any correspondence received from us will be via e-mail and sent to the address you provide on your application form. Application closing date: 21 September 2025 (16:00) Assessment process The assessment process will comprise the following five stages with expected timeframes. Stage 1: W/C 22 September 2025 Initial shortlisting based on your CV and supporting statement. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to stage 2. Stage 2: 30th September & 1st October 2025 Initial Sift Interview The interview will be based on the contents of your CV/supporting statement and allow you to expand on your relevant knowledge, skills, and experience at DAC level. A minimum of 70% is required. These short-listing (Initial Sift) interviews will last no longer than 30 minutes. Stage 3: 8th & 9th October 2025 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Exercise (DEI) and Stakeholder Panel The DEI assessment is included so you can demonstrate your commitment to, and knowledge of equity, diversity and inclusion. This exercise will take the form of a presentation case study which will be sent to you ahead of time. A minimum of 70% is required. Stakeholder Panel Discussion will involve an organic discussion with stakeholders from across the LFB and members of the community forum. A minimum of 70% is required. Stage 4: 21 October 2025 Final Interview and Station Visit Exercise Final interview will provide an opportunity to the candidate to describe their experience, knowledge and skills. The Station visit exercise will involve visiting a fire station and presenting a topic given to you followed by questions from the watch. Final Stage LFB candidates who pass the final interview will be enrolled onto the Skills for Justice (SFJ) Incident Command Level 3 Acquisition Course. On successful completion of the validation assessment, you will be deemed promotable. If you are unsuccessful at the validation assessment stage, you will be removed from the promotion process. However, you will still be eligible to attain the SFJ Incident Command Level 3 qualification in line with the Command Competence Policy. If you already hold the SFJ Incident Command Level 3 qualification, you will be deemed promotable immediately upon being successful at the final interview stage. External Candidates External candidates who already hold the current SFJ Incident Command Level 3 qualification, you will be deemed promotable immediately upon being successful at the final interview stage. You will be required to complete a London revalidation assessment and knowledge check before undertaking an operational role. External candidates who do not hold the SFJ Incident Command Level 3 qualification will be required to successfully complete the qualification before being deemed competent for the rank of Deputy Assistant Commissioner. If you are unable to attend the scheduled assessment dates provided, we may not be able to make alternative arrangements.

Additional Information

We will ensure our services are: o Modern and easy to access o Designed to meet local and individual need o Prioritised by levels of risk Our organisation: o Has a safe and professional culture o Operates efficiently and effectively o Works together and with other organisations to protect London. We value the diversity of our employees and aim to recruit a workforce which reflects our diverse communities across London. The London Fire Commissioner is an Equal Opportunities Employer, and we positively welcome applications from all suitably qualified individuals, irrespective of people's age, disability, gender, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or other personal circumstances. We have guidance in place to ensure that all applicants are treated fairly and consistently at every stage of the recruitment process, including the consideration of reasonable adjustments for people who have a disability. You will find information about the London Fire Brigade on our website, in particular the 'About us' page: http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/AboutUs.asp Benefits of working for the London Fire Brigade o Generous annual leave entitlement plus bank holidays o Family (including maternity) leave and emergency support leave o Flexible working o Free access to the Brigade gym o Use of the Brigade's Medical Adviser/physios/fitness advisers o Free counselling o Season ticket loans o Join social networks including our Equality Support Groups o Contributory pension scheme o Cycle to work scheme o Staff discount scheme o Opportunity to access affordable accommodation In line with the Basic Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) employment checks will be completed by successful candidates, which will include an enhanced criminal records check. Successful candidate will be required to declare any convictions for offences and any offer of employment is subject to the LFC receiving a criminal records disclosure which it considers satisfactory.

Job Reference: OS00232