Chief Fire Officer / Chief Executive Officer

An exciting opportunity exists for a values driven leader to join our high performing and innovative organisation located within the North East of England, which has a proven track record of delivering first class services to the local communities across the Teesside area.

Cleveland Fire Authority is now seeking to appoint an outstanding strategic leader who is forward-thinking, experienced in leading transformative organisational change, and who has the strategic insight to deliver our vision of continuing to be a leading fire and rescue service where our local communities feel safe and protected.

There is much to be proud of in Cleveland Fire Brigade, rated as good in all 3 areas by the HMICFRS, but we also know there is much to be done. Our determination to continually improve means we are seeking a new Chief Fire Officer (CFO) or Chief Executive Officer (CEO) who will bring a relentless focus on inspiring our people and Service to ever greater levels of performance. We do not underestimate that challenge either, as we know these are challenging times for all Fire and Rescue Services nationally, with our cultures under deserved scrutiny.  We have set clear expectations on ourselves to do whatever it takes to ensure everyone in our team feels safe, supported and included. 

We want to stand out from the crowd and ensure that local people continue to receive the best possible services. This will require excellent leadership, resource management, business planning and decision-making skills. Like many organisations, we have faced a period of financial pressure which means that the successful candidate must be able to demonstrate that they have what it takes to continue to drive forward our ambitious plans for the future through innovative approaches and measurable impacts. As an ambitious Fire Authority, we are working proactively to respond to these challenges, but we also recognise there are both significant and exciting opportunities too which we will build upon to help transform and improve our services – as CFO/CEO you will play a pivotal role in shaping and steering the future direction of the service.

The successful candidate will also need to demonstrate their ability to operate and influence at a strategic level in a political and unionised environment and foster collaborative approaches to working with partners both in the public and private sector. With an open and engaging style of management, you must be someone who role models the Authority’s values, demonstrates the highest standards of professionalism, and have a genuine commitment to ensuring a culture of equality, diversity, and inclusion; for the people that work for us, the people that work with us and the people we serve.