Job Title: Director of Forensic Services
Directorate: Met Operations and Performance
Line manager: Assistant Commissioner, Met Operations and Performance
- You will lead a team of over 1300 specialists providing a critical service to London and specialist advice and services nationally. You will make a critical contribution to the investigation of crime and the administration of justice by leading a highly operational service, from front line staff who manage and examine crime scenes through to forensic experts who give critical impartial evidence of opinion to the courts under their duty as set out in Criminal Procedure Rules.
- An extraordinary leader capable of leading both business as usual and significant change programmes. You will be open to change and have clear vision for how changes in technology can improve the delivery of services in the coming years.
- You will lead forensic services provision whilst working as part of the Met Ops chief officer team, and the wider Met Police senior leadership. You will be focussed on performance delivery and outcomes, and be able to show how you have delivered both, and how this delivery is either in, or relatable to the forensic science operational context.
- To shape and oversee the delivery of Met forensic services to ensure maximum impact and alignment with the strategic direction and priorities of the Met as described in New Met for London. Specifically delivering on operational New Met for London priorities: increase our intervention, contribution and speed in support of public protection investigations, deliver proactive and enhanced services to reduce harm caused by target offenders, maintain and improve critical services to homicide and counter-terrorism investigations, increase our contribution to acquisitive crime investigations where this leads to positive outcomes and maintain the high quality and reliability of our activities and our findings.
- Build an effective network at Chief Officer and Director level, nationally and internationally, to ensure that the Met takes influences and advantage of the latest advances in science and technology and contributes to the global development of forensic science.
- Be responsible for leading or influencing the formulation of policy on forensic services and advising the Commissioner and Management Board on the use and contribution of forensic services, as well as ensuring the Met meets appropriate quality standards including where applicable, the FSR Statutory Code and international quality standards.
- You will be innovative, and able to make difficult decisions balancing budgets with operational delivery.
- Be able to coordinate the forensic response to major critical incidents and interact with key external stakeholders in both government and the public services.
- Lead, inspire and motivate the people within Forensic Services.
- Lead the change programme for Forensic Services as part of our wider “Forensic Mandate” to Transform Forensics.
- Be accountable for the delivery of benefits described in business cases agreed by Management Board.
- Deliver effective and efficient forensic services to enable the investigation of crime and the administration of justice.
- On behalf of the Commissioner, to be the Senior Accountable Individual (SAI) for ensuring that the Met achieves compliance with the requirements of the Forensic Science Regulator’s Statutory Code and that all forensic staff who give evidence as an expert witness comply with their duty under the Criminal Procedure Rules.
- Forensic Services has five key capabilities:
- Front Line forensics – 24/7 crime scene examination and management
- Physical Forensics – laboratory examinations, testing and interpretations including biology, firearms and imaging
- Digital Forensics – including digital devices, CCTV, audio and video
- Biometrics – including secure services and national counter terrorism databases
- Continuous Improvement & innovation- including quality, capability and change
Key Relationships
- Assistant Commissioners across the Met to facilitate the development and delivery of forensic services in the Met
- Met Directors including of Finance, HR, Change, Commercial and Estates on the effective running of the business of Forensic Services
- The Met’s Transformation Directorate
- Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner on policy and national developments in forensic services
- The Chief Officer lead for the NPCC Forensic Portfolio and other NPCC leads that are relevant to forensic services, including the NPCC nominated chair of the Forensic Information Databases (FINDS) Strategy Board
- Home Office Policy and Delivery leads for the Biometrics Programme and the Government’s strategy for forensic science
- Forensic Science Regulator
- Staff Associations and Trade Unions
- Chief Executives and Directors of commercial partners under contract to the Met
- Forensic Directors in the UK, those in the Association of Forensic Science Providers (AFSP) and the European Network of Forensic Science Institutes (ENFSI).
Key Activities
- Design and deliver the operational forensic response in the Met ensuring that this is aligned to and helps the Met achieve its corporate objectives
- Work with senior operational colleagues to identify the operational requirements, service levels and service quality measures that should apply to Forensic Services and implement a service delivery framework that will allow for performance and impact to be monitored, managed and continuously improved
- Ensure the effective management and operation of the national Counter Terrorism databases in line with the Statement of Requirements and the Governance Rules of the (FINDS) Strategy Board
- Discharge the Met-wide responsibility for meeting forensic regulatory requirements agreed as Met policy (set out below) and that appropriate issues and risks are escalated to Met Risk and Assurance Board in line with the agreed Met governance framework:
- Ensure that all forensic services within the Met (as the legal entity) that fall within the Codes of Practice of the Forensic Science Regulator will be delivered through a single corporate Quality Management System that is accredited to international standards, subject to external third party accreditation and operated by the Directorate of Forensic Services
- On behalf of the Commissioner, be the Senior Accountable Person for ensuring that the Met meets the quality standards set by the Forensic Science Regulator and that all forensic staff who give evidence as an expert witness comply with their duty under the Criminal Procedure Rules
- Develop an organisational structure, management reporting lines and staff deployment across forensic services that provides effective operational 24/7 response, that takes into account the welfare of forensic staff and evolves to support innovation and change in the services required
- Lead and manage change within Forensic Services as part of the Met’s wider Transformation Portfolio to deliver business change and benefits in line with agreed corporate prioritises and business cases that are signed off by Management Board and the Deputy Mayor – this will include the preparation and presentation of business cases to Management Board and the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime working within the Met governance and investment appraisal framework
- Act as the Head of Profession for forensic science in the Met, ensuring that professional standards are set and maintained within the wider Met policies, that there is appropriate investment in professional development to ensure that forensic staff can perform their roles effectively, they feel valued and there is respect for diversity and a strong culture of inclusion
- Provide professional advice to the Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, Management Board and the Deputy Mayor on any matters that relate to the use and development of forensic services
- Act as Budget Holder and Manager for Forensic Services as defined within the agreed Scheme of Devolved Financial Management
- Be recognised as an active contributor to the development of forensic services in the UK and internationally through, for example, membership of the NPCC Forensic Portfolio Board, the Met full membership of the European Network of Forensic Institutes (ENFSI) and Home Office Biometrics Board
- Work with the Met’s Commercial Team, operate as the strategic lead for relationships with commercial partners in forensic science and digital services, establishing effective relationships at Board level to ensure the delivery of innovation roadmaps and the required transformational change
- Be the Met lead on any scrutiny of forensic services by Parliament, stakeholders such as the Biometrics Commissioner and stakeholders groups, preparing evidence and appearing before parliamentary committees and scrutiny panels as required.
- Understand and accept the core principles set out in the H&S Policy in relation to your role, duties and responsibilities and implement those principles and requirements in day-to-day activities.
- Demonstrate effective visible safety leadership, agree and authorise the H&S policy and lead compliance across Forensic Services. Encourage open dialogue and feedback on safety issues
- Expected to work within the Forensic Service Quality Management System and actively contribute to the continuous improvement of the system by participating in quality assurance activities, engaging in internal and external audits, competence and proficiency tests, reporting non-conformances and proposing changes to improve the system.
Expectations and working conditions/Additional Information
- Must provide a DNA sample and fingerprints for inclusion on the Staff Elimination databases.
- Visible leadership is essential in this role, therefore remote working on a regular basis would not be supported.