Cyber Resilience Centre Network Lead (Supt/T/Supt) - Secondment Opportunity

Post Title: Cyber Resilience Centre (CRC) Network Lead

Rank/Grade: Substantive Superintendent or Temporary Superintendent

Reporting to: Detective Chief Superintendent, NPCC Cybercrime Team, City of London Police

Statement of expectation for the role: Secondment will be for 12 months with the option to extend, subject to Home Office funding.

Vetting level required: MV/SC

Location: Role is primarily agile working. A home working risk assessment will be conducted. IT and DSE equipment will be provided by City of London Police.

Network:

The Cyber Resilience Centre (CRC) Network comprises nine regional Centres, under the overarching strategic leadership of the NPCC Lead for Cybercrime. The role holder is seconded to, or employed by, the City of London Police.

The Network was formed to help sole traders, micro, small and medium sized organisations strengthen their cyber resilience and better protect themselves against cybercrime, through the provision of tailored NCSC guidance and free technical and other services, delivered by Cyber PATH students.

It is a public/private partnership that brings together the strengths, knowledge and experience of policing with business and academia. The CRC Network is funded by the Home Office and is a key part of the Resilience Pillar of the National Cybercrime Strategy.

A key strength of the CRC Network is that it is support and guidance to SMEs delivered by policing, a trusted crime prevention brand. In a cluttered and confusing market, on behalf of HM Government, CRCs have a clear and non-commercial policing purpose to help improve the cyber security of small businesses, helping protect national and international supply chains and thereby the UK economy. CRCs are a trusted, easy to access place for organisations starting on their cyber resilience journey to go to and ask for help.

The Regional CRCs and CRC for Wales are supported by the National Cyber Resilience Centre Group (NCRCG), procuring and delivering centralised services, and providing an opportunity for multi-national organisations to become National Ambassadors. National Ambassadors provide business advice and guidance, public support, financial assistance and access to their SME supply chains and customer bases to promote CRC membership.

The Role:

The strategic lead for the Cyber Resilience Centre Network holds critical responsibility for the building of effective and sustainable partnerships nationally, working in collaboration with HMG, private and public sector strategic partners to improve the cyber security posture of small business owners.

The National CRC Network Lead is responsible for working collaboratively with internal policing colleagues across England and Wales in the promoting, supporting, and delivering key aspects of the national cybercrime strategy.

The National CRC Network Lead holds overall responsibility for the creation, planning, and implementation of the national CRC strategy and delivery plan, working closely with the National Strategic Lead for Fraud and Cyber Protect (City of London Police).

The National CRC Network Lead is responsible for the nine regional CRC Leads and drives the continual development and improvement of the network, identifying opportunities to task regional CRC Leads to deliver against national strategic responsibilities.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategy and Governance

Communicate and implement the CRC Network’s vision, mission, and strategic direction across England and Wales, in line with the national CRC and national Cyber/Fraud Protect strategy.
Oversee the development and implementation of an effective regional strategy and delivery plan for each region, to ensure continuous service improvement and consistency of practice across the network.
Develop resource and budget plans, in line with national and regional priorities, to enable delivery of the CRC network plan. Negotiate budget allocation in conjunction with other CRC Leads, to maximise innovation and value for money through shared resources.
Oversee implementation of operational policies set by the NPCC Cybercrime Team and NCRCG.
Co-ordinate and take part in National Strategic Governance and Working Groups with key stakeholders from law enforcement and HMG (Home Office, DSIT and NCSC)
Develop and maintain an effective National Advisory Group (and sub-working groups), made up of appropriate key stakeholders who are motivated to support the CRC network.
Engage with regional PCCs and Chief Officer governance where requested, to support regional leads.
Provide quarterly and annual reports on delivery against Home Office grant objectives

Development and Growth

Drive collaboration and implement effective performance management with regional CRCs, sharing good practice and learning, to develop and grow the national network.
Ensure understanding of business demographics, sectors and communities, nationally and in regions, to deliver appropriate tailored guidance and support through a variety of methods.
Evaluate the success of the CRC network in reaching national KPIs and goals, and the return on investment of CRC activity against Home Office grant deliverables.
Assess and analyse new national opportunities that could support consistent membership growth, engagement with CRC content and events, and increased delivery of Cyber PATH technical services.
Work with partners to understand future demands and emerging threats within cyber and fraud, helping develop and adapt operational and workforce plans to ensure demands are effectively anticipated and met.

Partnership Working and Engagement

Lead or support collaboration and strategic alliances with various policing and external partners, managing resources and capabilities, to drive resource efficiencies and consistency of service delivery.
Develop, manage and maintain strategic relationships with national partners, effectively influencing and collaborating to enable the achievement of CRC network objectives.
Develop and maintain the CRC’s position in the national cyber ecosystem, ensuring visibility and driving CRC involvement in ecosystem thought leadership.
Engage with CRC National Ambassadors and NCSC Trust Group organisations, to drive campaigns to reach supply chains and customer bases
Act as the primary spokesperson for the CRC network nationally, including press and social media exposure.
Participate in national industry-related events or associations that will enhance the CRC network’s reputation and potential for success.
Maintain close relationships with Force and Regional Cybercrime Units, ensuring CRC attendance at key strategic meetings, building mutual understanding and collaborative working.
In conjunction with regional Leads, ensure regional Chief Officers and Police & Crime Commissioners are briefed and engaged appropriately.

Line Management and Leadership

Lead, motivate, engage, manage and develop regional CRC leads and their staff, protecting and promoting workforce wellbeing and professional standards to enable a high performing team, delivering against the network objectives.
Manage performance of regions to meet CRC network objectives.
Ensure regional CRCs develop working relationships with wider policing to access resources outside of the CRC team, to help meet demand and maximise the efficient use of resources, for example working with Cyber and Fraud Protect, local policing, and police/community volunteers, to enhance the capacity of the CRC team to reach and engage with SMEs.

Requirements:

Essential Criteria:

The ability to effectively negotiate and influence, and to deliver strong stakeholder confidence, at all levels, including strategic.
Experience of effectively delivering change in a multiple partner environment
Strong leadership and teamworking skills
Strong written and oral communication skills, including creation and delivery of presentations.
Proven track record of managing a budget and understanding of return on investment.
Self-motivating, with a focus on personal and professional development.
Innovative, with a willingness to share good practice and collaborate across a wider network
Good basic understanding of cyber resilience concepts in line with National Cyber Security Centre guidance and capable of interpreting to non-technical audiences.
Skilled in planning and objective setting to medium and long-term cycles, co-ordinating a complex range of activities.
Able to make operational and business decisions, applying appropriate frameworks, models and risk management processes and anticipating the implications of decisions.
Able to allocate resources appropriately across the function and utilise commercial acumen to make risk-based decisions that deliver effective outcomes within the available budget.
Able to identify relevant potential opportunities/threats and assess the impact of events and trends to inform internal planning.
Able to use a range of communication and influencing techniques and methods to successfully negotiate, collaborate and/or effect change.
Skilled in engaging a diverse range of stakeholders and partners to enable effective collaboration which draws upon a diverse range of skill sets.
Able to lead, develop and motivate a diverse team; creating strong engagement with the function’s performance objectives and with Force values and behaviours.
Able to hold themselves, individuals and the wider team to account for performance and behaviours.
Supportive coach and mentor to enable appropriate staff career and professional development.
Able to drive cultural and operational change across a diverse team, creating a culture of innovation and creativity.

Desirable Criteria:

Experience in police cybercrime roles
An understanding of police organisations and of the regional business/ third sector community, with an understanding of their structures, their needs and their constraints.
Previous business experience

General:

The post holder will be required to travel to different locations nationally for meetings/training/events.
The post holder will be required to work from different locations across the UK
If using a private vehicle then business insurance needs to be organised by the individual.
The post holder may be required to work additional hours.
The post holder will be expected to undertake training as and when required.

Applicants who fail to address the skills/knowledge/experience of the role will not be considered.

The application and interview will be tested under Level 3 of the College of Policing Competency and Values Framework.

The closing date for applications is Friday 27th June 2025 at 5pm.

[For internal candidates only] Please note that your application will not be considered without the completed endorsement form. Please ensure you leave enough time for your verifiers and senior leaders to complete the support of your application before the closing date.

Please note Officers who are not within 3 months of completing their tenure period, will not be eligible to apply for internal roles. This applies only to Officers who are not currently working within this Directorate.

[For external candidates only] External candidates will be required to provide support of your home force for temporary promotion to Superintendent. Please provide email authorisation of this from your HR department to accompany your application. This can be submitted via email to HR Services (HRServices@cityoflondon.police.uk) or uploaded with your application.

This vacancy is open only to those who have the right to work in the UK.

The City of London Police is keen to promote flexible working and will, subject to operational policing requirements, proactively consider all applications to work flexibly. Flexible working arrangements will be considered.

The City of London Police is committed to equal opportunities and welcomes applications from all sections of the community.

A diverse workforce improves the service we provide to our public by making us more approachable and relevant within our communities. This is why it’s vitally important that we recruit people from a wide range of communities and backgrounds with an understanding of cultural issues and a wide range of skills. We therefore particularly encourage female and people from Black, Asian and other Minority Ethnic communities to join us.

The way we work is changing. With a few exceptions most roles will be able to accommodate part time, job share and flexible working patterns. We can also offer hybrid working patterns of home and office based shift patterns. Feel free to speak to us about any flexible working requirements. The Force has a number of Staff Support Networks that can offer you support and advice. Applicants are very welcome to contact the networks directly if they need any support or ask any question before they apply.

We strive to ensure all our information and services are accessible to and useable by everyone. If you would like to receive any information in a different way or would like us to do anything differently to help you apply for our roles, please get in touch with HR Services via HRservices@cityoflondon.police.uk.