Head of Digital Futures

Salary: Band 13, £73,194 - £82,293

Location: Agile, Forth Banks Police Station and homeworking

Hours/Contract: Full time, permanent

Working for #TeamNP

Our purpose at Team NP is simple: to keep people safe and to fight crime. But it takes more than officers alone to do the job – and that’s where our 2,000-strong team of police staff and 200 volunteers come in.

As one of the largest police forces in England we have a huge variety of departments and specialisms offering you endless opportunities. From mentoring and coaching schemes and online soft skills courses to leadership development programmes; we’ll give you the support, training and time to carve out the career you always wanted.

As one of the top 50 UK inclusive employers and a disability confident employer, we promote a culture of respect in the workplace so everyone can feel seen, heard and valued.

Whether you’re a member of staff or a volunteer, you can also expect first-rate support to manage your health and wellbeing. With year-round events, a 24/7 welfare support hotline and a leading approach to neurodiversity, our initiatives enable you to be at your best.

Above all else, here at Team NP, we can offer you a career that is so much more than just a job, it’s a chance to be part of something that really matters.

Learn about our full benefits package

The role

Here at Northumbria Police, we think our region is amazing! It takes a great deal of people from different backgrounds, with diverse skills and experience to serve our force area effectively, think you have what it takes to help us make a difference? This could be the perfect time for you to join us in our Digital Department as a Head of Digital Futures.

Reporting directly to the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and serving as a key member of the Digital Policing Senior Management team, the Head of Digital Futures will spearhead the strategic vision and implementation of digital transformation within the Force. This role involves leading a team of IT professionals and overseeing all aspects of Architecture, Engineering, Development, and Planning & Technical Delivery.

The Head of Digital Futures is crucial to the continuous enhancement and modernisation of the Force's technology landscape. This includes comprehensive oversight across all architecture domains, ensuring alignment with local and national standards. The role also involves establishing and continuously improving design principles, measuring compliance, and shaping the future architecture to meet strategic goals.

What you’ll do

Formulate and implement component-level strategies supporting the DDaT Strategy, aligned with the Force's Vision, Values, and national strategic landscape.
Ensure Portfolio Delivery Plans meet both current and future Force requirements, fostering sustained growth and innovation.
Actively engage in and contribute to national programs and IT initiatives, aligning with organizational goals and fostering technological innovation and excellence.
Offer comprehensive internal consultancy, providing expert advice to support and guide Force Change programs for strategic alignment and effective implementation.
Provide visionary leadership to foster a culture of high performance, continuous improvement, and transformative change.
Serve as a mentor and coach to develop digital and business acumen among team members, equipping them to meet evolving policing demands.
Ensure solutions comply with relevant regulations and standards, including data protection and cybersecurity, by identifying and mitigating risks through regular risk assessments and appropriate controls.

Sound interesting? For further information, and to support your application, please view the job description.

What you’ll bring

The ideal candidate will possess excellent technical, analytical, and project management skills, with proven experience in leading architecture teams, preferably within a policing or public sector environment. You should be educated to degree level or have equivalent relevant experience and have a strong understanding of ITIL and other service and quality management frameworks. Additionally, you should have knowledge of digital transformation and continual delivery techniques, along with proven experience in business analysis, solution optioneering, and solution design.
Demonstrable experience in influencing and stakeholder management, ability to persuade effectively at various organisational levels, good understanding of IT service delivery and project management, and experience in partnership working.
Ability to see the strategic landscape, exploit opportunities for both technology and the wider organisation, and engage in enterprise-level solution optioneering and design.
Evidence of creativity and innovation, excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills, and line management experience with both fixed and dynamic teams.
Strong communication and presentation skills, ability to adapt materials to resonate with multiple stakeholders, and influence senior stakeholders to gain buy-in and adoption of enterprise architecture principles and their value.

We know it's important for you to feel that you're not only part of a great team, but part of a community. We welcome applications from suitably qualified people from all sections of the community, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.

Harnessing these differences creates a productive environment in which everyone feels valued, and their talents are fully utilised. Appointments are based on merit alone.

Interested to learn more? For further information about the role please contact Paul Mclauchlin, Chief Technology Officer by email at paul.mclauchlin@northumbria.police.uk

What we offer

26 days’ leave (increasing to 30 days for 5 years+ service) plus 8 bank holidays
NHS Fleet Solutions Car Lease Scheme
Enhanced maternity, shared parental and adoption leave
Flexi time - allowing you to fit your working hours around your individual needs
Agile working – option to work from home, your team zone, and spaces across the force.
Fantastic market-leading public sector pension scheme with up to 16% employer contribution
Corporate travel schemes – local rail, bus services and metro discounts
Access to private healthcare and eye test vouchers
Discounts on shopping and eating out thanks to the Blue Light Card and Blue Light Tickets
We’ve invested in extensive paid sick leave, trained mental health first aiders on-site, an employee advice service for the times you need that additional support.
Access to gyms in some stations
Sports & Social Club – join our thriving sports scene at Team NP and enjoy further exclusive discounts on days out and travel
Cycle to work scheme
Opportunity to volunteer in local community

Just so you know

Our application form will help us understand how your work, education and life experience has prepared you for the role of Head of Digital Futures with #TeamNP. To help support your application research what makes us tick here at Northumbria, the role you’re applying for and the values and behaviours that contribute.

The recruitment process will consist of the initial application form followed by a face to face interview. Just so you know, you can save your application and come back to it any time prior to the closing date on the advert.

We are proud members of the Business Disability Forum, with whom we collaborate with to improve the lives of disabled employees. We are also a Disability Confident Employer, therefore if you demonstrate that you meet the minimum criteria for this role as stated in the advert, we will progress your application and offer you an interview.

If you tell us that you have a disability, we can make adjustments to support you through the recruitment process (for example we can arrange extra time for tests or provide a sign language interpreter) You can get in touch with us via careers@northumbria.police.uk for any support regarding the application process. Please provide us with plenty of notice so we can ensure your visit goes smoothly.

If your application is successful, we’ll ask you to complete a Management Vetting (MV) form, therefore you must be a resident of the UK for a minimum period of 5 years to ensure vetting checks can be successfully performed. A job offer will be dependent upon vetting clearance, medical information, and references.

Terms of appointment

This is a permanent role subject to a six-month probationary period.

If you are successful in your application, you will have a six-month probation period with us where you will be unable to apply for any other post advertised internally or externally.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.