Post Title: Service Improvement Inspector
Contract type: Permanent
Rank: Inspector or Acting Inspector (for officers who have passed the relevant examination)
- Please note EXTERNAL officers applying must be substantive in the rank of Inspector.
Directorate/department: Strategy, Planning and Service Improvement Department, Corporate Services Directorate
Vetting level required: MV/SC (internal officers may be required to undertake a vetting check before moving to the role)
Location: GYE
About the Directorate
The Strategy, Planning and Service Improvement Directorate acts as a strategic hub that leads and coordinates the City of London Police’s approach to strategy development, planning and risk management, tracking and evaluating performance, and strategic stakeholder relations. Through data and insights, and working with internal and external partners and stakeholders, we support City of London Police to adapt to an ever-changing environment and plan for the future, including ensuring there is a clear long-term strategic vision underpinned by plans to develop capabilities and continually improve our service delivery for the benefit of the public.
Our measures of success include:
-Chief Officer strategic priorities informed and driven forward through alignment between strategy and executive support functions.
-Strategic and policy development is proactive and strategic planning is long term, informed by horizon scanning and strategic data insights.
-Service improvements are proactively identified and impact evaluated.
-Strategic stakeholder engagement and management is proactive and coordinated across the organisation.
-consistent standards and processes that are centrally assured and supported.
About the role
The Service Improvement Inspector’s work is overseen by the Service Improvement Superintendent and supported by the Service Improvement Manager and continuous improvement officers. The role will be focussed on researching, monitoring, reviewing and implementing improvements in response to areas for improvement identified by HMICFRS, as well as broader internal and external learning and evidence of ‘what works’. Specifically, Service Improvement Inspectors lead our ‘Reality testing’ and ‘Readiness Assessment’ process, which involves going into business areas and using a range of techniques (including root cause analysis) to gain a deeper understanding of the quality of processes, capability, capacity and performance and to work collaboratively with business leads to develop and monitor implementation of service improvement activity.This process allows for an authentic and objective picture of a particular area and the opportunity to make practical recommendations for improvement to ensure the highest levels of performance and service are being delivered, in line with the HMICFRS PEEL assessment criteria (including the ‘characteristics of good’) and promising practice from other forces.
You will be expected to draft reports and commission action plans in response to HMICFRS PEEL inspection and broader thematic findings. You must also be available to support the Service Improvement Superintendent, or the Service Improvement Manager with broader tasking when required.
Responsibilities
In this role, you will be expected to:
- Produce high quality reports using the full functionality of MS Office in response to HMICFRS and broader service improvement workstreams.
- Write papers for, and present findings to, the Service Improvement Board, chaired by the Deputy Commissioner, which oversees and drives service improvement across the force.
- Conduct reality testing as directed by the Service Improvement Superintendent, which will require an agile working approach including regular travel across the force estate.
- Provide chief officers and business area leads with impartial evidence-based insight on all aspects of crime/disorder, community safety and policing priorities in response to the force’s readiness assessment schedule.
- Improve the understanding of HMICFRS’s purpose and plans across the force estate including assisting Directorates with planning a business response to meet the requirements of HMICFRS workstreams.
- Support the Service Improvement Manager with horizon scanning and inspection planning, including logistical arrangements for forthcoming inspection activity and co-ordination of evidence-gathering in line with HMICFRS requirements.
- Work in collaboration with other organisations and academic bodies to identify and capture evidence-based and promising practice and integrate these into service improvement activity.
Requirements
For this role, we need you to have:
- Strong collaborative skills, including the ability to work closely with business areas to identify and solve problems.
- Excellent research and analytical skills, including the ability to create insights from data.
- Excellent report writing and presentation skills, including the ability to present information clearly and concisely.
- Good decision making skills and the ability to communicate effectively to different audiences.
- Ability to work at pace and identify and adapt to changing priorities.
- Good knowledge of Microsoft Office in particular Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
- Experience in the provision of specialist strategic advice.
This vacancy is open only to those who have the right to work in the UK.
If you would like to discuss the role please contact Richard Cummins via Richard.Cummins@cityoflondon.police.uk.
Selection Process
As part of the initial application process, you will be asked to provide a statement of suitability, outlining how your experience, skills, and knowledge demonstrate your ability to meet the person specification of the role.
[INTERNAL OFFICERS 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.
The application and interview will be tested under Level 2 of the College of Policing Competency and Values Framework.
Applicants who fail to address the skills/knowledge/experience of the job role will not be considered.
The closing date for applications is Monday 1st June 2026 @ 17:00.
Following shortlisting, successful candidates will be invited to attend a competency-based interview, to be held week commencing Monday 8th June 2026.
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.
The City of London Police is committed to equality of opportunities and continuously strive for inclusivity within our Force. We welcome applications from all sections of the community, particularly from those with disabilities and long-term conditions, those with Black, Asian and other Minority Ethnic backgrounds, female candidates, and LGBTQIA+ individuals.
Benefits:
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 via hrservices@cityoflondon.police.uk
In return, we will offer a number of benefits including a generous pension scheme, a free Oyster card for London (TFL) travel and subsidised national rail travel, which allows you to travel within a 70 mile radius. For further information please visit:
https://careers.cityoflondon.police.uk/working
The ATOC Rail Travel Concession allows regular serving police officers to travel on National Rail services within a 70 mile radius of London for a small monthly cost. This is a taxable benefit that the City of London Police negotiates and Officers make a contribution to the cost of the scheme. If you wish to confirm if your journey would be covered under this scheme, please contact HR Services directly as the 70 miles is an approximation. *
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. For further information on the networks and their contact details please visit:
