Safer Communities Manager

A client in the West Midlands is seeking a Safer Communities Manager to join their team for 6 months.

Purpose of the  role:

• To deliver high standards of the public protection for the community by leading, managing and developing the performance of the section and ensuring excellent customer service.
• To act as the Councils, lead officer for environmental protection and community safety matters.

Main responsibilities:

• Give a maximum of eight brief descriptions of what the main responsibilities are and assign time percentage values against each one.
• To be responsible for managing the overall operational performance of the Section, ensuring that Service Plan objectives and all relevant Corporate and service performance targets are met and that proper control is exercised over the Section’s finances. As part of the departmental management team, assist in setting the strategic direction of the department in meeting corporate objectives. 25%
• Formulate, review and monitor the Service Area Plan, Team Plans and budgets, manuals, policies, procedures and supporting documentation, and monitor their efficient and effective implementation and so ensure appropriate action is taken to fulfil the Council’s Corporate Fit for the Future Strategy, policies and procedures and those of Central Government and its agencies.
• Demonstrate, through ongoing management style, the behaviours and culture expected by the Council and ensure that these are embedded within the team, in order to effectively contribute to the Council’s objectives and policies. 25%.
• To operate at a senior level in matters of a complex and diverse nature that require in the broadest sense, a high level of knowledge and understanding of multiple specialist areas.
• Ensure a personal level of competence and continued professional development in order to maintain knowledge of current legislation, processes, technical matters and guidance relevant to the section and to act as the Council’s expert in relevant matters and support the development of staff and service delivery within the team
• Attend and contribute advice, briefings and information to Council, its committees elected Members and multi-disciplinary Working Parties (both inside and outside the Council structure) as the representative of the Head of Service in order to ensure appropriate policies are adopted relevant to the statutory and non-statutory functions of the Council.
• Analyse external and internal forces, including legislative and policy changes, which impact upon the functions of the service area and the Council. Determine their effects, plan appropriate strategies making recommendations for alterations in service or methods of operation, so as to meet current and future demands placed on the service. 10%
• In complex cases, or to support staff, or in exceptional circumstances, carry out investigations, inspections and enforcement action in line with relevant legislation and as necessary to support the work of the Section.

Dimensions:

• The post holder has management responsibility for two teams and 4 direct reports. There are 21 full and part-time posts.
• The Post holder is responsible for revenue and capital budgets.
• There are significant financial, legal and reputational consequences of failure to ensure competent and effective service delivery.
• The work of the post holder requires them to ensure that the Council’s community safety agenda is progressed through Partnership. This results in the post holder having a number of masters in addition to the Council, including the Community Safety Partnership, the Police & Crime Commissioner, the Police Strategic Alliance of, the County Council, Government Office for the Region and Home Office. These Partners need to be treated with sensitivity as they all have different cultures and agendas and the post holder will need to move these forward together.
• Involvement with the local community is required to ensure integration of proposals with community aspirations and the post is involved directly and indirectly in attending various public and councillor forums.
• This area of work is complex and demanding as the responsibility for the management of partnership funds awarded by central government rests with this Council and is closely scrutinized by the Government Office for West Midlands.
• The post holder is required to lead on this area of work, which involves comprehensive data-gathering exercise and analysis of the data to highlight crime trends and hot spots within the District and to develop strategic and operational interventions which translate into neighbourhood delivery to address those hot spots in crime trends.

Challenges:

• There are a number of complex and important functions within the section, having an impact for the wider community as well as delivering statutory duties. Balancing the demands of the reactive elements of the service, alongside the need to ensure that the Council as a whole meets its statutory duties and those of the Community Safety Partnership, provides a difficult challenge.
• The post holder is expected to respond to exceptional service demands and emergency situations outside of normal working hours.
• Attend Council and other meetings outside of normal working times when required.
• To undertake other duties and responsibilities as may reasonably be required.

If you would like to apply, please send your CV to vishal@buckinghamfutures.com in the first instance.