Deputy Director Portfolio, PEEL Inspections (HMICFRS​)

Job summary

PEEL is HMICFRS’s largest inspection programme, providing a comprehensive assessment of the efficiency, effectiveness and legitimacy of all 43 police forces across England and Wales. It serves as the primary mechanism for understanding how well forces are performing and where improvements are needed.

The PEEL assessment framework is carefully developed, drawing on learning from previous inspection cycles, emerging national and local policing priorities, and extensive consultation with stakeholders across the policing sector. This ensures that the framework remains relevant, evidence‑based and reflective of the challenges faced by modern policing.

As the most wide‑ranging view of policing performance available, PEEL examines key areas of force activity in depth. Through this process, HMICFRS provides graded judgments, identifies areas where forces must improve, and highlights examples of effective or innovative practice that others may learn from.

Forces are assessed continuously, supported by structured, time‑bound evidence collection that covers nine core areas of policing. This continual assessment approach allows HMICFRS to build a more accurate and up‑to‑date picture of performance and ensures that findings are based on a broad range of data, fieldwork and insights.

The programme provides transparent and comparable information, enabling the public, police leaders and oversight bodies, including the Home Office and Police and Crime Commissioners, to understand how well forces are performing. Importantly, PEEL supports continuous improvement across policing and plays a crucial role in helping to keep communities safe.

Job description

Key responsibilities include: ​

The Portfolio Director will be responsible for:

• Leading the design, implementation and reporting of the PEEL inspection programme;
• Supporting and providing advice to HM Chief Inspector, HMIs and the Chief Operating Officer;
• Acting in accordance with HMICFRS’ stated values;
• Contributing to the overall effectiveness of the organisation as an active member of the HMICFRS Senior Leadership Group, providing strategic leadership, collaboration, and support across all areas of the inspectorate;
• Building and maintaining strong, influential relationships with senior leaders in policing, government and other relevant bodies;
• Maintaining a sound understanding of the UK policing and law enforcement landscape, including relevant government strategy and policy objectives;
• Providing line management, direction and support to deputy portfolio directors, the portfolio manager, and teams responsible for developing methodology and carrying out inspections;
• Leading the PEEL programme and working collaboratively with multiple teams across the inspectorate, including oversight of resourcing, budgets, and inspection quality;
• Ensuring inspection processes enable effective assessment of inspection evidence and that graded judgments are robust;
• Ensuring our reports are well-evidenced with recommendations that are easily understood by the public and policing stakeholders;
• Ensuring national themes and positive practice identified in our inspections are shared with the policing system nationally to support improvements;
• Contributing to organisational decision-making by the senior management team, HMICFRS Board and other fora, sharing collective responsibility for the decisions made and acting in accordance with them;
• Working effectively across HMICFRS, with other portfolio directors and senior staff as part of an integrated team, to meet the organisational purpose and objectives; and
• Taking an active role in leading, managing and developing staff, including the use of mentoring and coaching techniques.

Person specification

Essential Criteria ​

The successful candidate will need to demonstrate their knowledge, experience, capability and behavioural approach to a high standard against the following key criteria:

• A well‑developed and comprehensive understanding of the wider context and the strategic issues facing policing;
• A strong track record in leading and developing teams;
• Experience in operational delivery of large programmes;
• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral; and
• Confidence and experience in liaising, negotiating and influencing strategic change with senior stakeholders.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience in inspection programme design, development, planning and delivery; and
• An understanding of analytical techniques and statistical data, their application and value for inspection purposes, and their limitations.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £81,000, Home Office contributes £23,465 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

Online Application ​

Please follow the Job Advert instructions on the Civil Service Jobs website to apply online, no later than 23:55hrs on Monday 2nd March 2026. ​

Provide some basic personal information;​

1. A CV - setting out your career history, highlighting specific responsibilities and achievements that are relevant for this role, including details where budgets and numbers of people managed, relevant achievements in recent posts, together with reasons for any gaps within the last two years;​
2. A Statement of Suitability – (limited to 1250 words) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience, provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the essential criteria in the person specification.​
3. Diversity Monitoring - as part of the online application process, you will be asked a number of diversity-related questions. If you do not wish to provide a declaration on any of the characteristics, you will have the option to select 'prefer not to say'. See the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy: 2022 to 2025 (HTML) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) for more information.​

It is essential that in your written application you give evidence, using examples, of proven experience. These responses will be developed and discussed with candidates invited for interview.​

Failure to submit both a CV and Supporting Statement will mean the panel only have limited information on which to assess your application against the criteria in the person specification.​

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.This role has a minimum assignment duration of 3 years. An assignment duration is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through building your depth of expertise.

As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Laura Gavin
• Email : laura.gavin@hmicfrs.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : SCSRecruitment@homeoffice.gov.uk

Further information

The Commission publishes a guide that outlines its approach to handling a complaint under the Recruitment Principles. This can be accessed at http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/civil-service-recruitm…. We would recommend you read this guidance before submitting a complaint. ​
​
Complaints should be sent in writing to:​
​Civil Service Commission, ​Room G8, ​1 Horse Guards Road, ​London, ​SW1A 2HQ.

Attachments

Deputy Director Portfolio, PEEL Inspections - Candidate Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 491kB)