Practice Developer x2

College of Policing

Hybrid

Expires: Expiring in less than 5 weeks

Education

Flexible

£36,520 per year

Job summary

Applications for this role are restricted to existing employees of the College of Policing, the Civil Service and staff of a UK police force or UK policing organisation.

About us:

This post is based within the What Works Standards team. We are a small team who lead on the development of evidence-based guidelines and authorised professional practice (APP), which are the main sources of national guidance for the police service. We are based within the Research and Knowledge Services unit and also contribute to the work of that wider team.

We are a team of 10 with backgrounds which include policing, victim support and engagement, academic research, training and probation. We are a welcoming, supportive team with a culture of continuous improvement for ourselves and the work that we do. We are passionate about the need to support police officers and staff with the guidance they need to provide ethical and consistent levels of service to victims and the public. Although our work is of high profile and can sometimes be pressured, we prioritise a healthy life/work balance. We meet regularly as a team, online and in person, to share our successes, solve problems and to get support from each other.

Vetting

The role requires vetting level NPPV3 and SC and you may need to complete further vetting forms if you do not already have this level.

Job description

You will develop and deliver national professional practice guidance for the police service. You’ll work with college and police subject matter experts to interpret evidence and understand good practice in order to draft clear practical guidance and will lead on consulting with members of the public and other stakeholders to ensure the guidance supports the delivery of consistent and improved national practice. You will work on developing two or three main pieces of guidance each year and will work with the team to make small scale changes to existing products on a regular basis.

Person specification

Leading on defining the scope of guidance to meet identified needs

Working with national stakeholders and internal subject matter experts to understand and interpret evidence and practice in order to draft effective practical and ethical guidance

Leading on public and stakeholder consultation including designing and delivering surveys, focus groups and other consultation instruments

To be successful in this role you’ll need:

Degree or Level 6 qualification or equivalent experience

Effective and persuasive communication skills

Ability to gather data, analyse, critique and synthesise complex information and prepare reports and briefing documents

Please see the attached job description which contains full details of the role.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

Communicating and Influencing
Delivering at Pace

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

Degree or equivalent Level 6 qualification, or equivalent level of experience and further learning and development in policing, government, law, criminal justice or related fields
Ability to present and facilitate discussion on highly complex, sensitive and/or contentious information, where persuasive and empathetic skills may be necessary to gain acceptance from a sceptical and/or hostile audience
Ability to gather data, analyse, critique and synthesise complex information and prepare reports and briefing documents
Ability to think and plan strategically and to exercise sound judgement in the face of conflicting pressures

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £36,520, College of Policing contributes £10,579 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.

For more information about your benefits and staff networks, visit Guide to your employee benefits

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

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

Applications for this role are restricted to existing employees of the College of Policing, the Civil Service and staff of a UK police force or UK policing organisation.

Vacancy reference: 7033, 7034

Anticipated interview dates: Week commencing 1 June 2026 – Via MS Teams (Online).

One role is available until 30 December 2026 and one role until 31 March 2027.

These roles are available as fixed term contracts or secondment opportunities and are open to:

colleagues employed directly by the College or the Civil Service. Please note you will be required to obtain the written support of your line manager prior to submitting your application.
serving police staff or officers at the equivalent grade who have their chief officer's approval. Chief Officer’s approval must be of NPCC rank, i.e., CC, ACC or Approval for a secondment must accompany an application.

Any ineligible applications will be withdrawn before shortlisting.

Please note if you are applying as a secondment you will be required to obtain the written support of your line manager or appropriate manager specified by your organisation, prior to submitting your application.
Please ensure you upload your completed secondment approval form as an attachment when submitting your application in Civil Service Jobs.
Internal applicants who are at risk of redundancy or in need of redeployment and pass the recruitment process, will be given priority over other applicants.

An initial sift based on the lead technical skill ‘Ability to gather data, analyse, critique and synthesise complex information and prepare reports and briefing documents’ may be held if a large number of applications are received. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

The closing date for this vacancy is Sunday 17 May 2026, we reserve the right to close this vacancy early if a high volume of applications is received.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

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

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.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.

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

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

Salary range

£36,520 per year