Specialist Capabilities Testing and Exercising Manager
Salary: £43,527.51 plus £4,613.61 London allowance per annum
Contract Type: Permanent
Location: Blundell Street, London
Type of Working Arrangement: Blended approach of home and office-working is available
Hours: This is a full-time role (37 hours per week)
British Transport Police (BTP) is the national police force for the rail network throughout Great Britain. We are the ‘Guardians of the Railway,’ putting passenger safety at the heart of what we do. Our values are simply: We Care, We Do the Right Thing, We Strive to Be Better Every Day, We Are One BTP, and We Are Proud to Protect. Join us and help create an environment where we can all be our best every day.
The Opportunity:
British Transport Police have an opportunity for a Specialist Capabilities Testing and Exercising Manager (SCTE) to join the Force Preparedness team.
As a SCTE Manager with BTP, you will lead the development, delivery, and continuous improvement of a comprehensive testing and exercising programme that ensures officers and staff are prepared to respond effectively to Major Incidents and Counter Terrorism incidents.
You will manage a specialist team responsible for designing and delivering a wide range of testing and exercising activities across both single and multi-agency environments. Working closely with internal and external partners, you will oversee the creation of realistic and innovative exercise products that strengthen operational readiness, identify opportunities for improvement, and support the Force's preparedness objectives.
This is an exciting opportunity to influence the development of organisational resilience, enhance operational capability, and play a key role in ensuring BTP can deliver the highest standard of policing response when it matters most.
What you'll be doing:
- Lead the development and delivery of BTP's testing and exercising programme, ensuring a sustainable and future-focused approach to organisational preparedness.
- Manage and support a specialist team, overseeing the planning, delivery, and evaluation of testing and exercising activities that enhance the operational competence and confidence of officers and staff in responding to Major Incidents and Counter Terrorism incidents.
- Design and deliver innovative testing and exercising products, including immersive digital exercises, to validate plans, strengthen operational readiness, and support effective multi-agency working.
- Provide governance, assurance, and continuous improvement across all testing and exercising activity, capturing lessons learned, monitoring compliance, and driving best practice across BTP and partner organisations.
What you'll bring to the team:
- Educated to degree level in a relevant discipline, or able to demonstrate substantial professional experience in testing, exercising, emergency preparedness, resilience, or a related field.
- Significant experience of planning, developing, delivering, and evaluating tests and exercises within a policing, emergency services, resilience, or multi-agency environment.
- Proven experience of designing and delivering testing and exercising products, with the ability to communicate effectively and build strong relationships with a wide range of stakeholders.
- People management experience, including leading, motivating, coaching, and developing teams, with the ability to drive high performance and continuous improvement.
- Strong communication, organisational, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities, work independently, and influence at all levels.
- Demonstrable knowledge of UK emergency preparedness, resilience and major incident response frameworks, including an understanding of the Civil Contingencies Act and the validation of emergency and contingency plans.
Desirable
- Experience of managing a team within a Police Service, Blue Light organisation, Local Resilience Forum partner, or other Category 1 Responder Agency.
- Extensive knowledge of working within a Police Service or Category 1 Responder Agency.
Additional Information:
This is a management role with direct line management responsibilities. Candidates must be able to demonstrate experience of leading, developing, and managing individuals and teams.
Due to the specialist nature of the role, applicants will also be expected to evidence professional knowledge and practical experience of UK emergency preparedness activity, particularly in relation to the Civil Contingencies Act, testing and exercising frameworks, and major incident preparedness.
The post holder will be required to work and travel at locations across the UK that will from time to time require overnight stays in hotel accommodation.
The post holder must hold a full UK driving license and will from time to time be expected to drive vehicles.
Further information about this vacancy can be found in the attached job description.
What we offer:
- 28 days annual leave plus bank holidays, increasing to 30 days after 5 years.
- Family-friendly policies, including up to 26 weeks paid maternity and adoption leave.
- Bespoke benefits platform and Blue Light Card access.
- Salary sacrifice options for cycles, home technology, gym membership, and electric vehicles.
- Interest-free annual rail season ticket loan after 6 months.
- Access to the Transport Benevolent Fund for health, welfare, and financial support.
- Development opportunities, including fully funded apprenticeships.
- Excellent Pension scheme: We offer the BTP GPP Police Staff Pension Scheme, administered by Royal London. This group personal pension plan is available to all police staff and is a defined contribution scheme. It provides the flexibility to vary your pension contributions from 4.4% to 12% of your salary. For more information, visit the Royal London dedicated pension page or email us at Pension-Queries@btp.police.uk. Note: If you are an existing member of Police Staff in the RPS, your pension will not be affected
How to Apply:
Applications will be via an up-to-date CV and online application form, as part of this application please outline how your skills and experience demonstrate your suitability for the role.
Completed applications must be submitted by 11.59pm, 9th August 2026
Vetting: Successful applicants will be required to pass Management Vetting and Security Clearance vetting (5 years minimum UK residency required), including a full background and financial disclosure. For more information and Top Tips, please see attached document.
Medical: We’ll ask for relevant health and medical history details to support employee wellbeing.
References: We'll ask for references to cover the past 5 years.
Inclusion & Diversity:
We are committed to building a workforce where everyone feels they belong.
We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, identities and lived experiences. Diversity strengthens our teams, improves our services and helps us better represent and support the communities we serve.
We are proud to be an inclusive employer and strive to create a workplace that is fair, respectful and accessible to all. We actively work to challenge discrimination, remove barriers and ensure equity throughout our recruitment and employment practices.
If you need any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment or selection process, please let us know - we are happy to support you. Your talent, your potential, and your unique perspective matter here.
For more information on Inclusion or the Disability Confident Scheme, please click the links Inclusion & Diversity Disability Confident Scheme
Join Us:
Ready to take the next step in your career? At BTP, you’ll have the opportunity to grow, make a real impact, and be part of something extraordinary.
Find out why BTP could be the perfect fit for you - About Us - British Transport Police
Curious about what life at BTP is really like? Hear directly from our people and discover what makes working here so rewarding. Explore real stories on our blog: Our Stories - British Transport Police
For further information, please contact our Resourcing Team -RecruitmentTeam@btp.police.uk.
AI can be a useful tool to spark ideas or help you organise your thoughts, but when it comes to your application, we want to hear from you, not an algorithm. What truly stands out to us are genuine stories, personal insights and the experiences that have shaped who you are. Authenticity matters - it helps us understand your motivations, your strengths and how you’ll contribute to our team. So, use AI if it helps you get started, but let your own voice lead the way.
Salary range
- £43,527.51 - £44,000 per year