NPAS - Tactical Flight Officer (Police Constable) - All Forces
£28,551 - £46,044
Please note, if this is a paid role and the role is part time then the salary quoted will be pro rata based on the hours worked per annum.
14/04/2024, 23:55
THIS VACANCY IS OPEN TO SUBSTANTIVE POLICE CONSTABLES FROM ALL 43 FORCES IN ENGLAND AND WALES (including BTP) AND IS SUBJECT TO WEST YORKSHIRE RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION PROTOCOLS.
Tactical Flight Officer (Police Constable)
National Police Air Service (NPAS)
NPAS Bases nationally
Secondment - 40 hours per week.
Applications are invited for the role of Tactical Flight Officer with the National Police Air Service (NPAS) from substantive Constables who have completed their probationary period by the closing date of this advert.
In order to preserve the integrity and fairness of the selection process applications cannot be accepted from individuals who have applied within the last 12 months (from the date of your last assessment).
This will be a secondment for Police Officers out with West Yorkshire Police. You will require permission from your current Force to be eligible to apply. THIS APPROVAL MUST BE IN PLACE PRIOR TO SUBMITTING AN APPLICATION.
In line with the national agreement, the length of the secondment is expected to be for 5 years and will be reviewed at that point. Officers will have to comply with their home force policy.
We are looking to recruit several suitably experienced substantive Constables to be trained as Tactical Flight Officers (TFOs) with the National Police Air Service serving at NPAS Bases across England and Wales. No prior aviation experience is required to be successful as your personal skills and abilities will be assessed throughout the selection process.
NPAS provides borderless air support to all police forces across England and Wales 24/7, 365 days a year from a national network of bases. Daily, NPAS helps save lives, tackles criminality and keeps people and communities safe. Police aircrew provide effective aerial support to ground based officers and in doing so improve operational response to incidents within the highest safety standards. Crews fly to a variety of missions including fast-paced, dynamic tasks and support large public events, Heads of State visits, and large demonstrations. On occasion, the crew can be called upon to land so the TFOs can assist people in distress, render first aid, or on rare occasions use police powers to arrest.
What we can offer you:
• Work in a state-of-the-art-aircraft, dealing with front line operational policing from a completely unique perspective across England and Wales.
• A stable working routine with the ability to plan ahead working either a 24 / 20 or 12 hour shift roster.
• Multi-Agency working
•A rewarding opportunity to enhance your career, develop personally and professionally, and also gain experience rarely found at this rank level.
•Training opportunities to obtain additional qualifications and courses, both aviation and non-aviation related, for lateral career development.
Once trained as a Tactical Flight Officer you will:
•Fly as an operational crew member within a police aircraft ensuring the safe and effective use of specialist role equipment to implement effective police air operations.
•‘Tactically navigate & map-read to an incident including on scene management and situational awareness in a safe and efficient manner and be ‘spatially aware’.
•Carry out searches, coordinate resources and effectively deal with emergency situations including command and control of police incidents and resources from the air.
•Communicate effectively at all times within an aircraft crew environment, other air assets and ground based units.
•Prioritise multiple strands of information from various sources and enhance flight safety.
Finally, this is an opportunity to gain knowledge and experience working in an aviation environment and to learn, adopt and foster the safety and reflective teachings that such an environment promotes. The lessons and additional skills learnt from this are transferable and can be applied into shaping a future modern police force.
Selection process:
The selection process for this role does not require any previous aviation knowledge or flight experience. There are several assessments to pass to reach the required standard, which is the same for all TFO and Base Manager candidates. This is to ensure our safety critical role is maintained and that suitable candidates are able to develop their skills through effective training balanced with operational policing exposure.
The stages of recruitment are as follows:
1. Application form received by NPAS.
2. Interview and group exercises (week commencing 13th May 2024).
3. Aircrew aptitude testing – RAF Cranwell (10th June).
4. TFO Training course.
If you are unable to attend these dates you will be unable to complete the selection process.
Due to the volume of candidates, the selection process takes time to complete with an average time from application to Aviation Foundation Course being roughly 3-4 months however, this could be longer dependent upon number of candidates in the process.
Once selected and prior to posting or secondment, officers are temporarily attached to NPAS and are required to pass a four-week structured Aviation Foundation Course (AFC) normally away from your normal area of work in another part of the country. There will be two courses run in 2024. Where this causes issues with an officer’s personal circumstances, some reasonable adjustments can be considered and implemented but accommodation and subsistence would be provided for the duration of the course. The AFC contains several continuous assessment checks on the way to qualification. This Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) required course includes such elements as:-
• Ground and aviation safety.
• Safe operations around police aircraft and the aviation environment.
• Tactical navigation using aviation charts and street atlases around specific task locations; both
pre-planned locations and ad hoc.
• Fire training.
• Crew resource management (CRM).
• Basic technical equipment training.
The course includes a summative final assessment of suitability to continue onto posting/secondment. If a candidate is unable to demonstrate the required development during the Aviation Foundation Course, Officers will be returned to Force. Success on this course is required to pass onto technical and operational training in the very limited timescales that we have.
The application process will close at 23:55 hrs on Sunday 14th April 2024.
NPAS has an expectation that Officers will not arrive into post with previously accrued Rest Days or TOIL.
NPAS will be conducting awareness sessions for the role of TFO to be held at bases across the country. If you wish to attend one of these sessions, then please send an email to: npas.recruitment@npas.police.uk
using the subject title: PXP280 AWARENESS SESSION
The post is suitable for job share.
West Yorkshire Police is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workforce and the National Police Air Service (NPAS) is proud to serve all communities across England and Wales. We are committed to building a service that reflects a wide variety of skills, perspectives and backgrounds. We particularly encourage applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Backgrounds, females, and those with disabilities who are currently under-represented within West Yorkshire Police and NPAS. Disability is not necessarily a bar to application or success in this role and all applications are assessed individually. By addressing and improving our representation we can better reflect all the communities we strive to serve. Please contact our Resourcing team if you have any questions relating to this, or you wish to discuss reasonable adjustments in the recruitment process or beyond into role. All applications will be fairly and rigorously assessed by West Yorkshire Police / NPAS.
Applicants should be aware that it is not always possible to carry out adequate vetting checks on persons who have not been resident within the UK for the last three years. Therefore, where this applies, applicants may be refused because it was not possible to vet them to the appropriate standard.
For a detailed description of the Competency and Values levels required please refer to the http://www.college.police.uk/What-we-do/Development/competency-and-values-framework/Documents/Competency-and-Values-Framework-for-Policing_4.11.16.pdf (This link may be copied and pasted into your browser). This document will assist you in completing the Evidence of Achievement section of the application form. Please note: the Evidence of Achievement section will not be visible until the employment section has been completed.
The application form and role profile can be accessed via the following link:
Public Post
Approval must be sought from HR for all applications for out of force/external secondments. Therefore, if you are planning on applying for this secondment please fully complete the secondment authorisation form and send to Workforce Planning (workforce.planning@cheshire.police.uk).
Failure to do so may result in your application not being progressed. Please DO NOT apply through Oleeo.
Please send authorisation forms, with Line Manager and Superintendent/ Head of Department approval to Workforce Planning at least 5 working days before the closing date. Workforce Planning will then review eligibility.
Please be advised that following a successful application, final release will be subject to approval by the Deputy Chief Constable. HR reserve the right to withdraw any application that has not been granted approval.
Police Staff are required to relinquish their substantive post if the secondment duration is expected to be over one year. Please Officers are required to relinquish their substantive post if the secondment duration is expected to be over 6 months. Please see the secondment policy for further information.
Please visit the below link to apply for the role, any applications received through Oleeo will not be reviewed.
https://westyorkshirepolice.tal.net/vx/lang-en-GB/appcentre-3/candidate/postings/2009
NPAS Barton are holding have two TFO Awareness sessions, as follows:
- Saturday 17th February 2024, between 10am – 2pm
- Monday 4th March 2024, between 10am – 2pm
If any staff wish to attend one of these sessions, then please send an email to: npas.recruitment@npas.police.uk
using the subject title: PXP280 AWARENESS SESSION, including the base/area of choice
Cheshire Constabulary is fully supportive of diversity, equality and inclusion and strives to employ a workforce which is representative of the community it serves.
Applications are welcomed from all underrepresented groups and support will be made available throughout the recruitment process for all applicants. Under-represented groups include:
- People of ethnic minority
- Individuals who identify as having a visible or invisible disability
- Gender in relation to female representation for PC entry routes
- Gender in relation to male representation for Staff entry routes
- Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender + (LGBT+)
FOR POLICE OFFICER RECRUITMENT ONLY: The Constabulary recognises that some may possess additional skills such as fluency in other languages; if you have such a skill and are willing to be contacted about this potentially being considered in relation to deployment and posting decisions, please highlight this in the application. Please note that any posting decision will be made by the organisation as is its prerogative however in circumstances where there is a cultural-competence/skill that may also enhance the Constabulary's service to its communities then in consultation with an individual and their consent then a posting may be agreed accordingly.
If you have any queries in relation to diversity, equality and inclusion or have a request for any additional support you may need, please email Wellbeing.Engagement.Inclusion@cheshire.police.uk
Please note, you will require the following detail to complete this application form; NI Number, ID detail, address information, referee information, full employment history including dates and any qualifications you may have attained. You may also be requested to provide photos of any visible tattoos you have. The application system only remains active on a single page for a period of 60 minutes. Please therefore ensure you allow time to complete this fully as incomplete pages will not be saved. As part of the application process, you may be asked to provide evidence of your Qualifications, proof of identity and address, so it is important to make sure you have this information to hand before you complete your application.
This vacancy is closed to applications.
