Deputy Director for Live Services – ESMCP

Britain’s emergency services are essential to our lives and communities. They work in dangerous environments to protect and keep the public safe. In a digital and connected world, they need a modern, fast, and secure critical mobile communications network. The technology that supports Airwave, the voice and data network currently used, is reaching the end of its lifetime. While reliable and fit for purpose for the immediate future, it’s limited and can’t compete with the opportunities offered by the new generation of mobile critical communications technology.

As Deputy Director for Live Services you will be responsible for the current Airwaves delivered live services and the future Emergency Services Network (ESN) reliability and service levels once in full production.

The new Emergency Services Network has the potential to transform how Britain’s emergency services operate. It will transmit fast, safe, and secure voice, video and data across the universal 4G network and provide first responders immediate access to life-saving data, images and information in real-time.

ESN will provide a modern, safe, and secure mission-critical communications network to Britain’s emergency services which will help keep the public safe now, and for generations to come. This is an exciting programme, delivering cutting edge technology which will directly impact people’s lives.

As Deputy Director for Live Services – ESMCP you will provide outstanding and inspirational leadership and will:

• Be responsible for Airwave, managing current Airwave live services team of 12 staff, who work closely with Airwave Solutions Limited (ASL).
• Ensure that ASL meet committed service levels and invest technical vitality for the Airwave system via monitoring/reporting.
• Grow and manage the current team committed to ESN that will be responsible for the design, build and running of the Live Services model.
• Once ESN is in production, overseeing the live services delivered by key suppliers, ensuring that the overall ESN production operation and service delivery model is complete, integrated and fit for purpose.
• Ensure the ESN solution is delivered through a series of defined ‘ESN Services’ as well as ensuring that each service has a full-lifecycle development and delivery model, including service/support model, a commercial/financial model and implementation model.
• Ensure the full ESN support model across Home Office and key suppliers includes all of the elements to deliver a robust and reliable ESN production service. Including all operational and service management process, based on industry-standard approaches such as ITIL.

This post will report to Delivery and Deployment director, while leading a team comprised of Civil Servants  and contractors; this team is currently made up of 20 (across Airwave and ESN). The successful applicant will possess strong IT operations experience within a mission critical technology operation as well as:

Leadership and management – Experience of leading and managing large multi-disciplinary teams of senior IT / mobile professionals from across multiple organisations.

Strategic Thinking - Ability to work within a strategic context and communicate how activities meet strategic goals. Ability to contribute to the development of strategy and policies.

Collaboration - Strong collaboration and relationship management skills. Able to identify, influence and work with senior leaders across a range of suppliers and user organisations.

User Focus - Ability to identify the needs of users and develop plans and strategies to address them. Understand and define research that fits user needs.  Use quantitative and qualitative data about users to turn user focus into outcomes.

Commercial Management - Strong understanding of commercial management and how to develop strategies that are commercially astute. Own and manage a budget, track progress and delivery against the budget and hold suppliers to account.