About the job
Salary: Watch Manager B development £42,672 – competent £46,707
Working Pattern: Average of 42 hours per week.
Contract Length: Permanent
Location: based in Worthing with requirement to travel across West Sussex
Practical Assessments and interview: week commencing 2 December 2024
You will play a vital role in helping make West Sussex a safer place to live, work and visit. Leading the Technical Rescue Unit you will enable the delivery of a specialist response service by attending a range of operational incidents including working at height, water, animal rescues, open area searches and body recovery (under the direction of the Police).
You must be able and confident working from height, with animals and be a competent swimmer. You will also need great interpersonal skills, a confident and resourceful attitude to deal with highly challenging and occasionally emotionally or environmentally intense situations.
This role is conditioned to the Technical Rescue Unit Duty System.
WSFRS looks to recruit the very best applicants into vacancies and those who pass the process but are not immediately offered a role will be placed into a pool for 12 months for future vacancies that arise.
Applications are welcome from substantive Watch Managers or competent Crew Managers in the WSFRS Watch Manager Development Centre Ready to Progress Pool. Applicants must be currently employed by a Local Authority Fire & Rescue Service.
The process
The process will consist of:
Stage 1
1. Application (see How To Apply below for further details)
Stage 2
2. Practical assessments, including:
3. Firefighters Swim test
4. Working at Height - applicants will be assessed to ascertain their suitability for working at height and rope rescue operations. Candidates will be supplied with suitable TRU rope harnesses and PPE.
5. Interview
Stage 3
6. Candidates notified of outcome
Any offers will be subject to:
7. Satisfactory Enhanced DBS and reference requests.
8. Internal applicants will need an in-date fitness test and medical.
9. External applicants will need to undertake and pass a West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service fitness test and medical.
Successful candidates will initially receive in service training and will be required to attend and pass the following external courses:
10. Rescue form height
11. Water rescue
12. Animal rescue
Skills, qualifications and experience
Key Skills:
13. Effective and inclusive leadership skills to support staff to display high professional standards and challenge poor performance in order to deliver a high-quality service to the community.
14. Effective communication skills, with the ability to influence, in order to communicate the Service vision and engage with internal and external stakeholders to work collaboratively to improve service delivery.
15. Ability to monitor and manage resources, the performance of individuals or teams to meet Service delivery needs, including at operational incidents.
16. Committed to continual professional development of self and team by seeking out ways to encourage, mentor and coach staff in all areas of work.
17. Ability to manage own time and workload, and that of a team whilst being resilient in a range of complex and demanding situations.
Qualifications:
Essential at time of application
18. Substantive competent Crew Manager who has demonstrated competence against the requirements of the NJC Crew Manager role map.
19. Incident Command Level 1 (Initial)
20. Current full UK driving licence
21. Hold a valid LGV driving licence
22. IOSH Supervising Safely
Desirable (or if qualification not currently held, it must be completed within 18 months of appointment)
23. NEBOSH - Managing Safely
24. ILM L3 Diploma in Leadership and Management or equivalent qualification/training
25. Assessor qualification
26. Animal Rescue AR2/3
27. Swift Water Technician
28. Rope Rescue Technician
Experience:
29. Experience of leading the work of teams and individuals to achieve their objectives and support development.
30. Experience of investigating and reporting on events to inform future practice.
31. Experience of leading and supporting people to resolve operational incidents.
32. A working knowledge of Health and Safety at Work Legislation and its application to the Fire and Rescue Service.
33. Demonstrate an understanding and commitment to the core values and the national fire and rescue service leadership framework.
Reward and benefits
As an employer we recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where employees can achieve their full potential, achieve a healthy work-life balance and are rewarded for the work they do.
As an employee of West Sussex County you will also have access to a range of benefits, please see our you Rewards and Benefits page for further information.