Secondments to the College

We’re looking for the best and brightest people – across all ranks and roles – to join us on secondment and make a difference for policing nationally. We also welcome secondees from other organisations.

We value the experience and perspectives of our secondees. We're working hard to improve our connection with the front line by recruiting officers and staff dealing with current issues and using the latest practices.

All secondments are advertised on this page, the Civil Service Jobs website, in force orders, and in suitable publications and newspapers.

Claire Van Deurs Goss, Greater Manchester Police

The secondee network has been a labour of absolute love and enjoyment where we’re so lucky and privileged to have such an amazing talent pool of people all in the one room from across the country who have that solid core purpose. What it means to us is that we’ve now got this community and we can only build on that moving forward.

Graham McCallum, Police Scotland

Today is about those individuals who all come from separate forces are all meeting together, meeting each other for the first time as well to realise that they are united, not because they’re in the College of Policing, but they’re also secondees as well. So it’s a unique opportunity for them to meet face to face, to share learning, to share the realities they have because they’re all going through the same journey, and they no longer feel alone any more. They’re actually part of a greater network in a bigger team.

Nita Pankhania, Thames Valley Police

I think we’ve got around 70 secondees I understand from the conversations this morning and it’s really important to link in with them because we’re all sort of dispersed across UK. So having this network today has really helped to put some names to faces and just talk about what we’re doing in our own teams and share some of that knowledge as well.

Claire Van Deurs Goss

So the community of secondees that we’ve got at the College is such an eclectic group and so diverse, which is absolutely fantastic to be submerged in such an amazing group of people. And of course we’re not just police officers, we’re police staff, we’re from the military as well. And we’ve got a huge amount of secondees from Oscar Kilo. The demographic is across the country. So there’s no skills I don't think that we haven’t got or that we can’t nurture and really build on.

Jacqui Prest, Greater Manchester Police

They do so much at the College to make you feel, very quickly, part of the family. All they want to do is for you to really improve who you are, but it’s also the opportunity to work around the different forces when you are a secondee. Where actually you get to see that there’s a lot of commonality that you thought perhaps was individual with your force. But actually, it’s not.

Elaine Clarke-Williams, Greater Manchester Police

Because I’m not a police officer, I’m police staff. So I don’t have policing skills. I’ve got skills that can complement policing skills, which I think policing really, really needs. It’s really difficult to be seen as having the credibility, bringing things into policing if you’re not an officer. So I think working at the College will give me that credibility and that visibility to bring things back and make a change and a difference.

Jacqui Prest

It’s like the bridge between a police force and the College and we link the two together because there is so many aspects within College that actually forces don’t tap into. I can say there’s a professional community I can signpost you to, then that’s beneficial for that force. And then that’s a long-lasting legacy, really.

Graham McCallum

It’s a career high to come to the College of Policing but the opportunities you have when you’re here and outside of the police service as well. The networking opportunities, the CPD opportunities is second to none. So people don’t always realise that. It’s when you’re here you get to it, it’s probably an unkept secret that people are not aware of the full opportunities you have. And once you’re here, it's really going to be beneficial to see what you have.

Lisa Gore, South Wales Police

I thought I knew about what the College did. But, in reality, I only scratched the surface. One of the things that I try to do is, when I’m having interactions with the forces, is try and raise awareness about everything the College has to offer. I just didn’t realise about how small the College is in size but how huge the offer is that the College brings. And what I will say is it’s probably the most inclusive place that I’ve ever worked and I feel the most valued that I ever have while working in the College.

Types of secondment at the College

You can join us as secondee in four different ways.

On a formal secondment, providing specialist expertise for a minimum of 12 months.
On an informal secondment of three to six months, for high-profile projects that require a quick response.
As a service associate, supported by your force or organisation, to assist with training delivery for a set maximum period.
As part-time support – open to staff, officers, and volunteers or special constables to produce scoped pieces of work, alongside their substantive role in policing.

Current secondment opportunities

Our secondment opportunities close at 11:55pm on the closing date, unless shown as otherwise.

Command training lead – closing date: Tuesday 10 December

How to apply

If you wish to apply for a secondment at the College of Policing, you need to complete:

the online application form for the role on the Civil Service Jobs website
a secondment approval form demonstrating support from your chief officer (chief constable, deputy chief constable or assistant chief constable) or line manager

Secondment approval forms should be completed at the same time as the online application form and returned by email to recruitment@college.police.uk.

Benefits

On secondment to the College of Policing, you will have the opportunity to:

join our secondee network and secondee alumni
develop and enhance the essential skills needed to work effectively at a national level
access policing continuous professional development
develop your career laterally and gain personal fulfilment
prepare for promotion with evidence of national achievements
share your specialist skills and knowledge to improve policing nationally
gain career-enhancing qualifications (if essential for your role)

It's quite an exciting prospect meeting other academics and researchers and subject matter experts in loads of different policing areas. Just really invigorates what you love about policing and wanting to learn more to improve policing and what we all do.

I wanted to look at going on a secondment because it's not a jump to a role. It's to look at other forces to see what they do. So, when I went on my secondment to HMIC, I was a response sergeant at the time. So, I didn't have any opportunity to look outside my police force and I wanted to learn from others and I wanted to think differently about policing and actually look at what is required of policing now and in the future and how could I be part of that? And to share that good practice back to my own force. But like I say, I wanted to just take that step further and come to the College and say, well, these were the gaps in policing. How can I actually help improve policing? And I genuinely want to leave a legacy of when I leave the secondment in another two years that I've produced this and this has actually been tangible, and that police forces have felt that they have been supported by me and the team at the College to really improve the areas that they need to.

I’m able to bring my experience of operational policing to people in the College who haven't got that background and really explain that and try to break the barriers down and the preconceptions about what the College does. So, it's been a two-way process really, is to say the College does certain things really well, certain things it can improve on. So, I've been involved in some of the focus groups about Transforming our College, just to make sure that what the College is providing to the police service is exactly what it needs to. And it's just having that ability to influence national policing, which again in my force as an inspector would be able to influence within my force. But this is actually nationally. So, I've done courses about courageous conversations have taken place in the College. So just to give me as a manager the strength to have difficult conversations with staff, colleagues and even partners I'm working with.

I've also published some national documentation. So, I've written a chapter in the landscape review, the police and health consensus landscape review. That was something I never would have achieved in force or even in policing without coming to the College. I've also been a guest speaker at some international conferences which, due to COVID, have taken place from my home. But I've actually made those real good international connections. So it hasn't just been in policing, it's been with academics and it's been with like-minded people who want to improve policing.

It was about being objective. So, if we're looking at things that are emerging, good practice. It's like saying, well, hang on, how can we test that? How could that be translatable to another force? And I think, given my operational experience, my experience at HMIC I'm able to just sort of really think that through. But also, if we're looking at trying to get people to think differently, my personal skills, ability to help partners and stakeholders, is really quite important.

I would say to anybody considering a secondment, you have got access to learning for yourself, but there's lots of opportunities to take the learning from the College back to your own police force and to share that learning quite quickly. So, I can say that I've been to another force and they've done something really well and I can speak to my force and say we might want to look at that to improve what we do to make sure that the service that we provide is the best that we possibly can.

Flexibility

We have offices in London, Coventry, Harrogate and Durham. Many of our secondees are homeworkers who travel for meetings or training delivery.

Working nationally can be demanding. It can require a high level of commitment and some overnight travel, especially if you are recruited to deliver training at one of our sites away from your home. In return we offer flexible working, so you can manage your time around your needs as duties permit.

Find out more about our benefits

Terms and conditions

All police secondments are based on the guidance for police officer and police staff secondments agreed by the Police Advisory Board for England and Wales, dated December 2013.

The Central Service Allowance (CSA) may apply for police officers and staff.

Police officers and staff applying for a secondment opportunity must have a minimum of recruitment vetting (RV). Prior to submitting an application please contact your force vetting team to check your vetting level.

Civilian secondees remain employed by their home department during the secondment. Their current terms and conditions remain unchanged and their period of continuous employment will remain unbroken. However, they must comply with College of Policing procedures.

Our secondees share their experiences