Information about the role of a chief superintendent, including the role purpose, key responsibilities and the skills required.
About the role
A chief superintendent is a core position within policing. It's a service function leader role in the policing professional profiles. The chief superintendent core rank profile outlines the basic requirements of the role.
Role purpose
Chief superintendents lead multiple large and/or complex areas of command within forces and across collaborations, strategic alliances and partnerships. They carry responsibility for all activities in their area, often acting as part of the chief officer team.
Chief superintendents also carry responsibility for strategic and/or policy lead for one or more areas of policing across the force. They play a critical lead role in operational policing for major or critical events or incidents planning and directing the activities. This is done in line with legal framework and wider policing policies/objectives to uphold the law and ensure public safety and strengthen public confidence.
This role carries specific legal powers to enable the maintenance of law and order. Chief superintendents lead the development of culture, climate and working processes across multiple areas of responsibility to ensure adherence to standards, and the promotion of accountability and continuous improvement.
Key responsibilities
- Leading a significant area of responsibility, upholding values and ethical standards. Acting with the highest level of professionalism in accordance with the law, public interest, and professional policing practice to protect the public by preventing and detecting crime.
- Fulfilling the authorising responsibilities of superintending ranks and maintaining operational oversight. Holding accountability for compliant policing responses to achieve operational objectives and enable public safety.
- Leading responses to major events and serious/complex investigations. Setting strategic/tactical objectives and priorities, assessing and managing threats/risks and directing the deployment of resources to ensure an appropriate and effective response in line with legal and force requirements.
- Leading, developing, managing and maintaining strategic relationships with local and regional partners. Effectively influencing and leading collaboration around shared outcomes. Leading the achievement of objectives for the force and own areas of responsibility to enable an effective approach to preventing and tackling crime and vulnerability.
- Leading the development and implementation of policy and strategy in own areas of responsibility in line with force and national directives. Contributing to the development of force and national policy to drive continuous improvement, problem solving and evidence-based policing.
- Fostering an inclusive organisational climate where people role model ethical behaviours and combine diverse perspectives and experiences. Supporting people to contribute, challenge, and share feedback so that the team operates in line with the force’s values and ethics, enabling successful policing.
- Protecting and promoting wellbeing and welfare within areas of responsibility. Embedding wellbeing strategies to protect and enhance the working environment.
- Leading, managing and coordinating the allocation of appropriate resources across multiple areas of responsibility, in line with force priorities in order to meet demand and maximise the efficient use of resources.
- Influencing the force planning process by developing resource and budget plans for areas of responsibility in line with force priorities, applying knowledge of changing capability and capacity in the workforce.
- Negotiating and controlling internal and external budgets within areas of responsibility and partnership arrangements. Influencing budget allocation to meet the force priorities and make financial savings where required to maximise value for money.
- Leading and managing performance across multiple areas of significant responsibility, making use of appropriate delegation. Providing meaningful feedback and coaching, and addressing areas of organisational underperformance to ensure appropriate standards and force objectives are met.
- Leading the assessment of future demands and emerging threats across multiple areas of significant responsibility. Developing and adapting operational and workforce plans to ensure that these demands are effectively anticipated and met.
- Developing and owning the strategy for the force's response in respect of an incident or investigation to the media, wider public and external stakeholders. Representing the force to provide information, improve visibility and build confidence in policing.
- Leading the design and implementation of significant organisational change projects or programmes across multiple areas of significant responsibility to drive continuous improvement to public safety and best practice in service delivery.
- Leading, motivating and engaging teams across diverse and significant areas of responsibility. Embedding strategies for continuing professional development and supporting regular review conversations. Enabling identification and equality of support for talent development opportunities, career planning and facilitating high-performing teams.
Competencies, values and core skills
The competency and values framework (CVF) provides clear expectations for everyone working in policing. It describes the behaviours required by police officers and staff to be effective in their roles and uphold the Code of Ethics for policing.
Competencies
The CVF has six competencies, which are split into levels. These levels can be used flexibly to allow for a better fit with frontline and non-frontline policing roles, and at different levels of seniority. This ensures that there is consistency throughout all the policing professional profiles. Some roles may contain different CVF levels due to the specialist nature of the role. Those working at higher levels should also fulfil the requirements of the lower levels.
This role should be operating at or working towards the following competencies.
- We are emotionally aware – Level 3: senior manager or executive
- We take ownership – Level 3: senior manager or executive
- We collaborate – Level 3: senior manager or executive
- We support and inspire – Level 3: senior manager or executive
- We analyse critically – Level 3: senior manager or executive
- We are innovative and open-minded – Level 3: senior manager or executive
Values
The CVF has three values that apply to everyone in policing, regardless of their role or seniority.
Core skills
All roles in policing have nine core skills in common. These are split into levels that represent the different levels of policing. This role should be operating at or working towards the following core skills.
- Communicating and influencing – Level 4
- Problem solving – Level 4
- Performance management – Level 4
- Relationship management – Level 4
- Change management – Level 4
- Managing people – Level 4
- Managing resources – Level 4
- Planning – Level 4
- Use of IT – Level 4
Education, qualifications and experience
Previous education, qualifications and experience
- Operational experience at superintendent level.
- All necessary local and national promotion requirements (or Direct Entry selection criteria where applicable) have been met.
Continuing professional development
Continuing professional development (CPD) enables everyone in policing to develop and gain recognition for their professional skills, knowledge and competence. CPD ensures that we continue to provide high-quality policing to keep the public safe and help to drive career aspirations. Discussion of CPD is usually included as part of professional development review (PDR) conversations.
Learning and accreditation
- Complete all annual and mandatory training.
- Any exemptions to learning and accreditation requirements are at chief constable discretion, in line with the local force policy.
Professional development
This role should consider the following CPD:
- engaging in regular reflection on personal performance and associated impact with particular reference to the competency and values framework
- maintaining knowledge and understanding of Police Regulations and College of Policing guidance, best practice and any local policy applicable to the operational police context and leading and managing teams
- maintaining knowledge and understanding of the College of Policing leadership development learning content that is relevant to the role/rank
- maintaining knowledge and understanding of political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors and developments, to support and inform a pro-active and preventative approach to policing
- maintaining and updating key knowledge, understanding and skills relating to legislation policy and practice across all functional policing areas of operational responsibility
- maintaining knowledge and understanding of new approaches identified by evidence-based policing research, problem solving and team working, and synthesise these into working practice
- maintaining a working knowledge and understanding of new and evolving crime threats and priorities; and current best practice to tackle these to enable a pro-active and preventative approach
- maintaining knowledge, understanding and application of professional development opportunities and performance management process
- ensuring professional development opportunities and performance management processes are implemented effectively when managing teams
- role modelling continuing professional development, coaching and/or mentoring colleagues, leading by example by sharing learning and reflections to support the professionalisation of the police service
- maintaining commercial awareness and building financial acumen by working closely with partners and multi-agencies at a local and national level, wherever possible taking advantage of shadowing and/or secondment opportunities
- completing all annual and mandatory professional development
Related roles
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