Head of MetX

Do you want the chance to be part of something brave and something new?

MetX is an experimental change team, part of the Integrated Design and Delivery Team (IDD) within the Strategy and Transformation Directorate. It is a small, diverse and ambitious team which works directly with frontline practitioners to understand problems and test practical solutions, quickly and pragmatically and in support of the Met’s Turnaround plan.

Past successes include Sergeant in a Box, 24 Hours to Change the Met, What Next Text, Primary Colours, Covid-19 Volunteers, CCTV Open days, the Met Futures Internship Programme and the Awareness Academy (MetX were finalists for the Met excellence Awards ‘Building a Better Met’ 2022).

London doesn’t stand still and neither should we! This is an exciting time to be working for the Strategy & Transformation Directorate as we support the Met to adapt and respond to the ever changing needs of policing our capital city. This means that there are a vast range of opportunities for you to get involved with making London the safest global city at a time of unprecedented change and improving the services we deliver to the people of London.

The Head of MetX develops and maintains strategic relationships with:

• senior leaders in the Met, principally but not exclusively heads of profession, strategy pillar leads and programme SROs, to provide a meaningful contribution to strategic decision making and delivery
• enabling functions including Data, Digital and Technology, Commercial, People and Resources, OCUs, BCUs, to problem-solve, integrate, and collaborate to the benefit of operational policing and the wider Met considering build/buy solutions
• partners to the Met where relevant to MetX initiatives and approach to influence and understand changes in strategic direction or trend
• head of integrated design and delivery (IDD) to support them in building the capability and capacity of the IDD

The Head of MetX works closely with their peers within the IDD and wider Transformation Directorate where there is a need for integrated and collaborative working, to problem solve to the benefit of operational policing and the wider Met.

The head of MetX leads and manages MetX to:

• working with colleagues to understand operational problems, quickly developing practical solutions into viable plans of action
• testing the best ideas with practitioners in a low risk, small scale environment
• identify the most appropriate route to scale the most impactful to support the Turnaround strategy
• ensure that all staff and officers in the team develop their expertise and build capability across the Met
• allocate and prioritise MetX resources to support the most adaptive delivery
• manage 3rd parties within their area to meet changing resource requirements across the work of MetX and across IDD, ensuring quality of output and value for money

Key responsibilities

• Champion and implement experimental change delivery, supporting the vision to build capability across the Met.
• Manage communication and engagement with key senior stakeholders, developing and maintaining strategic relationships and working in partnership to resolve problems to benefit operational policing and the Met.
• Provide overall direction and leadership for MetX.
• Build and sustain experimental change capacity and capability within MetX.
• Lead MetX team, accountable for ensuring they are tasked effectively following design thinking methodology and adaptive approaches.
• With the B grade, co-ordinate experimental design initiatives and their interdependencies.
• Identify, manage and resolve risks, track and manage costs and benefits, provide reports as required, and ensure all outputs meet professional standards set by the transformation portfolio office.
• Describe the purpose and intended outcomes of each initiative the programme to a wide variety of stakeholders ensuring that key messages are understood and recognised.

Own the MetX business case

• Monitor MetX cost and financial requirements and ensure compliance with schemes of delegation.
• Monitor the review of MetX initiatives ensuring that that at any point in their lifecycle they can be paused or more formally terminated due to lack of return on investment/impact/user need.
• Manage dependencies to and from and to the initiative.
• Work with colleagues across IDD and wider transformation to ensure operational effectiveness is not impacted and the outcomes are delivered.