Euro 28 deputy head of tournament police planning

This is an exciting opportunity to join our Euro 28 policing team, directly supporting the Head of Tournament Police Planning. You will have senior level management of a team to plan and oversee operational delivery for tournament policing and law enforcement at EURO 28 across the UK & Ireland.

For the role of Deputy Head of Tournament Police Planning you will have extensive experience of event and public order policing.

Some travel across the UK and Ireland (and potentially internationally) will be required to support in person meetings, planning and coordination at all host venues and cities.  You will be predominantly work from home, however during the tournament itself where you may be based in a hotel.

EURO 2028 is the Men’s UEFA European football championships that will be hosted across the UK and Ireland in 2028 and is the biggest sporting event ever jointly hosted across the UK and Ireland. It is anticipated that around three million tournament tickets will be sold, many to fans from across Europe; hundreds of thousands more will travel to the UK and Ireland without tickets to sample the atmosphere in city centres and fan zones; two billion people will view matches through television or online streaming.

The 51 matches will take place over four weeks in June/July 2028 and will be hosted in the cities of London (two stadiums), Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Cardiff, Glasgow and Dublin.

The complexity and scale in policing the tournament is huge and the skill of UK and Irish policing will be tested to the maximum and be highly visible on the world stage. The scale of the work over the next four years is such that a newly created dedicated policing team is required to plan for the tournament.

Duties and responsibilities

This role will report directly into the Head of Tournament Police Planning, and in their absence into the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) national football lead in order to provide reports on planning and operational delivery progress.

• team members who this individual will lead include an Inspector, three Police Sergeants and three PCs (or staff equivalents); meeting regularly, mostly online, in order to provide leadership and monitor and review progress of a wide portfolio
• working with planning and command teams embedded within all host Police forces to drive progress on policing and law enforcement in line with wider tournament policing objectives
• work with key and a diverse range of stakeholders and partners across the tournament partnership which include:
  
  • the respective host governments
  • host football associations
  • host police forces
  • host cities
  • host stadiums
  • blue light services
  • health
  • border authorities
  • military
  • security services
  • private providers of safety and security
  • UK Sport
  • UK and Ireland Ltd
  • UEFA
  • further identify and engage with other key partners as required
• participate in and chair programme and working group boards with peers and attendees at senior management team (SLT) levels, including stakeholders outside of NPCC and policing at times
• ensure forces and other agencies feel well supported and equipped to deliver a safe and secure tournament by understanding their needs, giving clarity on roles and responsibilities and working to problem-solve new challenges
• ability to prepare and deliver confident briefings and presentations to senior officers and stakeholders
• assuring policing plans across the UK and Ireland and providing authoritative support and guidance to forces and stakeholders on policing plans
• problem-solving and innovating to solve large and challenging policing problems

Who we're looking for:

• ability to work nationally and internationally presenting the very best face of UK and Irish policing - this role will be visible to senior leaders across UK and European policing
• someone who can support Police host forces across UK and Ireland in developing their plans as well as agencies such as the military, blue light services and wider crime and security services
• an important part of the role is to work across a complex stakeholder landscape including governments, football associations, UEFA and UK and Ireland 2028 Ltd (Tournament organising body) on delivering a safe tournament so diplomacy, engagement and stakeholder management skills are vital
• excellent management and people Leadership skills with ability to own, shape and proactively deliver team objectives
• confidence to work with and brief very senior police officers, government officials and stakeholders from across the country and beyond
• significant professional expertise in broader Public Order (and ideally football) policing
• deep understanding of how things really work in police forces whilst understanding the barriers, challenges and impact of major operations
• financially literate in managing costs in line with Tournament hosting budget and agreed Government funding
• ability to work under significant pressure and meet deadlines especially as we approach and go through the tournament
• someone who is flexible to shape but also adapt to a new team and new stakeholder structures that are likely to evolve quickly especially in the lead up to and during tournament time