Welcome from Clare Davies OBE, Chief People and Resources Officer

Thank you for your interest in becoming part of the Met’s executive team as our Chief Financial Officer. 

This is, without doubt, one of the most exciting times to join the Metropolitan Police in its long history. The Commissioner launched the New Met for London Plan in July this year, heralding the start of a new chapter for the Met.

We make it clear in the plan that we will need sustainable funding for the future and that the cost of delivering a New Met for London is significant.   Making the case for the right financial resource and making best use of what we already have will be critical to the success of our ambition.  We also need to fix our foundations and set the Met up to succeed. This means building a well-run organisation that puts the right resources in the right place whilst delivering value for money.  We will rely on the Chief Financial Officer to bring strong leadership and professional skills to help shape the way we achieve this.

With a budget of over £4bn and a workforce of over 46,000 people, the Met is one of the largest employers in south east England.  We have scale and complexity. We attract interest and high levels of scrutiny from many quarters. We are always open for business – 24/7, 365 days a year. And we have a workforce that do extraordinary things on a daily basis, putting themselves in danger to protect others. 

Our police staff choose to work in the Met because they are as just as motivated and passionate about serving London’s communities as our warranted colleagues.  With so many opportunities for interesting work opening up as a result of the New Met for London Plan, plus the ability to tangibly see the impact you have on the frontline, it’s a genuinely interesting and exciting place to practise and build your professional expertise.

As Chief Financial Officer you will be the S151 officer for the Met.  You will advise and assure the Commissioner on the effectiveness the Met’s financial affairs and ensure the finance function is fit for purpose.   You will also play a broader role as a Chief Officer in People and Resources, working collaboratively with other senior leaders in areas such as HR, Commercial, Estates and Shared Services to deliver a strong and effective resourcing service to the Met.  

We face a challenging period ahead, needing to secure more funding for the Met.  I need a good strategic thinker who will be able to shape our future financial strategy and build a persuasive case to our funding partners.  Key to this will be showing we are making effective use of our current resources, driving a large scale efficiency programme and strengthening innovation to deliver cashable and non-cashable savings.   

We also need a new target operating model for finance, one that has new capabilities and capacity to support our ambition.  I want our great financial professionals to feel more valued and engaged in our mission, being confident to contribute to and partner with the organisation.

You will need to be politically astute, and have the ability to partner exceptionally well with City Hall, the Mayor’s Office for Police and Crime, and government departments. 

The challenge calls for a senior and highly experienced transformational leader. You’ll have led a finance function in a large organisation which has gone through change preferably in the public sector. You will have a track record for managing risk, complying with legislative requirements and ensuring sound financial planning.  You will be able to describe and offer an exciting vision for how you would work with colleagues to find new and more effective ways of making our resources achieve even better results in line with our operational priorities.  You will possess the leadership skills and capabilities to motivate and inspire a team as well as leading them through change. 

You’ll ideally have experience operating at Board level or be ready to make that step up.  You will build positive relationships internally and with key partners in policing and more widely.  And you will work collaboratively as part of my People and Resources Leadership Team, ensuring that we collectively deliver outstanding services to the Met, its Senior Leadership Team, and to the front line.

This is without doubt an exciting and influential leadership role, within one of the country’s most iconic institutions.  It’s a role in which your impact will be felt – directly contributing to our mission.  My job will be to inspire you to be the very best leader you can be, to create the environment in which you can flourish, and to ensure you feel trusted, energised and excited by your work.

If you’re up for the challenge, and have the passion to succeed, I hope you will feel inspired to apply.

Clare Davies OBE, Chief People and Resources Officer