Job summary
- Main area
- Emergency Planning and Resilience
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 7
- Contract
- Permanent: Any job offer and continued employment is contingent on that level of security clearance being maintained.
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 308-CORP-3097
- Employer
- London Ambulance Service NHS Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Hybrid; Remote and The Fire Service College
- Town
- Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire
- Salary
- £47,810 - £54,710 Does not attract a high cost allowance as it is based at home.
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 01/10/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Capabilities Officer
NHS AfC: Band 7
Our vision is to deliver outstanding emergency and urgent care whenever and wherever needed for everyone in London, 24/7, 365 days a year. We are the busiest emergency ambulance service in the UK serving one of the world’s most dynamic and diverse cities. We provide emergency and urgent healthcare that is free to patients at the time they receive it.
We are the only NHS provider trust to serve the whole of London and the nine million people who live in, work in or visit the city. We cover an area of 620sq miles and have more than 8,000 people who work or volunteer for us – rising to 10,000 when including bank staff and students.
We answer around two million 999 calls a year and our crews attend more than 3000 emergencies a day. Our 24-hour 111 integrated urgent care services London answer around two million calls a year.
We play a leading role in integrating access to emergency and urgent care in the capital and are striving to ensure patients receive the right response, in the right place, at the right time
Our main role is to respond to emergency 999 calls, providing medical care to patients across the capital, 24-hours a day, 365 days a year. Other services we offer include providing pre-arranged patient transport and finding hospital beds. Working with the police and the fire service, we are prepared for dealing with large-scale or major incidents in the capital.
Job overview
The Capabilities Officer within the NHS Resilience Emergency Capabilities Unit (ECU) plays a pivotal role in supporting NHS England’s clinical response to complex and major incidents. This national-level post is responsible for maintaining and developing interoperable capabilities such as HART, MTA, CBRN, Mass Casualties, and Command & Control. The officer will lead on the creation and maintenance of national safe systems of work, risk assessments, emergency plans, and technical documentation. They will also support training delivery, equipment coordination, and readiness monitoring.
The role requires frequent engagement with internal and external stakeholders, including NHS England, emergency services, and regulatory bodies. The officer will act as a subject matter expert, providing advice, conducting audits, and managing sensitive information, including during national emergencies. They will also deputise for the Capabilities Manager, manage staff, and contribute to national projects and events.
This is a highly autonomous role requiring excellent communication, project management, and analytical skills. The postholder must be a registered NHS clinician, ideally with experience in high-risk environments, and hold or be willing to obtain SC-level security clearance. The role is based at the Fire Service College with flexibility for remote working and national travel. It is integral to ensuring national preparedness and resilience.
Main duties of the job
The Capabilities Officer is responsible for developing and maintaining safety-critical documentation, including standard operating procedures, risk assessments, and rescue plans. They draft emergency plans, service continuity documents, and national service specifications. The role involves managing sensitive correspondence and operating national data systems. Officers produce detailed reports, populate risk registers, and prepare technical briefings. They also lead the creation and circulation of documentation for national meetings and programme boards.
In this role, the officer provides expert advice to NHS and multi-agency stakeholders. They are expected to communicate complex, sensitive, and classified information effectively. The officer chairs national meetings and incident debriefs, often involving distressing content. During national incidents, they act as a Tactical Commander. They also create and deliver presentations to a wide range of stakeholders.
The officer leads the planning and delivery of projects valued up to £200,000. They manage programme risks, conduct audits and inspections, and coordinate national events and conferences. The role includes analysing NHS performance data and clinical outcomes to inform decision-making.
Working for our organisation
The principal aim of the NHS Resilience Emergency Capabilities Unit (ECU) is to support the delivery of patient care and improved clinical outcomes in a range of challenging environments across England. The unit supports NHS Trusts and partner agencies to provide an effective response to the major and complex incidents defined within the UK’s National Risk Register.
The NHS ECU is the national centre of excellence for emergency preparedness, resilience, and response across England’s ambulance services. Hosted by the London Ambulance Service and commissioned by NHS England, we are dedicated to ensuring that the NHS is ready to respond to the most complex, high-risk, and challenging incidents—whenever and wherever they occur.
Formerly known as the National Ambulance Resilience Unit (NARU), the NHS ECU builds on over a decade of operational expertise, clinical leadership, and innovation. Our mission is to strengthen national resilience by supporting ambulance trusts and wider NHS partners with the capabilities, training, and coordination needed to deliver outstanding care in the most demanding environments.
Our work is structured around three core capabilities:
- Preparedness: Ensuring our teams are ready to respond through rigorous training, clinical excellence, and strategic planning.
- Interoperability: Embedding multi-agency collaboration into every aspect of our work, from joint training to national coordination.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Applicants are advised to read all the information enclosed in the advert before completing an application. For further details of main responsibilities, please see attached job description.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Educated UK academic level 5 or equivalent professional experience
- Qualified and registered NHS clinician
- Full UK Driving Licence (with C1 & D1 or equivalent)
Experience
Essential criteria
- Practical experience of delivering Paramedic standard care within high-risk environments
- Practical experience of risk management and emergency planning in an operational setting
- Experience of system and process design
- Project management experience including implementing organisational change.
Knowledge and Skills
Essential criteria
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- The ability to influence and negotiate with external stakeholder organisations in a complex working environment
- Demonstrable planning, organisational, and project management skills
- A detailed and professional understanding of safety critical systems and safe systems of work
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Christian Cooper
- Job title
- National Head of Operations
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07771365 741
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