Station Manager Promotional Process

Job Introduction

About Us

Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service’s (OFRS) purpose is to protect our communities, reduce harm and save lives. This will be delivered through leadership at all levels, that cares about people, is forward thinking with response options, innovative with prevention initiatives and focuses our protection work on the highest risk properties in our county. It values its employees and empowers everyone to contribute to this purpose, through a culture that is vibrant and inclusive.  

About the Role

As an operational Station Manager in Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, you will lead and manage the teams and resources responsible for reducing and controlling fire and other risks within a defined local area. Your role is to support the development and delivery of a coordinated approach to keeping the community safe. 

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for this process, all candidates must have the following by 23:59 On Sunday 5th July 2026. 

All candidates must

• Have their Training Records up to date. 
• Have no live personal improvement action plans. (PIPs)
• Have no live disciplinary proceedings 

Internal Wholetime Grey Book candidates’ additional essential criteria 

• Substantive Wholetime Watch Managers. 
• Completed (turned complete by IQA) The Station Manager Development Programme pre promotion 2020, 2021 or SM pre promotion unit one & two of the Leading the Function Development Pathway
• Hold a current Level 1 Incident Command qualification
• Able to meet the requirements of the flexible duty system for Station Managers. (Policy attached to this advert in additional information)
• Level 3 Leadership & Management diploma. (or equivalent)

Green Book (Fire Protection Roles Only) additional essential criteria

• Fully qualified OFRS Senior Fire Safety Inspectors

External Grey Book candidates’ additional essential criteria 

• Be substantive in a Wholetime Station Manager or Watch Manager position in your current service
• Level 3 Leadership & Management diploma. (or equivalent)
• Level 1 Incident Command System assessment pass from your service.
• Must be able to share training records for GAP analysis
• Able to meet the requirements of the flexible duty system for Station Managers. (Policy attached to this advert in additional information) 

External Grey Book candidates’ desirable criteria: 

• SFJ Awards Level 3 Award in Initial Incident Command in Fire and Rescue Services (ICS Level 1) Skills for Justice or equivalent qualification.
• SFJ Awards Level 4 Award in Intermediate Incident Command in Fire and Rescue Services (ICS Level 2) Skills for Justice (SFJ) or equivalent qualification.
• Officer Emergency response driving qualifications
• NEBOSH Level 5 qualification

If successful, the following will be sought prior to appointment: 

• Home-service training records
• Two References* One from current line manager, including confirmation of no live informal or formal warnings or action plans
• DBS Check
• Initial Medical
• Fitness Test (Chester treadmill test to ensure a VO2 Max of 42) 

Please note: We will not contact your current employer without your express permission. All successful external applicants will be required to complete a variety of training courses to familiarise themselves with Oxfordshire's current practices, such as, incident command.

About the Process 

Phase One - Application Form, Values Statement & Report Exercise  

Candidates will be required to complete an application form using the tribe pad system. This application form will allow you to access all the support material and case study documents along with a section to upload your documents when complete. 

The Values Statement will be set against one of our core values and will consist of a 1000-word statement describing how you have personally met this value, using examples. 

The Report Exercise will require candidates to carry out an analysis of yourself, identifying strengths and weakness, and develop a personal development plan in the form of an action plan. Full details of what will be expected can be found on the application forms additional information sheets. 

Please Note: Your completed Application, Values Statement and report document should be attached to your online application form. We do not take responsibility for any forms submitted to ERRT directly. If these are lost or not identified by the deadline date and time you risk being ineligible from the promotional process. 

The closing date for submission is 23:59 on Sunday 5 July 2026. Late or partially completed applications will not be accepted. 

Station Manager Briefing. 11:00 4th June 2026. (Online)

An online briefing event designed to answer any questions that candidates may have will be delivered by Group Manager Danny Hicks. This session will give an overview of the promotional process and offer an opportunity for questions to be asked. It is highly recommended that candidates attend this briefing session. A recording off the briefing event will be made available to all candidates for the duration of the process.   

To request the joining link for the briefing session please contact ERRT@oxfordshire.gov.uk providing your name and contact email address 

Phase Two: Career Progression Gateway (CPG) Week commencing 7th September 2026 

The CPG is an externally assessed promotional assessment designed to evaluate candidates’ performance against the NFCC Leadership Framework. The assessment is carried out online and is split into two parts: A ‘Case Study Exercise’ and a ‘Management Roleplay Exercise’.  

As part of this phase an online webinar is provided by the CPG organiser VCD ltd. Invites for this will be sent out around the 18th – 19th August 2026. This online webinar will be held at the beginning of September (Date & Time will be confirmed in the invite) 

Phase three: Interview and Presentation 28th September – 9th October 2026

Interviews will take place at Headquarters in Kidlington and will cover management behaviours linked to the NFCC leading the function and OCC core values, as well as operational questions (when relevant for role).  

Candidates will also be required to present their findings from their reports to a panel.  

Results:  

Candidates will be informed of their results following the end of each phase. These calls will be made by ERRT using the number given on the application form.   

All candidates will be given limited feedback during their result telephone calls following each phase. Candidates will be offered the opportunity to discuss assessments in more detail with their assessors at a suitable date after the full process has concluded.  

All candidates who undergo the CPG will be given a structured feedback report from VCA Ltd directly. No further feedback will be given for this phase. 

Successful Candidates

Candidates who are successful in this process, will be entered into a pool of staff eligible for promotion. This will be discussed at the following establishment meeting. Successful candidates may be expected to undertake a Level 5 qualification in Leadership & Management, unless they can provide evidence of recognised prior learning.  

Training & Development will be in touch to arrange additional courses, including Officer ERD, ICD L2, NEBOSH etc.  

Unsuccessful Candidates: 

Unsuccessful candidates may be awarded ‘Assessment Passes’ for all successfully completed assessments providing they fit the criteria detailed in the Promotion and Advancement Management Procedure. 

Candidates who are unsuccessful will be given the opportunity to take part in a trial of a new personalised development programme, designed by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) in partnership with the NFCC. The purpose of this programme is to help candidates develop leadership & management skills to help support future promotional processes. 

The trial will give candidates access to the CMI assessment tool and the NFCC Resource Library, containing over 24,000 high-quality learning resources in a variety of formats to suit all learning styles. 

For more information on this, please contact Station Manager Career Pathways. 

Rewards and Benefits

• Employee Assistance Programme including access to health and wellbeing support
• Local and national discounts for shopping and travel
• Great learning and development opportunities to support your ongoing development.

Our commitment to:
 Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

At Oxfordshire County Council we are proud of our diverse workforce. Everyone is accepted for who they are, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marital status, race, faith or belief, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, and whether you’re pregnant or on family leave. We have a number of staff network groups which provide peer support and safe spaces for staff.

Our commitment to:
Guaranteed Phased Two progression

As a Disability Confident Employer, we guarantee progression to Phase 2 for disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the job. We also guarantee progression to Phase 2 to care leavers who have completed further education and who meet the essential criteria for the job. For those leaving care without any further education we guarantee an interview for our apprenticeships. We are also committed to helping and supporting those transitioning from HM Armed Forces to civilian life and guarantee progression to Phase 2 for those demonstrating the essential criteria for the role, within three years of leaving the service.

Our commitment to:
Safeguarding

Our Organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults. We expect all employees, workers and volunteers to share this commitment. We will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices reflect these commitments.

Follow us on Social Media

Stay up-to-date with the latest news and featured jobs from Oxfordshire County Council by following us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

If you experience any technical difficulties whilst completing the application form, please contact the Recruitment Team using Recruitment Application Enquiry Form. or by contact ERRT@Oxfordshire.gov.uk