The Role
Applications are invited from Station and Group Managers to become National Inter-agency Liaison Officers (NILO).
This is an exclusive specialist role which provides support and guidance to incident commanders from the Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) and other agencies.
The role of the NILO is to liaise with FRS partner agencies in both the planning stage of events and/or directly at operational incidents. The NILO’s key role is to proactively liaise with other agencies in order to gain vital information that may assist in keeping LFB crews safe. NILO response will primarily be within the LFB boundary, however this is a national role and deployment to other FRS regions may be required.
NILO’s are the London Fire Brigades ‘Tactical Advisor’ for incidents involving:
• Terrorism
• CBRNE incidents
• Firearms related incidents
• Civil disorder
• Crisis Management
During incidents NILO’s are a vital communication link between other agencies and the LFB and are able to provide incident commanders with advice and support regarding the nature of specific risks and threats. NILO’s will act as a single point of contact for other service operations, providing advice and guidance on FRS capacity and capabilities to other agency colleagues including police, health, military and security services.
NILO’s can also advise FRS strategic managers in the conduct of joint agency operations and will assist in formulating multi-agency operational response plans to safely resolve incidents. They can attend and support operations at Tactical & Strategic Co-ordination Centres, Police Special Operations Rooms and other locations.
On-call Requirement
NILO’s provide an immediate recall to duty capability. If you do not wish to or are unable to provide an immediate (within 1 hour) recall you should not apply for the role.
For approximately 91 days per year , NILO’s are required to be available on the recall duty system. These recall duties are performed on some 9 hour duties and when otherwise on rota leave. Recall duties are for a 24 hour period, starting at the same time as the flexible duty system shift change.
Recall will not be used for training courses, except in extreme circumstances, where it may be considered to meet the requirement for NILO exercises. Volunteers will always be sought in the first instance.
On successful completion of training , NILO’s receive an on-call allowance calculated at 10% of basic pay including the flexible duty figure (non pensionable). If recalled to duty, payment is at the current hourly overtime rate for normal operational role.
In consideration of the on-call allowance, NILO’s are able to undertake lawfully protected strike action but in the event of the instigation of the Major Incident protocols NILO’s will be immediately available to receive instructions and respond for he following:
Major Incidents
Terrorist related incidents
Civil Disorder
NILO work of an urgent nature
Declared MCR event anywhere in the UK
To apply please complete the online application form by 16 July 2018 including the expression of interest form (please follow the application guidance in the attachments. Please make sure you give yourself plenty of time to complete and submit your application form prior to the closing date, as late or un-submitted applications will not be accepted, you also need to factor in time for your line manager to complete the form.
Please upload your completed expression of interest form in the CV section of the application form.
Eligibility
You must be a Station Manager or a Group Manager.
Station Managers on development are eligible to apply.
Assessment Overview
Stage 1
Application Form
Stage 2
Structured Interview (August 2018)
Stage 3
Successfully complete National NILO foundation training course, complete mandatory training and a period of shadowing NILOs followed by a pass/fail assessment . It is anticipated that successful candidates will undertake their final assessment within twelve months.
Please be advised that if you are unable to make the scheduled assessment dates, we may not be able to make alternative arrangements.
Additional Information
Security Clearance
Due to the nature of the NILO role, successful applicants will be required to obtain and maintain Security Check (SC) clearance.
SC clearance is required for access to certain Government establishments and for activities involving sensitive information which are classified as 'SECRET' and occasional, supervised access to ‘TOP SECRET’ information. The vetting process for SC clearance includes:
• Completion of a security clearance questionnaire by the candidate
• Checking identity documents and employment/education references
• Checks against UK criminal and security records
• A credit reference check
• If considered necessary, checks against the criminal and security records of relevant foreign countries.
Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR)
The NILO role combined with the normal operational role means that from time to time hours and/or working patterns may exceed the 48 hour average working time limit laid down in the WTR.
Permission to apply for the role
This is a demanding role and a commitment of 3 years is expected from the successful candidates. On completion of the training the term of the NILO contract is a minimum of 2 years.
Before applying, officers are required to gain approval from their DAC/Head of Department who will assess whether the training and operational workloads associated with the NILO role can be accommodated without adverse affect on the Section/Borough/ Department.
Other specialist roles
Due to the nature of the NILO role, successful applicants may not be able to apply to take on other specialist roles such as ORT or UA. Therefore, careful consideration should be given to applying for the NILO role as it will have an impact on other roles you may wish to carry out.
Applicants who are already committed to training for another specialist role or are already performing that role should assess the implications of applying and should seek advice from their specialist role co-ordinators before applying.
Mandatory Training and CPD
Successful applicants will need to undertake and complete a number of mandatory training courses as well as committing to and maintaining a significant Continual Professional Development (CPD) programme. Attendance at the monthly NILO meetings is mandatory and will need to be prioritised against other work commitments.
The mandatory training course includes:
• 8 day residential National Inter-agency Liaison Officer foundation course .
• 4 day residential CBRN Tactical Commanders course (initial course , followed by two day refresher every 3 years)
• Modular initial training (day or half day input depending on module):
Role and Duties of a London Fire Brigade NILO
Catastrophic incident management training
MCR competency skills framework
Working with other agencies
Confirmation/Final Assessment
Minimum of 10 days/ 80 hours CPD per year
Attachments