Job Description

THIS VACANCY IS OPEN TO SUBSTANTIVE POLICE CONSTABLES FROM ALL 43 FORCES IN ENGLAND AND WALES INCLUDING BTP AND IS SUBJECT TO WEST YORKSHIRE RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION PROTOCOLS.

Tactical Flight Officer (Police Constable)

National Police Air Service (NPAS)

NPAS Bases nationally

Secondment - 40 hours per week.

Applications are invited for the role of Tactical Flight Officer with the National Police Air Service (NPAS) from substantive Constables who have completed their probationary period by the closing date of this advert.

This will be a secondment for Police Officers out-with West Yorkshire Police and a posting for WYP Officers. You will require permission from your current Force to be eligible to apply. THIS APPROVAL MUST BE IN PLACE PRIOR TO SUBMITTING AN APPLICATION.

In line with the national agreement, the length of the secondment is expected to be for 5 years and will be reviewed at that point. Officers will be required to comply with their home force policy.

We are looking to recruit several suitably experienced substantive Constables to be trained as Tactical Flight Officers (TFOs) with the National Police Air Service serving at NPAS Bases across England and Wales. No prior aviation experience is required to be successful as your personal skills and abilities will be assessed throughout the selection process.

NPAS provides borderless air support to all police forces across England and Wales 24/7, 365 days a year from a national network of bases. Daily, NPAS helps save lives, tackles criminality and keeps people and communities safe. Police aircrew provide effective aerial support to ground based officers and in doing so improve operational response to incidents within the highest safety standards. Crews fly to a variety of missions including fast-paced, dynamic tasks and support large public events, Heads of State visits, and large demonstrations. On occasion, the crew can be called upon to land so the TFOs can assist people in distress, render first aid, or on rare occasions use police powers to arrest.

What we can offer you:

• Work in a state-of-the-art-aircraft, dealing with front line operational policing from a completely unique perspective across England and Wales.

• A stable working routine with the ability to plan ahead working either a 24 / 20 or 12 hour shift roster.

• Multi-Agency working

•A rewarding opportunity to enhance your career, develop personally and professionally, and also gain experience rarely found at this rank level.

•Training opportunities to obtain additional qualifications and courses, both aviation and non-aviation related, for lateral career development.

Once trained as a Tactical Flight Officer you will:

•Fly as an operational crew member within a police aircraft ensuring the safe and effective use of specialist role equipment to implement effective police air operations.

•‘Tactically navigate & map-read to an incident including on scene management and situational awareness in a safe and efficient manner and be ‘spatially aware’.

•Carry out searches, coordinate resources and effectively deal with emergency situations including command and control of police incidents and resources from the air.

•Communicate effectively at all times within an aircraft crew environment, other air assets and ground based units.

•Prioritise multiple strands of information from various sources and enhance flight safety.

Finally, this is an opportunity to gain knowledge and experience working in an aviation environment and to learn, adopt and foster the safety and reflective teachings that such an environment promotes. The lessons and additional skills learnt from this are transferable and can be applied into shaping a future modern police force.

Selection process:

The selection process for this role does not require any previous aviation knowledge or flight experience. There are several assessments to pass to reach the required standard, which is the same for all TFO and Base Manager candidates. This is to ensure our safety critical role is maintained and that suitable candidates are able to develop their skills through effective training balanced with operational policing exposure.

The stages of recruitment are as follows:

1. Application form received by NPAS.

2. Aircrew aptitude testing – RAF Cranwell 20 &/or 22 Oct 25

3. Interview and group exercises - week commencing 8th Dec 2025 at Carr Gate, Wakefield.

4. Six-week TFO Training course.

If you are unable to attend these dates you will be unable to complete the selection process.

Due to the volume of candidates, the selection process takes time to complete with an average time from application to Aviation Foundation Course being roughly 3-4 months however, this could be longer dependent upon number of candidates in the process.

Once selected and prior to posting or secondment, officers are temporarily attached to NPAS and are required to pass a six-week structured Aviation Foundation Course (AFC), split with 4-weeks normally away from your posted area of work in another part of the country, followed by two-weeks of local procedures training at your posted base. There will be four courses run in 2026. Where this causes issues with an officer’s personal circumstances, some reasonable adjustments can be considered and implemented but accommodation and subsistence would be provided for the duration of the course. The AFC contains several continuous assessment checks on the way to qualification. This Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) required course includes such elements as:-

• Ground and aviation safety.

• Safe operations around police aircraft and the aviation environment.

• Tactical navigation using aviation charts and street atlases around specific task locations; both

pre-planned locations and ad hoc.

• Fire training.

• Crew resource management (CRM).

• Basic technical equipment training.

The course includes a summative final assessment of suitability to continue onto posting/secondment. If a candidate is unable to demonstrate the required development during the Aviation Foundation Course, Officers will be returned to Force. Success on this course is required to pass onto technical and operational training in the very limited timescales that we have.

**IMPORTANT INFORMATION**

Tactical Flight Officer Application – Medical Information

It is important to note that due to the forces and physiological stresses that the aviation environment exerts on the human body, some medical conditions and/or medications, may not be compatible with the role of aircrew.

The following non-exhaustive list contains examples of chronic and ongoing medical conditions, as well as long-term medications that may require further Occupational Health interaction prior to commencing flying, to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all students and crew members.

Example Medical Conditions:

- Epilepsy / Photosensitive Epilepsy

- Vertigo or Dizziness

- Inner ear or Tympanic Membrane issues

- Musculoskeletal Conditions that could be exacerbated by sitting confined in a seat and harness for a protracted period

- Pregnancy

- Protracted recovery following surgery/operation

- Any other medical condition that may be triggered or exacerbated by flying

Example Medications:

- Long-term Antibiotics

- Sleeping Tablets (over-counter or prescription)

- Anti-depressants / Sedatives / Tranquilisers

- Centrally Acting Medications

- Stimulant Medication

- Anti-histamines

- Anti-hypertension medication

- Analgesic medication

- Combination medications

- Blood thinners / Anticoagulants

- Any other medication that may be contraindicated for flying

The application process will close at 23:55 hrs on Sunday 21st September 25.

To preserve the integrity of the recruitment process, and to ensure fairness to candidates, any applicant that has previously been unsuccessful at any stage of NPAS selection, is unable to submit a new application until 6-months has elapsed from the date of their last unsuccessful assessment. Once 6-months has elapsed, candidates are then eligible to apply to the next available recruitment advert.

NPAS has an expectation that Officers will not arrive into post with previously accrued Rest Days or TOIL.

NPAS will be conducting awareness sessions for the role of TFO to be held at bases across the country. If you wish to attend one of these sessions, then please send an email to: [email protected] using the subject title: PXP313 AWARENESS SESSION.

The 2024 version of the Competency Values Framework applies to this process. Please disregard the old link to the 2016 version which is contained in the ROLE PROFILE.

ANY ENQUIRIES RELATING TO THIS ROLE OR APPLICATION PROCESS SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO NPAS RECRUITMENT AND NOT TO THE WEST YORKSHIRE POLICE RESOURCING DEPARTMENT:

[email protected]

The post is suitable for job share.

West Yorkshire Police is committed to fostering  a diverse and inclusive workforce and the National Police Air Service (NPAS) is proud to serve all communities across England and Wales. We are committed to building a service that reflects a wide variety of skills, perspectives and backgrounds. We particularly encourage applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Backgrounds, females, and those with disabilities who are currently under-represented within West Yorkshire Police and NPAS. Disability is not necessarily a bar to application or success in this role and all applications are assessed individually. By addressing and improving our representation we can better reflect all the communities we strive to serve. Please contact our Resourcing team if you have any questions relating to this, or you wish to discuss reasonable adjustments in the recruitment process or beyond into role. All applications will be fairly and rigorously assessed by West Yorkshire Police / NPAS.

Applicants should be aware that it is not always possible to carry out adequate vetting checks on persons who have not been resident within the UK for the last three years. Therefore, where this applies, applicants may be refused because it was not possible to vet them to the appropriate standard.

For a detailed description of the Competency and Values levels required, please refer to the  Competency and values framework (CVF) | College of Policing (this link may be copied and pasted into your browser). This document will assist you in completing the Evidence of Achievement section of the application form. Please note: the Evidence of Achievement section will not be visible until the employment section has been completed.

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