Specialist Capabilities - Testing and Exercising Officer

Job Introduction

Salary: £39,871.93 per annum (pro rata for part-time hours)

Contract Type: Permanent

Location: This role can be based at any of our Pennines locations, including Newcastle, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool.

Type of Working Arrangement: Blended approach of home and office-working is available

Hours: This is a part-time role (20 hours per week) 

British Transport Police (BTP) is the national police force for the rail network throughout Great Britain. We are the ‘Guardians of the Railway,’ putting passenger safety at the heart of what we do. Our values are simply: We Care, We Do the Right Thing, We Strive to Be Better Every Day, We Are One BTP, and We Are Proud to Protect. Join us and help create an environment where we can all be our best every day. 

The Opportunity: 

British Transport Police have an exciting opportunity for a Specialist Capabilities - Testing and Exercising Officer to join the Force Preparedness Team.

In this role, you will help ensure BTP is prepared to respond effectively to major incidents and counter-terrorism events. Working with colleagues and external partners, you will develop and deliver testing and exercising programmes that validate plans, procedures and operational readiness across the Force. 

This is a rewarding opportunity to make a real impact on public safety by strengthening organisational resilience, developing capability and helping ensure BTP is ready to respond to complex and challenging incidents.

What you'll be doing:   

• Designing and delivering testing and exercise programmes to validate BTP's response plans, policies and procedures for counter-terrorism and major incidents.
• Developing innovative exercise scenarios and training activities that build operational readiness and ensure continuous improvement across the Force.
• Working with internal teams and external partners to deliver multi-agency exercises and embed national emergency response standards and best practice.
• Evaluating exercise outcomes and maintaining records to identify lessons learned, improve future programmes and strengthen organisational 

What you'll bring to the team:  

• Experience in delivering testing and exercising, including different types of exercises such as tabletop and live exercises.
• A recognised training qualification or equivalent experience in delivering testing and exercising activities.
• Strong planning and organisational skills, with the ability to manage large administrative, design and development tasks.
• Confident communication skills, including the ability to present and communicate effectively to large audiences.
• Knowledge of emergency management and exercise design principles, including relevant guidance and best practice.
• Ability to work independently or as part of a small team, managing deadlines and delivering against key performance 

Additional Information: 

The postholder will be expected to travel regularly to attend exercises and in-person meetings across the UK. This may include occasional evening and weekend work to support operational requirements and ensure effective delivery of our testing and exercising programmes.  

Further information about this vacancy can be found in the attached job description.

What we offer:

• 28 days annual leave plus bank holidays, increasing to 30 days after 5 years.
• Family-friendly policies, including up to 26 weeks paid maternity and adoption leave.
• Bespoke benefits platform and Blue Light Card access.
• Salary sacrifice options for cycles, home technology, gym membership, and electric vehicles.
• Interest-free annual rail season ticket loan after 6 months. 
• Access to the Transport Benevolent Fund for health, welfare, and financial support.
• Development opportunities, including fully funded apprenticeships.
• Excellent Pension scheme:  We offer the BTP GPP Police Staff Pension Scheme, administered by Royal London. This group personal pension plan is available to all police staff and is a defined contribution scheme. It provides the flexibility to vary your pension contributions from 4.4% to 12% of your salary. For more information, visit the Royal London dedicated pension page or email us at Pension-Queries@btp.police.uk. Note: If you are an existing member of Police Staff in the RPS, your pension will not be affected.

How to Apply: 

Applications will be via an up-to-date CV and online application form, as part of this application please outline how your skills and experience demonstrate your suitability for the role. 

Completed applications must be submitted by 11.59pm, 30th July 2026

Vetting: Successful applicants will be required to pass Management Vetting and SC Clearance (5 years minimum UK residency required), including a full background and financial disclosure. For more information and Top Tips, please see attached document. 

Medical: We’ll ask for relevant health and medical history details to support employee wellbeing.  

References: We'll ask for references to cover the past 5 years.

Inclusion & Diversity:

We are committed to building a workforce where everyone feels they belong. 

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, identities and lived experiences. Diversity strengthens our teams, improves our services and helps us better represent and support the communities we serve. 

We are proud to be an inclusive employer and strive to create a workplace that is fair, respectful and accessible to all. We actively work to challenge discrimination, remove barriers and ensure equity throughout our recruitment and employment practices. 

If you need any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment or selection process, please let us know - we are happy to support you. Your talent, your potential, and your unique perspective matter here. 

For more information on Inclusion or the Disability Confident Scheme, please click the links Inclusion & Diversity Disability Confident Scheme

Join Us:
Ready to take the next step in your career? At BTP, you’ll have the opportunity to grow, make a real impact, and be part of something extraordinary.

Find out why BTP could be the perfect fit for you - About Us - British Transport Police

Curious about what life at BTP is really like? Hear directly from our people and discover what makes working here so rewarding. Explore real stories on our blog: Our Stories - British Transport Police

For further information, please contact our Resourcing Team -RecruitmentTeam@btp.police.uk.

AI can be a useful tool to spark ideas or help you organise your thoughts, but when it comes to your application, we want to hear from you, not an algorithm. What truly stands out to us are genuine stories, personal insights and the experiences that have shaped who you are. Authenticity matters - it helps us understand your motivations, your strengths and how you’ll contribute to our team. So, use AI if it helps you get started, but let your own voice lead the way.