Director of Public Protection

Driving safer, stronger, and more resilient communities across two London boroughs

Richmond & Wandsworth Better Service Partnership is a unique and ambitious shared service, bringing together the scale, creativity, and resilience of two high-performing London boroughs. Our joint workforce delivers essential services that shape the daily lives of our residents-community safety, social care, housing, public health, and more. By working as one, we unlock the innovation and agility needed to help our communities thrive in a fast-changing world.

We are now seeking an outstanding senior leader to become our next Director of Public Protection-a pivotal role at the heart of community safety, crime reduction, and emergency preparedness for both boroughs. This is a rare opportunity to join the organisation at a strategic level, working closely with the Chief Executive, Directors, and elected Members to drive delivery of our corporate and borough plans.

As our lead advisor on public protection, you will set vision and direction across a broad and high-impact portfolio: community safety, violence reduction, VAWG, Prevent, CCTV and control room operations, emergency planning, and the Regulatory Services Partnership. You will bring visible leadership, political acumen, and the ability to convene partners around shared challenges-mobilising the collective expertise of council teams, blue-light services, voluntary organisations, and communities.

You will lead our Community Safety Partnerships, build strong sub-regional relationships, and champion evidence-based, place-based approaches that improve safety, tackle crime and anti-social behaviour, and strengthen public confidence. This is a role for a systems-thinker who can integrate services, manage complex budgets, and inspire high-performing multidisciplinary teams.

If you are driven by public value, motivated by impact, and ready to shape safer futures for hundreds of thousands of residents across Richmond and Wandsworth, we'd welcome a conversation.

For a confidential discussion contact Pete John at , Bruna Varante at or Ali Tasker, at .

Role Closing Date: Monday 19th January 2026