Our Strategic Leadership Team has overall responsibility for running the Service.
Ben Ansell
Chief Fire Officer
Ben began his fire service career in 1994 and has been Chief Fire Officer since 1 December 2016.
The Chief Fire Officer is the Head of Paid Service responsible for operational leadership of the Fire and Rescue Service; and is also the Fire and Rescue Authority’s professional adviser on all matters which are not the responsibility of either the Treasurer or the Clerk
& Monitoring Officer.
T: 01722 691066
[email protected]
Derek James
Deputy Chief Fire Officer - Director of Corporate Services
Derek has worked for the Fire Service for nearly 20 years, and was appointed as Deputy Chief Fire Officer in 2017.
Responsible for overall coordination of Service strategy and performance, the Deputy Chief Fire Officer is the strategic lead for Service Improvement, including strategic planning, standards and assurance, business continuity, resilience, health & safety and
Corporate Support which includes Information Governance, Democratic and Executive Services, business analysis and communications and engagement and ICT.
Derek is the LGBT network champion.
T: 01722 691072
[email protected]
Andy Cole
Assistant Chief Fire Officer - Director of Community Safety
Andy’s fire service career began in 2004 as an on-call firefighter, and he became an Assistant Chief Fire Officer in 2021.
Responsible for Area Commands, Prevention, Protection, Service Control Centre, resourcing, on-call development, collaboration and operational communications. Strategic lead for the Networked Fire Services Partnership (NFSP).
Andy is the Minority Ethnic (ME) network champion.
Jenny Long
Assistant Chief Officer - Director of People Services
Jenny has worked for the fire service for more than 25 years and has been Director of People Services since 2016.
Strategic lead for Operational Training, Learning & Development, Human Resources and Equality Diversity and Inclusion.
Jenny is the Woman’s network champion.
T: 01722 691070
[email protected]
Jill McCrae
Assistant Chief Officer - Director of Service Support
Jill became Director of Service Support in 2022. She is responsible for Assets, Procurement, Service Improvement, Resilience & Risk and the Civil Contingencies Secretariat.
Jill is the Neurodiversity network champion.
T: 01722 691073
[email protected]
Ian Cotter
Head of Financial Services & Treasurer
As Head of Financial Services & Treasurer, Ian is responsible for capital and revenue budgets, Medium Term Financial Plan, financial systems, exchequer and Treasurer to the Fire and Rescue Authority.
T: 01722 691109
[email protected]
Vikki Shearing
Head of Corporate Support
As Head of Corporate Support, Vikki is responsible for Information Governance, Corporate Data and Analytics, Corporate Communications and Engagement, Executive Support and Democratic Services and Digital Transformation.
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T: 01722 691082
[email protected]
