NPAS XP319 - Tactical Flight Officer
- Location: NPAS Husbands Bosworth, NPAS East Midlands Airport (Fixed Wing), NPAS Birmingham, NPAS St Athan and NPAS Redhill.
- Open to: External candidates.
- Experience: You don't need any aviation experience but a good working knowledge of policing procedures, incident and scene management, the National Decision-Making model and JESIP principles is desirable.
- Closing date for applications: 5 October 2025
The job in a nutshell: As part of a highly-skilled air crew, you will provide valuable support to police officers and emergency service workers on the ground, directing them from your unique perspective in the air and, most importantly, keeping them safe. Your jobs will often be fast-paced but you'll also help out with pre-planned events like large-scale gatherings or evidence gathering.
The person for the job: It's a tough selection process, because it is such a specialised job. So you need to be 100% committed, a great team player, adaptable, enthusiastic and have great communication skills.
Great tip to help your chances: We are running online awareness sessions for prospective candidates. Fancy signing up? Just email npas.recruitment@npas.police.uk and insert XP319 AWARENESS SESSION into the subject line of your email.
THIS VACANCY IS BEING ADVERTISED EXTERNALLY
Tactical Flight Officer (Police Staff)
NPAS Bases Birmingham, Husbands Bosworth, East Midlands Airport (Fixed Wing), Redhill, St Athan
Full time permanent roles
A shift allowance is payable dependant on the shift pattern at the various bases
An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the National Police Air Service as Police Staff in the role of Tactical Flight Officer.
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.
Accommodation and subsistence is 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 your base. 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 5th October 25.
NPAS will be conducting on-line awareness sessions for the TFO role. If you wish to attend one of these sessions, then please send an email to: npas.recruitment@npas.police.uk using the subject title: XP319 AWARENESS SESSION.
The 2024 version of the Competency Values Framework applies to this process. Please disregard the 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:
npas.recruitment@npas.police.uk
The post is suitable for job share.
Any shift enhancements/weekend allowances are based on the published Force pattern any deviations from this could mean the enhancements/allowances may differ or not apply, for full details refer to staff Terms & Conditions.
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.
Shift Allowance
Weekend Enhancements
