Jo Noakes

Jo was appointed as the Director of Workforce Development in February 2019 to lead the College's work supporting police officers and staff to meet the challenges of the future. 

She oversees the College's crucial work to support the selection and development of leaders at all levels within the service. This involves setting the entry and training requirements for new recruits and the leadership and promotion standards.  This includes accrediting, quality assuring and delivering professional development. 

In additional to usual work, the Leadership and Workforce Development Directorate are currently working on a major programme to develop a new Centre for Police Leadership to enhance leadership capability and capacity by setting standards for leadership at all levels, offer development programmes based on these and reform promotion and progression to ensure the link with leadership capability and potential. 

Jo was the College lead for the Police Uplift Programme which was successfully delivered in partnership with the Home Office and the NPCC.  The College played a significant role in the 20 000 additional officers joined policing and ensuring that the opportunity to improve standards and consistency in the recruitment process was maximised. 

Jo was the SRO for the Transforming our College programme which by restructuring and changing ways of working aims to maximise the capability and capacity of the College to best support policing.

Jo joined the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) in 2008.  As the NPIA's Talent Management Lead she launched the Graduate Entry Scheme and managed programmes including the High Potential Development Scheme and the National Senior Careers Advisory Service, some of which transferred to the College in 2012.

Her work developing and implementing the Direct Entry Superintendent Programme was recognised with a Chief Constable's Commendation and she played a central role in the College's 2015 Leadership Review which, through extensive engagement with policing at all levels, identified what the service required of its future leaders. 

From 2016 to 2019 Jo was the Head of Leadership & Talent and the Director of the College's Strategic Command Course (SCC), the most senior leadership development programme in UK policing (and the gateway to Chief office ranks in every force).  Jo's work in 2017 leading a review of the SCC and its selection processes, resulted in the course producing increasingly diverse cohorts of Chief Officer candidates. Jo also established new leadership development opportunities for all ranks and grades, and the Senior Leaders Hub which, amongst other functions, supports the progression of those from underrepresented groups.