West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) is pleased to announce that Jo Bowcock is set to join us as Deputy Chief Fire Officer (DCFO) in September.
Currently DCFO with Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, she will join WMFS on secondment.
Our Chief Fire Officer, Wayne Brown, said: “Jo has extensive experience working both regionally and nationally, including four years as a principal officer and the last two as DCFO.
“She will be an excellent addition to our current leadership team. I very much look forward to welcoming her to WMFS, where I know she will enjoy working with great people already achieving great things for our communities.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank CFO Rob MacDougall, Oxfordshire County Council, for supporting this secondment.
“I would also like to acknowledge the work of our Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Simon Barry, who has undertaken the temporary DCFO role since February this year and to thank him for his support while in the role.”
Jo joined the fire and rescue service with a degree in law and has since gone on to attain higher level professional qualifications in leadership, including strategic leadership with the Windsor Leadership Programme and the National Fire Chief Council’s (NFCC) Executive Leadership Programme.
She has professional qualifications in portfolio, programme and project management and is also a qualified coach. Jo is an experienced Level 7 strategic incident commander.
She started her career as a firefighter in 2002, with Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, undertaking a broad range of roles including operations and resilience, operational policy and assurance, and corporate support as Group Manager.
In 2016, she took a secondment with London Fire Brigade as the strategic lead for business change and engagement for the National Operational Guidance Programme, advising all UK fire and rescue services in the implementation of national operational guidance.
Following completion of the guidance programme, she became Deputy Head of Portfolio for the NFCC’s Central Programme Office, delivering transformational change, including the development of Fire Professional Standards, and supporting the Home Office Fire Reform Programme.
Jo was appointed as Assistant Chief Fire Officer for Corporate Services and People at Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service in 2019. She became DCFO in 2021, leading the Service Delivery Directorate where she was responsible for prevention, protection, response, resilience, trading standards and emergency planning.
