Commissioner won't reveal whether ex-Northants fire service chief will receive payout

It is unclear if Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service’s former chief fire officer Mark Jones will receive any compensation after he left his role by “mutual agreement” last week.

A spokesperson for the office of police, fire and crime commissioner, Stephen Mold, said the date when Mr Jones agreed to leave his post is confidential, as is if he received or will receive any payment.

Mr Mold’s office said last week that Mr Jones left on July 7 because of “injuries” and that he “wished to take time to concentrate on his well-being and make a full recovery”.

Mr Jones is describing himself as a freelance emergency manager on his LinkedIn page.

He started a three-year contract last October after he was appointed in July 2022. His contract was worth an initial £140,000 a year.

Last year, Mr Mold said the recruitment process to hire Mr Jones had been “robust” and “comprehensive” and showed it was “very clear that [Mr Jones] would be the right person to take Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service forward”.

Nicci Marzec, the office’s head of paid service and monitoring officer, was appointed to succeed Mr Jones in an interim role last week.

She could be in post until May but her role will be “reviewed regularly” and “will not go beyond” the scheduled election for the police, fire and crime commissioner.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said it was “very concerned” that Ms Marzec has no firefighting experience and Labour’s prospective police, fire and crime commissioner for Northamptonshire said the appointment ‘smacks of nepotism’.

Mr Mold’s office said her appointment was made to “ensure stability and continuity for the firefighters and staff who work for this service”.

The spokesperson said starting recruitment for a new chief fire officer now would mean they “would only be in post very shortly” before the election and a possible change of commissioner.

Ms Marzec will receive £35,000 on top of her current salary. She was paid about £104,000 in 2022/23.

She has worked in Mr Mold’s office since November 2016.

Ms Marzec was appointed as the director of early intervention and was made head of paid service and monitoring officer in July 2019.

In a statement, Adam Taylor, the FBU’s executive council representative for the East Midlands, said: “The fire service is a complex operation and firefighting is a highly skilled, technical profession.

“Recruiting externally for senior operational roles means that the most senior decision-maker will have no practical experience of using equipment, responding to incidents or keeping firefighters and the public safe in fires, floods and other callouts.”

The spokesperson for Mr Mold’s office said the organisation will still “have a wealth of experience” with other senior staff with firefighting backgrounds.

Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue’s Simon Tuhill is set to join the force as deputy chief fire officer next week.

The spokesperson added that because Ms Marzec was already an employee of the office and an interim appointment, the role did not need to be confirmed by Northamptonshire’s police, fire and crime panel.

That is in contrast to the appointment of Paul Gibson, who led Northamptonshire Police for about a month earlier this year as temporary chief constable.

He was recruited from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU), a partnership of the region’s police forces.

The panel confirmed his appointment at a meeting in February, which he attended with Mr Mold.

In a statement, the spokesperson said: “Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service has and will have three chief officers who are firefighters: there is a wealth of operational experience and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire Services (HMICFRS) has said the service is good in that area.

“There is, however, much improvement required in culture and people. [Mr Mold] expects [Ms Marzec] to lead this area and push forward to make this service a more comfortable and inclusive place for everyone to work and to run efficiently as an organisation.

“When we advertised for a chief fire officer last year, one of the final three candidates was both a woman and a non-firefighter. Kent Fire and Rescue Service has just received a glowing report from HMICFRS for its leadership and culture and for keeping people safe – it is led by a woman and a non-firefighter.”