UKCR
About Steve
My driving passion is to see UKCR at the centre of our national and international resilience activities, providing people from all walks of life with an opportunity to contribute to making their local community safer whilst contributing to the mission to make the UK as resilient to crises as possible.
Steve Findlay
CEO
Steve is married with 2 children; his wife is a Therapeutic Counsellor, his daughter is a Paramedic, and his son is a Soldier, serving as a Combat Medical Technician in the RAMC.
After serving in the British Army for 7 years in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME), I went on to complete a 27-year career in Kent Fire and Rescue Service where, following a long stretch of experience as a frontline operational Firefighter, I accepted promotions, before eventually retiring in 2014 as a Watch Manager and Senior Emergency Management Instructor.
Since retiring from the FRS, I have been involved in projects ranging from delivering recovery programmes in the Former Yugoslavian republics, to the management of highly skilled forensic recovery teams who assisted London’s Met Police to reunite the victims of the Grenfell Tower disaster with their lost relative’s belongings and personal items.
From March 2020 until Dec 2021, I worked with the Voluntary and Community Sector Emergency Partnership (VCS EP) as a Strategic Manager coordinating the UK Voluntary Sector’s response to the Covid19 pandemic. During this deployment I worked with major charitable sector organisations such as Rotary, BRC and St John as well as the MOD and many National and Local Government bodies including LRFs, Cabinet Office, DCMS and others.
Since Jan 2022 I have been the CEO of a new NGO called UK Civil Reserve (UKCR) which was set up to provide a strategic pool of reserve personnel who are vetted and trained to provide rapid support to organisations and communities around the UK and abroad. It is envisaged that by the end of 2024 UKCR will have up to 5000 Reservists trained and available throughout the UK.
To facilitate this change of direction he completed two Master’s Degrees; one in ‘International Crisis and Disaster Management’ and another in professional practice for which he researched ‘Emergency Service Command and Leadership’. I am now currently working towards a PhD in Crisis and Disaster Management at the University of Bournemouth.
Academic Qualifications:
PhD in Crisis and Disaster Management (University of Bournemouth, 2024 expected)
MSc in Crisis and Disaster Management (University of Portsmouth, 2018)
MSc, Professional Practice in Emergency Management (University of Kent, 2013)
Advanced Certificate in Education (CertEd) (Canterbury Christchurch University)
Level 5 Certificate, Coaching and Mentoring. (Kent County Council)
Level 4 Cert in Leadership and Management (Chartered Management Institute, CMI)
Level 3 NVQ in management (Institute of Leadership and Management, ILM)
Recent Strategic Management experience
Jan 2020 – Present: CEO and Founding Director, UK Civil Reserve. Responsible for the day-to-day operation and growth of the organisation, as well as leading strategic direction and engaging with commercial stakeholders, HMG departments, Parliamentary contacts and Local Government stakeholders.
March 2021- Present: London College of Policing: Visiting Lecturer in Resilience and Disaster Management.
August 2020 – Dec 2021: Regional Stakeholder Engagement Manager SE Region for Voluntary and Community Sector Emergency Partnership (VCS EP):
My role with VCS EP is to undertake the strategic management of relations between Voluntary Sector agencies and stakeholder organisations to develop and foster new relationships and ways of working. My responsibilities include the management of several County based Liaison Leads who are CEOs of individual local infrastructure organisations (LIOs) to ensure the delivery of assistance and support to local communities in need, in partnership with Local Authority, NHS, Military and other VCS assets. Other responsibilities include the development and day to day maintenance of relationships with statutory bodies and Government departments such as NHS, MOD and Local Government. The SE Region includes Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire IOW and Thames Valley (Berks and Oxfordshire).
March 2020 – July 2021 Team Rubicon:
Deployed as Regional Liaison Officer to 11th Infantry Brigade at Army HQ in Aldershot, to assist with the strategic coordination of Voluntary Sector assets in support of UK Government operations in response to Covid 19 pandemic in the SE of England. Operations include the Strategic Management and coordination of significant Voluntary sector resources deployed to, Nightingale Hospital operations, management of PPE distribution hubs, management of food distribution hubs, management of vaccination hubs, management of Covid testing hubs as well as a wide range of other taskings. Included in these duties was the coordination of information and reporting to Government agencies such as DCMS, NHSE and numerous Local Government bodies such as LRFs and District / Borough authorities.
Jan 2020 – Team Leader and Search and Recovery Specialist, Team Rubicon International Disaster Management. Deployed to Australia as part of a small team to deliver ‘Last Mile Logistics’ operation in support of Australian Government operations. The task was to provide humanitarian aid to communities affected by the catastrophic bush fires which swept across the country. During this operation I deployed as Liaison Officer and Team Leader working in partnership with Australian Army and Fire Rescue assets to deliver food, water and temporary shelters to communities across Western and South Australia.
July 2017 – Jan 2018 Grenfell Tower: Team Leader / Search and Recovery Specialist: Kenyon International Disaster Management Consultants. Responsibilities included the management of all aspects of the on-site deployment of teams in support of the Met Police operation to recover property and personal effects from Grenfell Tower following the 2017 fire.
Hobbies and interests
As part of my ongoing commitment to assisting communities in need, in my spare time, I also undertake pro-bono work as a consultant specialising in the provision of Needs Assessments (Rapid, Detailed or Continual) for organisations working with communities in need around world. Current consultations underway involve the provision of advice and guidance on Covid related projects in India, Lebanon and Nepal.
In my free time, I enjoy riding my motorcycle. I am also interested in Military History and have travelled to numerous countries where I undertake walking tours of historic battlefields with a group of friends.