Role: Fire Safety Manager REF 01232
Location: Ipswich
Vacancy Type: Permanent
Salary: £53,051 – £55,224 per annum
Working Arrangements: Flexible working and hybrid working opportunities
Security Clearance: N/A
About the Role
Spinwell is recruiting for a Fire Safety Manager an excellent opportunity within the public sector.
Responsible for managing the fire safety to all Council properties and customers, the Postholder will ensure all aspects of the Fire Safety Act and the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (Fire Safety Order) are met within legal, financial, time and policy constraints.
Key Responsibilities
- As the Council’s expert in Fire Safety for the Council’s housing stock, to act as the principal Duty Holder and fulfil those duties as defined in the legislation as delegated by the Responsible Person.
- To manage a team of Fire Safety Surveyors, including training, allocation, programming, monitoring and progressing work of the team, supervision and appraisal of the team.
- To develop individual fire strategies appropriate to the purpose of a building's use.
- To undertake Fire Risk Assessments in a timely manner, ensuring all actions identified therein are appropriately allocated and completed to a high standard and recorded as such to maintain a safe environment for all residents and visitors.
- To work with all M&C teams, other Service Areas within the Council and external stakeholders so that a “Golden Thread” of information is held, maintained and available relating to fire safety, and to ensure compliance with the Building Safety Act.
- To deliver fire safety improvements across the Council’s housing estate, with a current budget of around £10m, and to manage the allocated budgets for all fees and works and supplier contracts, in line with financial regulations.
- Act as client officer to manage and monitor the programme and performance of the Council’s appointed multi-disciplinary fire safety consultancy contract, overseeing (with the consultant and the Council’s procurement team) the RIBA design stages of the project, leading to the procurement of major works contracts on public frameworks.
- To be the Council’s main point of contact with Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service, and to provide all documentation and evidence to support fire audits, to receive Notices of Deficiencies where issued, and follow up on all actions to remove the threat of enforcement action.
- To implement a Corporate Fire Safety Policy, individual site-specific fire strategies for each of the Council’s 15 sheltered schemes and 4 Homeless Families Units, and an overarching fire strategy for low-rise general needs flat blocks.
- To implement a tenant engagement and consultation strategy and effective communications, including liaising with stakeholders (including SFRS), and regularly reporting performance to CMT and Senior Councillors (including presentations).
- During and beyond the fire improvement programme, maintain fire safety in line with legislation, ensuring all improvements are sustainable long term for the Council. This includes maintaining a “Permit to Work” scheme for all works to communal areas and lines of fire compartmentation.
- To obtain competitive tenders/quotations and ensure orders are placed in accordance with the Council’s standing orders, financial regulations and constitution.
- To ensure fire-related compliance tasks (not exhaustive) indicated below are satisfactorily undertaken at regular intervals, and to provide clear, appropriate information and instruction (and training where necessary) to assist others, ensuring competency when undertaking tasks, testing and inspections:
- Quarterly and monthly fire door inspections.
- Fire alarm testing.
- Emergency lighting checks.
- Fire risk assessments.
- Fire escape checks.
- Maintenance and checking of firefighting equipment.
- Sprinkler systems.
- Assessment of vulnerable tenants by way of PEEPS.
- Resident engagement.
- Educate and refine processes across the housing directorate.
- Operate a permit to work process (to control future works or repairs at schemes to prevent detriment to improvements made).
- Responsible for Health & Safety within delegated areas of Health & Safety policy.
- To be willing to attend regular training to maintain competency in Fire Safety and Health and Safety.
- Lead project teams for particular projects, including selecting and organising the team and co-ordinating their activities. Liaise with the Principal Surveyor, housing managers, housing policy officers and other relevant employees to ensure a co-ordinated approach to maintenance and allocation of work to ensure targets are met. Keep the Principal Surveyor informed of progress and problems with all projects.
- Head service improvement teams, including the investigation of best working practices, the introduction of new policies/procedures, and developing and leading service improvement panels, to assist in the overall improvement of customer-focused services. Develop partnership agreements and apply the principles of Egan to the maintenance, improvement and planned contracts.
- Fully investigate and follow through to conclusion service area complaints, including liaising with housing office staff, contractors and the complainant/representative. Report to Corporate Director, Head of Housing Services, Principal Surveyor and Housing Monitoring Team on progress and outcome of complaints and instigate service-level improvements where identified through the investigation. Make judgements on levels of compensation.
- Formulate and co-ordinate the responsive repairs programme, improvements programme and planned maintenance programme, liaising with area housing office staff. Monitor budgets, frequencies and current working practices to help establish work more suitable for inclusion in maintenance improvement programmes. Assist in developing improved communication and joint working with neighbourhood teams, contractors and customers.
- Oversee and undertake feasibility studies, provision of estimates, preparation of drawings, specification and contract documentation for works of Council properties. Ensure the necessary statutory approvals are obtained. Carry out duties of Planning Supervisor compliant with Construction, Design and Management Regulations.
- Oversee and undertake obtaining of competitive tenders/quotations and ensure orders are placed in accordance with the Council’s standing orders. Manage contracts, including chairing meetings, monitoring and controlling quality, overseeing progress, managing costs and safety. Develop best value service improvement initiatives and partnership agreements.
- Prepare reports and give professional/technical building surveying advice. Co-ordinate and provide training of other non-technical staff on fire safety-related subjects.
- Other associated tasks that may arise in this role at a senior management and leadership level.
Essential Skills and Experience
- Degree or equivalent level of professional building related qualification with post qualification practical experience.
- Minimum of 5 years technical professional experience
- Experience at managing fire safety in residential premises
- Good working knowledge of all Microsoft Windows applications
- Expert knowledge of fire safety legislation and regulations.
- Proven ability to successfully identify and manage fire safety risks, develop fire strategies and undertake fire risk assessments.
- Proven ability to organise and prioritise workload to meet deadlines / to help achieve
- legislative requirements.
- Proven programming ability to successfully deliver a wide variety of fire safety measures across multiple sites in terms of risk, time, cost and quality.
- Demonstrates risk based approach to decision making
- Proven ability to communicate at all levels, including external organisations
- Excellent interpersonal and negotiating skills
- Demonstrates effective presentation skills
- Proven ability to deliver successful innovative and creative solutions to service delivery
Desirable Skills and Experience
- IFE Level 4 Certificate in Fire Safety
- NEBOSH Certificate in Fire Safety
- Experience at undertaking Fire Risk Assessments
Special Working Conditions
Maybe required to work outside of normal working hours and to attend evening meetings or to meet deadlines
Benefits
As well as a good salary, the client offers a career grade average pension scheme, generous holiday and sick pay entitlements, subsidised parking for work and leisure, public transport discounts, free swimming and gym membership, cycle purchase scheme, plenty of personal and professional development opportunities, flexible working, hybrid working opportunities, Employee Assistance Programme and the opportunity to work with great colleagues.
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