FRA Principal Consultant in London

As an FRA Principal, you will be operating as a senior manager, expected to support and lead in the successful delivery of high-quality FRA work, as commissioned through Bellrock brands. At Principal level, you will support the Head of FRA in the delivery of the FRA projects. This will include a focus on nurturing key client relationships, ensuring that our clients receive a great service and technical excellence while understanding how to implement our findings.

Taking ownership of some of our key accounts and developing new opportunities through relationship building will be central to your role. You will also need to develop a firm grasp on the commercial levers to drive revenue and profitability, and understand and manage against attritional factors that can reduce the gross margin of work. Along with the Head of FRA, you will be responsible for nurturing the growth of the FRA Department and become knowledgeable in managing a P&L Business unit.

You will be a role model for junior consultants and encouraged to be a proactive member of a high-performing team, sharing your knowledge and experience to help develop other team members. This includes upholding and abiding by both the company and professional bodies' code of conduct and culture.

Within the role, it is expected that the FRA Principal will develop and mentor members of the FRA team and other fire safety teams where needed, through the coordination and delivery of CPD activities. In addition to undertaking technical Quality Control (QC) peer review work for employee report submissions, acting as a focal point for technical fire safety queries, all as part of a supportive, collaborative team effort.

The role will involve travel to job sites as required and attendance at regional offices on occasion. We like to schedule a training/CPD day at least once per quarter and also make use of this time for team bonding and experience sharing. There is also the expectation that you will be responsible for managing and planning your time in advance, working with our project support team to meet Client needs.

Manage your teams to ensure compliance with FRA process/competency framework and that you align with BS8674 requirements. Ensure correct timekeeping and management to align with expenses and driving policy; any overnight stays require sign-off from the line manager. Assist in the management of the QC process, ensuring all SLA’s are adhered to.

As a FRA Principal Consultant with Bellrock, you will oversee the delivery of projects, providing and maintaining a technically compliant service and high-quality deliverable. Support and lead FRA department implementation and ongoing management of the FRA process and FRA competency framework. Manage the day-to-day delivery of work for self in order to meet the prescribed utilisation rates. The FRA schedule will average 3 days out on site per week, focusing on HRB/Complex buildings.

Ensure all FRA reports are written up with SLA requirements and are presented to a high standard. Be proactive in supporting SLA requirements on the QC process. Develop key client accounts and be their professional and trusted point of contact. Act as the focal point for project engagements, ensuring the successful delivery of the project(s). Actively engage with the clients within your allocated project portfolio, ensuring regular meetings are taking place, a minimum of once a month for each project.

Manage client meeting agendas and trackers to monitor client portfolio/performance. Manage and maintain profitability and gross margin of work delivery. Assist in the creation and development of reporting outputs, survey methodologies, and project management tasks. Support sustainable service growth, statutory compliance and governance, client and staff retention, and development of our client base.

Support the development of colleagues, where appropriate, so they have the skills and motivation to undertake their roles. Adhere to the FRA process and competency frameworks. Align with BS8674 requirements. Ensure frameworks are adhered to by team members. Install BS8674 requirements across your teams. Act in a professional manner, with the correct ethical traits.

While scheduling site visits, ensure you adhere to the expenses and driving policies of Bellrock; any overnight stay requires line manager approval. Adopt FRA team ‘new ways of working’ as part of the FRA process framework. Six-monthly PDRs/Monthly 121s are completed for team members.

Your core qualities and attributes include a high degree of direction, self-reliance, assertiveness, passion, and enthusiasm to succeed. You should create new and imaginative approaches to work-related issues, identify fresh approaches, and show a willingness to question traditional assumptions. Personal motivation is essential, along with a good understanding of business risk and opportunities.

You should display strong planning, communication, and people skills, along with a “hands-on” approach regarding managed projects. Good interpersonal, communication, and presentation skills are necessary, with the ability to influence diverse groups and engage both internally and externally. Excellent communication skills, verbal and written, including a good telephone manner, ensuring client relationships are constantly met with exceptional attention to detail.

Ability to manage multiple projects, prioritise workloads, and manage working time effectively is crucial. Maintain a sound understanding of current legislation to advise clients accordingly. Strong report writing skills and a keen eye for attention to detail are required, along with good negotiation skills based on technical, commercial, and financial acumen.

Your knowledge, skills, and qualifications should include professional membership at Member level with a fire-related professional body, at least 5 years demonstrable experience in managing teams, and sound knowledge of fire safety and fire risk, with a minimum of 5 years’ experience including demonstrable experience in conducting FRAs. You should already be on the Tier 3 FRA NAFRAR and have a level 5 qualification (fire related), or be studying towards it. Ability to undertake the full range of Type 1-4 FRAs is essential, along with working towards obtaining Membership level with the Institute of Fire Engineers (IFE).

We embrace smarter working practices which offer our employees the opportunity to work their hours flexibly and remotely where their roles and business needs allow. In this role, the successful candidate would be required to work home-based, travelling to sites, Monday to Friday 8:30 am to 5:00 pm.

Upon joining Bellrock, you can expect a comprehensive benefits package including 25 days annual leave plus...