Fire Safety Advisor/Inspector in Hastings

East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service has opportunities to join their Risk Reduction (Protection) Department as part of the Fire Safety team in a non-operational capacity to deliver fire safety regulation and enforcement on behalf of the East Sussex Fire and Rescue Authority.

The successful candidates will be placed in a pool and either offered positions immediately available in ESFRS, or contacted when further opportunities arrive in the near future, where you can then help contribute to the Service fulfilling its statutory duties and delivering our community offer.

As a Fire Safety Inspector, you may carry out non-regulatory checks (during early development) or regulatory audits (Short, Remote, or Full) of premises in-line with our Risk Based Inspection programme and appropriate to your level of qualification as detailed within the national Competence framework for Fire Safety Regulators. Whilst carrying out these checks or audits you will be expected to offer advice, education and subject to competence take formal enforcement action where necessary.

You will also be responsible for undertaking a full range of activities that you are qualified to deliver in accordance with Risk Reduction (Protection) fire safety policy and procedures. This will include reviewing and advising on building consultations & licensing applications, liaising with stakeholders as appropriate and responding to complaints, where needed. This will require the preparation of reports and appropriate documentation related to Fire Safety interactions.

When fully qualified to L4 diploma level, you may also be required to assist the Service to support the Building Safety Regulator in delivering of advice to accountable and responsible persons, or to help the Building Safety Regulator in its role to enforce the requirements of the Building Safety Act 2022 through close liaison and cooperation. This may require travel anywhere within the Southeast Region to inspect buildings in other Service enforcement areas. Employees will have the option to use their own vehicles and reclaim costs at the approved rate, alternatively they may use Service vehicles if available.

We welcome applications from anyone who meets the essential criteria contained within the accompanying job description. Successful applicants will be contracted to a pay scale that reflects their qualifications linked to the national Competence framework for Fire Safety Regulators. Those who are not fully qualified will start on a pay scale linked to their qualifications to date.

• Successful applicants who are unqualified will start on Job Family 1 £28,146 per year.
• Those qualified in Fire Safety to L3 Certificate or equivalent (able to advise, educate and audit simple premises) will start on Job Family 3 £35,413 per year.
• Those qualified to L4 Diploma in Fire Safety (able to advise, educate, audit and report on consultations for complex and high-risk premises) will start on Job Family 4 £39,317 per year.
• Achieving signatory status for issuing enforcement notices in ESFRS will reach the Job Family 5 pay status of up to £46,851.77 per year.

Location - Your job as a Fire Safety Advisor or inspector (following development) could see you located within one of our 3 Protection hubs (Hove, Eastbourne or Hastings) or in one of our specialist teams such as Primary Authority Partnership, Building Safety Regulation or Legal and Compliance.

All successful applicants will be expected to maintain a minimum of 20 hours Continued Professional Development, logging their learning and how the learning supports them. This requirement will be further explained upon commencement of employment.

From Job Family 4 with L4 Diploma onwards ESFRS offers an optional 10% additional flexible working allowance for changing of working hours to provide some evening and weekends cover on a rota. This is not additional hours but change of start and finish times.

Good verbal and written communication skills together with a commitment to continuous professional development are essential for these roles.

We are fully supportive of Hybrid and Flexible working subject to the exigencies of your fire safety job and the demands thereof. At any given time, we may routinely move or rotate our inspectors into the different jobs in our department to resource risk, support and achieve personal and professional development, build department memory, and to increase department resilience. When this occurs, you will be given suitable notice.

You will need a full UK Driver's License- car provided for audit visits.

A DBS check is a requirement of the role and this will be funded by ESFRS for the successful applicants.

Closing Date: Open

Shortlisting: TBC

Interviews: TBC

Start Date: Flexible

For further information or to discuss these opportunities in more detail, please contact: recruitment@esfrs.org

Our Service Purpose is: Reducing Risk, Saving Lives - Together.

Our Service Priorities:

• Delivering our community offer
• Delivering our enabling offer
• Achieving financial sustainability
• Sustaining a high performing workforce
• Improving service performance

Our Service Values:

• We willingly accept ACCOUNTABILITY, taking responsibility for our actions and decisions.
• We have PRIDE in the service we provide, striving to meet the needs of our communities.
• We demonstrate PERSEVERANCE in the face of challenges, staying committed and resilient in everything we do.
• We RESPECT our colleagues and members of the community.
• We embrace ADAPTABILITY, responding positively to change and continuously seek to improve the way we work.
• We show INTEGRITY in our work, being open and honest.
• We act with SELFLESSNESS, recognising we are here to protect and support our communities.
• We foster a positive and inclusive culture where teamwork, mutual respect and a shared commitment to service are at the heart of everything we do.
• We show EMPATHY to the community and our colleagues, treating everyone with kindness, compassion and understanding.

Diversity and Inclusion: We value the diversity of our employees and aim to recruit a workforce which reflects the communities we serve. East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, (ESFRS), are committed to equality of opportunity for all job applicants and aims to select suitably qualified people based on their skills, abilities, experience, knowledge, qualifications and training.

Safeguarding: East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service is committed to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees, volunteers and suppliers to share this commitment. ESFRS is a member of the Brighton & Hove and East Sussex Safeguarding Children's Partnership and Safeguarding Adults Boards.

DBS and Non-Police Personnel Vetting: All roles at East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service will be subject to either DBS checks (minimum standard level) or a Police vetting process (the latter for roles based at Joint Headquarters in Lewes). The check will take place for the preferred candidate at the end of the selection process, before a final offer of employment can be made.

Recruitment of Ex-Offenders: ESFRS are an Equal Opportunities Employer and therefore will consider ex-offenders for employment on their merits, (subject to the necessary DBS & Non-Police Personnel Vetting clearances required for the role).

Notes: Please note that recruitment processes may be withdrawn or varied at short notice due to the Services' Organisational Change policy.