Property Compliance Fire Safety Lead in Somerset

Role Purpose

You will lead the commercial, contractual and operational delivery of fire safety works across approximately 10,000 homes. You will ensure that recommendations and actions arising from fire risk assessments, intrusive surveys, inspections, audits, incidents, resident reports, capital projects and other assurance activities are translated into controlled programmes of work and brought to evidenced completion.

You will:

• Lead the organisation’s fire safety works and servicing contracts, providing a consistent line of sight from identified risk to completed, verified and closed action.
• Build and maintain an integrated fire safety works programme, balancing risk, legal and regulatory requirements, resident impact, access constraints, available resources and approved budgets.
• Lead contractor mobilisation, performance management and contract administration, ensuring obligations, specifications, programmes, pricing mechanisms, quality standards and reporting requirements are understood and delivered.
• Assure delivery of works including fire doors, compartmentation and fire stopping, communal alarm systems, emergency lighting, smoke control, signage and other measures determined by competent assessment and design.
• Maintain robust records and evidence for each action and work package, supporting the golden thread and enabling clear assurance to senior leaders, residents, auditors and regulators.
• Provide leadership to contract-management and delivery colleagues and coordinate specialist consultants, clerks of works, contractors and subcontractors.
• Work closely with the wider Building Safety & Property Compliance service so that technical decisions, resident engagement, data and delivery remain aligned.

To provide accountable, end-to-end management of fire safety contracts and works, ensuring delivery to the required scope, quality, cost and programme and creating reliable evidence that identified actions have been addressed. The role protects residents, supports statutory and regulatory compliance, and enables informed investment decisions across the housing portfolio.

Key outcomes

• A single, current and reconciled programme of fire safety actions and works.
• Risk-prioritised actions progressed within approved timescales, with overdue items actively escalated and controlled.
• Contracts that are properly procured, mobilised, administered and performance managed.
• Works completed right first time, with proportionate inspection, certification and evidence.
• Accurate forecasts, commitments and expenditure controls across the fire safety budget.
• Residents receive timely, accessible and coordinated information before, during and after work.
• Senior leaders can see demand, progress, exceptions, risks and assurance through clear reporting.

What will I have to do?

Programme and action management

• Establish and operate a controlled route for receiving actions from fire risk assessments and other sources; validate ownership, priority, scope, target date, funding route and evidence requirements.
• Maintain a live works pipeline and delivery plan covering survey, design, procurement, mobilisation, access, construction, inspection, certification and closure.
• Reconcile contractor, compliance and asset information so that no action is lost, duplicated or closed without suitable evidence.
• Use risk-based escalation for stalled, overdue or disputed actions, recording interim controls and decisions with the relevant competent persons.

Contract and commercial management

• Lead day-to-day administration of fire safety contracts in accordance with the relevant contract conditions, organisational standing orders and delegated authority.
• Prepare or coordinate specifications, schedules, pricing documents, tender clarifications, mobilisation plans and contract-management arrangements.
• Chair mobilisation, operational and performance meetings; issue actions, challenge underperformance and track recovery plans.
• Validate applications, valuations, variations and final accounts against completed work, agreed rates, evidence and budget authority.
• Maintain contract risk registers and forward plans, including capacity, supply-chain, access, competency, data and expiry risks.

Works delivery and quality assurance

• Coordinate resident access, surveys and work packages across occupied homes and communal areas, minimising disruption while protecting safety.
• Ensure relevant pre-construction information, designs, approvals, method statements, construction-phase arrangements and handover information are in place.
• Implement a proportionate inspection and quality-assurance regime using competent internal or external resources.
• Prevent unsupported closure by checking that completion records, photographs, certificates, asset data, warranties and defects information meet the agreed standard.
• Ensure defects, non-conformities and latent issues are recorded, rectified and reflected in contractor performance.

Performance, finance and governance

• Develop dashboards covering demand, throughput, ageing, overdue actions, completion quality, access, contractor performance, forecast and spend.
• Prepare concise exception and assurance reports for operational boards, senior leadership, resident forums, audit and governance meetings.
• Manage allocated budgets, forecasts, commitments and accruals, identifying pressure, slippage and opportunities early.
• Support internal and external audit, regulatory engagement and the implementation of agreed recommendations.
• Contribute fire safety evidence and priorities to asset investment planning and business planning.

Resident and stakeholder engagement

• Ensure communication is timely, accessible and proportionate to the nature of the risk and work, with clear points of contact and escalation.
• Coordinate with housing, neighbourhood, tenancy, leasehold, customer contact and complaints teams to resolve access and vulnerability issues.
• Explain planned work, sequencing, constraints and outcomes in plain language to residents and resident representatives.
• Work constructively with fire and rescue services, local authority colleagues, consultants, contractors and other relevant partners.

Leadership and continuous improvement

• Provide clear priorities, supervision and professional support to staff involved in contract and works delivery.
• Set expectations for safety, customer care, record keeping, commercial control and quality; address gaps promptly.
• Develop repeatable procedures, templates, control points and guidance for fire safety works from instruction to closure.
• Capture lessons from defects, incidents, complaints, audits and contractor reviews and turn them into measurable improvements.
• Keep professional knowledge current and ensure changes affecting contracts or delivery are assessed and embedded.

Health, safety and emergency response

• Ensure works are planned and delivered in accordance with organisational health and safety arrangements and the responsibilities allocated under each project and contract.
• Challenge unsafe practice and stop or escalate activity where required to protect residents, colleagues, contractors or the public.
• Participate in emergency or emerging-situation response where fire safety works, contractor attendance or site coordination is required.
• Undertake site visits, including occasional attendance outside normal office hours where operationally necessary.

Working relationships

Portfolio scale	Approximately 10,000 homes plus associated communal areas and relevant non-domestic spaces.
Contract scope	Multiple specialist fire safety contracts and workstreams, with values and procurement routes determined through approved programmes and budgets.
People leadership	Line management and task leadership arrangements to be confirmed within the final service structure; the role will lead multidisciplinary internal and external delivery resources.
Budget	Accountability for allocated fire safety works and contract budgets within delegated authority; exact value to be confirmed.
Planning horizon	Immediate response and short-term action control, annual delivery planning, and contribution to medium- and long-term investment and procurement plans.
Site activity	Frequent visits to occupied homes, blocks, communal areas and contractor work locations.
Response	Occasional attendance outside normal hours may be required for emergency, high-risk or resident-critical situations.
Vetting / checks	Any required pre-employment checks will be confirmed through the recruitment process.

Accountability statement

The postholder is accountable for the effective management and delivery of assigned fire safety contracts and works. Technical decisions must be made or verified by people who are competent for the specific subject. Where information is incomplete, risk is disputed or competence is not available, the postholder must prevent unsupported closure and escalate through the agreed governance route.

General responsibilities

• Act in accordance with organisational values, policies, delegated authority and standards of conduct.
• Promote equality, diversity, inclusion and accessible services in employment and service delivery.
• Protect personal, commercial and safety-critical information and maintain accurate records.
• Comply with relevant health and safety arrangements and contribute to positive reporting and learning culture.
• Undertake other duties consistent with the level and purpose of the role, following appropriate consultation.