Head of Fire Safety in Manchester

The University of Manchester is seeking a proactive and knowledgeable Head of Fire Safety to lead on the delivery of high standards of statutory compliance and contribute to the University’s fire safety strategy. They will join our Directorate of Estates and Facilities, within the Division of Facilities Maintenance and Compliance. This is a pivotal role responsible for developing, maintaining, and overseeing fire safety standards across the University, ensuring compliance with all statutory requirements, and promoting a safety driven culture.

Key Responsibilities

• Ensure that staff and tenants are made aware of and have access to appropriate web pages and documentation which set out the University’s approach to Fire Safety along with respective roles and responsibilities.
• Assist, where needed, University staff and tenants in the development of appropriate risk assessments and procedures to ensure compliance with the statutory requirements of fire safety.
• Maintain appropriate liaison with Local Authority and Fire Service colleagues to ensure that all statutory requirements for university premises are maintained and updated as appropriate.
• Lead and manage to assure the directorate of estates and facilities compliance with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and all associated legislation.
• Oversee the management of all fire safety related documentation including Fire Risk Assessments, Fire Strategy, Logbooks and all other documentation relating to fire safety.
• Provide leadership, organise, motivate and direct the work of the team(s) so that objectives are met and they are operating efficiently and effectively.
• Oversee and coordinate with all fire lead specialists fire safety related PPM, including instructing, monitoring and auditing works upon fire alarms, lifts, dampers, emergency lighting and fire extinguishers.
• Provide advice to both internal and external design teams on the planning and safe execution of fire safety measures for building and engineering development projects to ensure that all work is in accordance with legal and statutory requirements and is in the best interest of the University.
• Maintain appropriate records of all fire related matters such as building Fire Risk Assessments, fire compartmentation within the University. Develop suitable database and archive records.
• Oversee and coordinate with FMC specialist contracts team the replacement, maintenance and testing of all portable firefighting equipment across the University, and where practicable the functional weekly testing of fire alarms in Academic and non-academic buildings.
• Oversee and coordinate with Facilities Maintenance compliance specialist contract team to provide advice on specialist service provision contracts. For FFE, sprinkler, wet and dry riser, hydrant, fire damper, fire alarm and fire suppression systems. Administer such contracts where appropriate.
• Work with the Head of building surveying and other FMC departmental leads to develop fire strategies for buildings for physical fire precautions and automatic fire detection systems that will inform future Long Term Maintenance planning and cyclical fire maintenance work.
• Commission, as required, appropriate condition surveys of fire doors and fire compartmentation and to keep information up to date and relevant.
• Establish and maintain effective methods of communication and customer focused services with University Stakeholders (particularly Heads of Partnering) and external bodies to ensure that fire standards are communicated and accepted whilst also considering the needs of Partnering.
• Embed a culture of continuous improvement, collaboration, consistency and innovation, and lead on change initiatives.

About You

• Membership at Member level of the Institution of Fire Engineers (MIFireE).
• A degree in Fire/Engineering/Construction or a Level 4 certificate in fire safety.
• Extensive experience in fire safety within construction, development, and maintenance environments.
• Strong knowledge of fire safety legislation, including the Building Safety Act 2022, Building Regulations Part B, BS7974, and BS9999.
• Proven leadership and team management skills.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement abilities.

Working Environment

You will be based in an office environment with regular visits to university buildings for meetings, surveys, and site inspections.

What you will get in return

• Fantastic market leading Pension scheme
• Excellent employee health and wellbeing services including an Employee Assistance Programme
• Exceptional starting annual leave entitlement, plus bank holidays
• Additional paid closure over the Christmas period
• Local and national discounts at a range of major retailers
• Season ticket loans for public transport and a Cycle to Work Scheme
• A workplace nursery scheme

As an equal opportunities employer we welcome applicants from all sections of the community regardless of age, sex, gender (or gender identity), ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation and transgender status. All appointments are made on merit. Our University is positive about flexible working.

Please be aware that due to the number of applications we are unfortunately not able to provide individual feedback on your application. We are unable to respond to enquiries, accept CVs or applications from Recruitment Agencies. Any recruitment enquiries from recruitment agencies should be directed to recruitmentservices.people@manchester.ac.uk. Any CV’s submitted by a recruitment agency will be considered a gift.

Enquiries about the vacancy, shortlisting and interviews: FMC Operational Services Email: FMCOperationalServices@manchester.ac.uk General enquiries: Email: recruitmentservices.people@manchester.ac.uk Technical support: https://jobseekersupport.jobtrain.co.uk/support/home This vacancy will close for applications at midnight on the closing date.