Fire Engineer, Expert Witness Advisory Services

Ridge & Partners LLP; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Ridge Expert Witness Advisory Services (EWAS) seeks an experienced Fire Engineer with a proven track record on existing buildings to join our specialist team handling technical disputes. Ideal candidates have at least 10 years’ professional experience, Chartered or Incorporated status, and experience as an Expert Witness, with willingness to travel regionally and work in a hybrid home/office setup.

You will develop and present reports, attend expert meetings, and provide clear oral and written

Qualifications

• Experienced Fire Engineer with a strong practical background in construction and fire safety.
• Chartered or Incorporated status preferred for senior accountability.
• Experience handling expert witness work and presenting reports clearly.

Responsibilities

• Carrying out building inspections focusing on cladding and fire compartments.
• Desktop reviews of information and preparation of expert reports.
• Attend expert meetings and draft joint statements.
• Provide oral and written evidence in court or tribunals, including cross-examination.
• Willingness to travel regionally for site visits and to work in a hybrid setup.

Skills

Fire engineering

Expert Witness experience

Report writing

Communication skills

Project management

Education

Chartered or Incorporated engineer

Job description

Due to the success of the current team, we are looking to expand by recruiting an experienced Fire Engineer with a proven track record of fire engineering and practical experience on existing buildings.

This is an opportunity for someone wishing to work as part of an established specialist team on a range of technical disputes. Previous experience as an Expert Witness is preferred such that the candidate will be able to immediately take on their own instructions with support as required. As part of the recruitment process, the relevant experience you have gained will be covered during your interview discussions and we will require redacted examples of your report writing.

The role is hybrid in nature with a mixture of working from home and the office. The office location for this role is flexible with the successful appointee being able to be based in any of our office locations, but preferred to be: London, Manchester, Birmingham or Bristol. Please note, that due to the nature of this role, the prerequisite for applying to this opportunity is that you have achieved a minimum of 10 years' professional experience working as a fire engineer and with some experience of acting as an Expert Witness.

Who are we?

Ridge Expert Witness Advisory Services (EWAS) is a specialist team of construction experts providing support to solicitors in respect of property litigation. The team includes Architects, Structural engineers, Fire engineers, MEP engineers, Façade engineers and Building Surveyors.

What you need to do to be effective in this role

• Building inspections, primarily cladding and internal fire compartmentation, and expert report writing (training will be given in respect of the later even if you are an established expert)
• Desktop reviews of information
• Attending expert meetings and writing joint statements
• Provision of oral and written evidence in Court or other tribunals, including cross examination
• Wider details of the role will be discussed in depth during interview.

The skills and experience you need to have for this role

To be considered for this role you will have gave gained extensive experience in your career of working in a related role which will be discussed / evidenced during the interview process.

You will possess / be:

• Experienced Fire Engineer ideally Chartered or Incorporated with a strong technical background in the practical aspects of construction.
• Focused, confident, decision maker, but one who recognises when they have insufficient information to reach a conclusion.
• Have a sound knowledge of past/current industry standards, regulations, and guidance and who recognises the limit of their knowledge.
• A problem solver able to assimilate large amounts of technical information and identify its relevance.
• Ability to communicate complex technical matters to the non-technical in both written and oral forms.
• Strong interpersonal skills and willing to take instruction and training from the established team.
• Flexible working attitude with the ability to work under pressure and to strict deadlines.
• Flexible to travel regionally for site visits, etc.