Fire Safety & Emergency Planning Manager

Merseyrail; West Kirby; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Final salary pension scheme

Free staff travel on Merseyrail and UK

Rail travel discounts between UK rail/

Health and wellbeing support

Job summary

Merseyrail in Liverpool is seeking an experienced Fire Safety & Emergency Planning Manager to lead fire safety, emergency preparedness, resilience and business continuity across our network, including underground stations. Hybrid working and a full-time contract support a pivotal safety role within a dynamic rail environment.

You will act as the lead specialist for fire safety, coordinating with internal teams and external partners to prevent and respond to incidents, develop robust plans and

Qualifications

• Recognised fire safety, health and safety or equivalent professional qualification.
• Experience of developing, implementing or managing fire safety systems, emergency plans, resilience arrangements or business continuity frameworks.
• Experience of planning, delivering and evaluating emergency exercises.
• Strong stakeholder management with external partners and emergency services.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development, implementation and continual improvement of Merseyrail's Fire Safety Management System.
• Ensure compliance with fire safety legislation and industry standards across the network.
• Act as Merseyrail's competent person for fire safety, emergency response and resilience.
• Provide specialist fire safety advice for station enhancements and projects.
• Lead investigations, debriefs and lessons-learned reviews from incidents and exercises.
• Develop and maintain the Emergency Plan and resilience arrangements.
• Coordinate tabletop exercises, simulations and multi-agency exercises.
• Maintain engagement with Local Resilience Forum and resilience community.
• Represent Merseyrail at industry forums and partnerships.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Communication

Emergency planning

Fire safety expertise

Education

Fire safety qualification

Job description

Fire Safety & Emergency Planning Manager

Application Deadline: 21 October 2026

Department: Safety

Employment Type: Permanent - Full Time

Location: Rail House

Reporting To: Lisa Benson

Description

Job Title: Fire Safety & Emergency Planning Manager

Location: Liverpool - Hybrid work

Salary: Competitive

Contract Type: Full Time Permanent.

Hours: 35 Hours per week

At Merseyrail, safety is at the heart of everything we do. We are seeking an ambitious, dynamic and highly motivated Fire Safety and Emergency Planning Manager to lead the continual improvement of fire safety, emergency preparedness, resilience and business continuity arrangements across our network, including our underground stations.

This is a rare opportunity to influence the safety across the Liverpool City Region, helping to protect our people and passengers while supporting the delivery of a modern, resilient railway.

The successful candidate will act as Merseyrail's lead specialist for fire safety, emergency planning and resilience, working across the business and with key external partners to ensure the organisation remains prepared to prevent, respond to and recover from emergency situations and operational disruption.

Your Day-to-Day

• Lead the development, implementation and continual improvement of Merseyrail's Fire Safety Management System.
• Ensure compliance with fire safety legislation, railway fire safety requirements and industry standards across the network.
• Act as Merseyrail's competent person and subject matter expert for fire safety, emergency response and resilience matters.
• Provide specialist fire safety advice and assurance for station enhancements, infrastructure projects and operational changes.
• Lead investigations, debriefs and lessons-learned reviews arising from fire incidents, emergency events, exercises and operational disruptions.
• Ensure actions arising from audits, incidents, exercises, inspections and assessments are tracked through to effective completion.
• Develop, maintain and assure the Company's Emergency Plan, emergency response procedures and resilience arrangements.
• Lead the development and maintenance of business continuity arrangements, supporting departments in producing effective plans.
• Develop and maintain operational contingency and severe weather response arrangements.
• Ensure employees with emergency responsibilities are trained, competent and confident in fulfilling their roles.
• Design, coordinate and evaluate tabletop exercises, simulations and live multi-agency exercises.
• Act as lead coordinator for emergency preparedness activities and support the organisation's response to significant incidents.
• Maintain Merseyrail's engagement with the Local Resilience Forum and wider resilience community.
• Maintain Merseyrail's information and planning arrangements within ResilienceDirect.
• Provide specialist advice on emergency evacuation, egress, crowd management and passenger safety arrangements.
• Represent Merseyrail at industry forums, working groups and resilience meetings, identifying emerging best practice and embedding learning into the Safety Management System.
• Maintain effective relationships with emergency services, enforcement bodies, regulators and industry partners.

What You'll Bring To This Role

We're looking for a confident and engaging professional who combines technical expertise with strong leadership, communication and stakeholder management skills.

You’ll be passionate about driving continuous improvement and capable of influencing people at all levels of the organisation.

Essential

• A recognised fire safety, health and safety or equivalent professional qualification.
• Demonstrable knowledge of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
• Understanding of the Fire Precautions (Sub-Surface Railway Stations) Regulations 2009 and associated guidance.
• Experience of developing, implementing or managing fire safety systems, emergency plans, resilience arrangements or business continuity frameworks.
• Experience of planning, delivering and evaluating emergency exercises.
• Experience of incident investigation and lessons-learned processes.
• Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to work effectively with emergency services, operational teams and external partners.
• Excellent communication, influencing and report-writing skills.
• Experience working within a regulated, safety-critical or operational environment.

Desirable

• Experience within the rail, transport or infrastructure sector.
• Membership of a relevant professional body.
• Business continuity or resilience qualifications.
• Experience working with Local Resilience Forums or multi-agency emergency planning arrangements.
• Experience of crowd management, station operations or evacuation planning.
• Associate Membership (or higher) of the Institution of Fire Engineers.

This is an opportunity to make a genuine difference.

You’ll play a leading role in strengthening fire safety, emergency preparedness and organisational resilience across a railway that serves millions of customers every year. You'll work alongside industry partners, emergency services and senior leaders to drive continuous improvement and ensure Merseyrail remains at the forefront of safety and resilience best practice.

The Benefits of Being Onboard

• Final salary pension scheme
• Free staff travel on our network – unlimited free travel on Transport UK train operators and Northern Rail
• Discounted national rail travel – 75% discount on other train services across the UK, expanding to Europe after one year of service
• Family rail travel – your partner and dependents can also benefit from rail travel passes
• Health Shield membership – access discounted health and holistic care services
• Access to GP Anytime – speak face‑to‑face with a qualified GP, whenever you need to
• Hapi benefits portal – enjoy savings on shopping, lifestyle and holidays
• Wedding celebrations – take an extra day off if you get married on a working day
• Employee achievement and long service awards
• Involvement in major city events – play a key role in keeping our city moving during major events, working together as one team

What You Need to Know

Merseyrail reserves the right to close this advert early if we receive a high volume of applications. Incomplete applications may not be progressed or given additional time to complete in these circumstances.

As an equal opportunities employer, Merseyrail particularly welcomes applications from Black, Asian, Minority, Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds as they are currently underrepresented. All appointments will be made on merit of skill and experience relative to the role.

We understand some applicants may use AI tools to help refine their applications, and that’s fine. However, we’re most interested in your experience, in your words. Answers that feel overly generic or lack personal insight may be discounted, so please make sure your responses reflect you.