Property Compliance Fire Safety Lead

Homes in Somerset; England; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Homes in Somerset is seeking a Head of Building Safety & Property Compliance to lead fire safety works across circa 10,000 homes. You will translate risk assessments, surveys and audits into controlled programmes, ensuring evidenced completion and regulatory alignment.

Responsibilities include directing contracts, performance management, resident engagement and governance reporting, with a focus on safe, compliant and timely delivery across the housing portfolio.

Qualifications

• Experience delivering fire safety works in housing or similar settings.
• Ability to manage complex programmes, budgets and governance.
• Knowledge of fire risk assessments, compliance and regulatory requirements.

Responsibilities

• Lead the fire safety works and servicing contracts, ensuring consistency from risk to completion.
• Maintain an integrated fire safety works programme balancing risk, legal, resident impact and resources.
• Chair mobilisation, contract performance meetings and manage variations and final accounts.
• Coordinate with residents, contractors and stakeholders to minimise disruption while ensuring safety.
• Develop dashboards and reports for governance, budget and assurance.

Skills

Fire safety

Contract management

Programme management

Education

Relevant degree in construction/building surveying/engineering

Job description

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 escape 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

Internal

Head of Building Safety & Property Compliance; fire safety and compliance colleagues; asset management; repairs and maintenance; housing and neighbourhood teams; resident engagement; procurement; legal; finance; data and digital; communications; health and safety.

External

Fire risk assessors; principal and specialist contractors; designers and consultants; independent inspectors; fire and rescue service; auditors; regulators; manufacturers and certification bodies; residents, leaseholders and representatives.

Decision-making and authority

• Prioritise and sequence works within approved policy, risk and budget parameters.
• Issue contract instructions and approve expenditure within delegated authority.
• Reject incomplete or non-compliant work and require corrective action.
• Escalate unresolved risk, inadequate capacity, material contract failure, significant variation or budget pressure.
• Recommend procurement, extension, remediation, recovery or termination action through the appropriate governance route.

What you will bring:

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

Essential qualifications and professional standing

• A relevant construction, building surveying, fire safety, engineering