Fire Marshal

Sarasota County; Sarasota (FL); On-site; USD 135,000 - 145,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Life insurance

Short-Term and Long-Term Disability

Flexible Spending Accounts

Employee Assistance Program

Florida Retirement System (FRS)

Wellness program

Paid holidays and vacation

Job summary

Sarasota County is seeking a strategic fire safety leader to plan, manage, and direct comprehensive fire prevention and life safety programs within the Office of the Fire Marshal. The role enforces adopted codes, leads inspections, plan reviews, data analysis, and the development of fire code legislation to protect lives and property.

Starting pay ranges up to $135,000–$145,000 depending on risk class, with relocation support up to $3,000.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Fire Protection Engineering, Emergency Management, Fire Science, Business Administration, Public Administration, or related field, with four (4) years of supervisory/managerial fire prevention experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in the same fields with six (6) years of supervisory/managerial fire prevention experience.
• Valid Florida driver’s license or ability to obtain one within 30 days from hire.
• Must possess and maintain State of Florida Fire Safety Inspector I Certification or approved equivalency or obtain within one year from hire.
• Must obtain NIMS Incident Command Position Certifications I-100, I-200, and I-300 within one year from hire.

Responsibilities

• Prepare or supervise the preparation of goals and objectives of the Office of the Fire Marshal.
• Develop annual work program and establish staffing and scheduling requirements.
• Prepare monthly and annual activity reports for submission to the Fire Chief.
• Provide direct supervision of assigned personnel and evaluate their work.
• Supervise staff conducting fire/life safety inspections, plan examinations, and maintain reports and records.

Skills

Leadership

Fire prevention management

Education

Master's degree in Fire Protection Engineering, Emergency Management, Fire Science, Business Administration, Public Administration, or related field

Bachelor’s degree in Fire Protection Engineering, Emergency Management, Fire Science, Business Administration, Public Administration, or related field

Job description

Position Overview

Department: Emergency Services Start Here. Grow Here. Stay Here. Are you a strategic fire safety leader with a passion for protecting lives and property through proactive prevention and code enforcement? This position is responsible for planning, managing, coordinating, and directing comprehensive fire prevention and life safety programs within the Office of the Fire Marshal. The role ensures the effective application and enforcement of adopted fire and life safety codes while leading critical functions such as fire safety inspections, plan reviews for new construction, fire data analysis, and the development of fire code legislation. The ideal candidate brings strong leadership and technical expertise to oversee fire prevention services, drive continuous improvement initiatives, and support public safety outcomes. This is an opportunity to play a key role in shaping safer communities through forward-thinking leadership, regulatory excellence, and a commitment to fire prevention innovation.

All applicants MUST submit a cover letter and resume and meet the minimum qualifications to be considered.

Up to $3,000 relocation is available for those moving 50+ miles to join the premier community where people choose to live, work, and play!

About the Position

• Prepare or supervise the preparation of the goals and objectives of the Office of the Fire Marshal.
• Develops annual work program and establishes staffing and scheduling requirements.
• Prepare or supervise the preparation of monthly and annual activity reports for submission to the Fire Chief.
• Provide direct supervision of assigned personnel and evaluates the work of reporting staff.
• Assign, train, and supervise the staff of the Office of the Fire Marshal conducting fire/life safety inspection activities, plans examinations, and the preparation and maintenance of reports and records relating to Office of the Fire Marshal activities.
• Identify hazards, meets with builders, owners, and occupants to correct problems and appears before civic groups to inform, educate, and improve fire and life safety.
• Ensure that adopted fire and life safety codes are applied and enforced and code violations are corrected in a timely manner.
• Review new construction plans for fire code compliance and performs on-site inspections to assure compliance, annually inspects commercial structures for fire and life safety compliance.
• Prepares maps, fire plans, and inspections for fire and life safety.
• Confer with architects, engineers, builders, building officials, professional associations, citizen groups and the general public to discuss matters of interest and necessity to the fire service.
• Promote good customer service and public relations, coordinates operations and promotes partnerships with other divisions, departments, outside agencies, citizen groups and the general public.
• Coordinate projects and activities with other County departments that support Public Safety.
• Review project construction plans and specifications for compliance with applicable codes.
• Responsible for ensuring all personnel assigned to the unit adhere to County and Department policies, rules, and standard operating procedures.
• Analyze job performance and develops programs to enhance operational efficiency and effectiveness.
• Prepare and administer the Office of the Fire Marshal's budget, manages work performance within adopted budget allocations.

About the Schedule

Work Hours: Full-Time, Typical Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. As a reminder, all county employees are considered essential and must be prepared to protect and support the community and its citizens. Each employee, without exception, will have a duty assignment and be required to work during a disaster or declared emergency.

About You

To be considered for this role, candidates shall possess a proven track record of effective leadership and progressive fire prevention or fire service management:

Master's degree from an accredited college or university in Fire Protection Engineering, Emergency Management, Fire Science, Business Administration, Public Administration, or related field, and four (4) years of experience working within fire prevention in a supervisory or managerial capacity.

Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in Fire Protection Engineering, Emergency Management, Fire Science, Business Administration, Public Administration, or related field, and six (6) years of experience working within fire prevention in a supervisory or managerial capacity.

Valid Florida driver's license or the ability to obtain one within 30 days from the time of hire.

Must possess and maintain State of Florida Fire Safety Inspector I Certification or a verified and approved equivalency to the State of Florida Fire Safety Inspector I Certification or the ability to obtain one within one year from the time of hire.

Must be able to obtain NIMS Incident Command Position Certifications: I-100, I-200, and I-300 within one year from the time of hire.

Please note that these are not requirements but bonuses for your consideration.

• Florida Minimum Standards Firefighter Certification.
• Florida Emergency Medical Technician or Paramedic Certification.
• Florida Fire Officer II Certification (or Fire Officer I Certification if obtained prior to November 18, 2013).
• State of Florida Fire Safety Inspector II & or III Certification.
• State of Florida Fire Code Administrator.
• Florida Fire and Life Safety Educator.
• Florida Certified Firefighter Minimum Standards I and II.
• Florida EMT or Florida Paramedic Certification.
• Incident Command Position Certifications for Incident Commander, Operations Chief, Plans Chief, Logistics Chief and Finance Chief.
• Knowledge of fire safety codes (Standard Fire Prevention Coed, Life Safety Code and other related NFPA standard), the ability to analyze facts and exercise sound judgment in the supervisory conduct of tire safety inspections.
• Knowledge of Quality Management Principles.

Physical Demands

May occasionally lift and/or move more than 50 pounds. May be required to be fit tested for a respirator.

Subject to Passing Substance Screening

This position is subject to passing a pre-employment substance screening. An applicant who fails to pass a required drug screening test shall be disqualified from employment for a period of five years.

CJIS Clearance

The successful candidate will be subject to an extensive background check(s) as part of the hiring process.

About Everything Else

Starting Pay: $135,000 (FRS Non-Special Risk) or $145,000 (FRS Special Risk) / annually

Our interview process could include phone interview(s), Microsoft Teams video interview(s), and/or in-person interview(s).

First Day Documents

You will need to present the following items on your first day:

• I-9 Acceptable Documents to show your identity and authorization to work.
• If your position requires a Florida Driver’s License, this must be one of your documents.
• U.S. Social Security Card (signed, physical card). This is a requirement of our Payroll Department and failure to provide this document could jeopardize timely compensation.

Benefits

• Health, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance.
• Short-Term and Long-Term Disability.
• Flexible Spending Accounts.
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
• Florida Retirement System (FRS).
• Choose one of three great medical plans, including one with a $0 premium option, with completed preventative visits.
• Utilize our award-winning wellness program including free gyms at multiple Sarasota County Government locations.
• Enjoy 11 paid holidays, 3 personal days and 16 paid vacation days in the first year of full-time employment with increasing accrual rates with years of service (that adds up to a possible 30 days off in your 1st year).

Sarasota County – Many Voices, One Team.

We celebrate and value the experiences, backgrounds, perspectives, talents and strengths that make us different.

Our vision is to attract, develop, retain and engage a talented workforce broadly representative of the citizens and communities we serve.

To further value creativity, innovation, collaboration and great customer service – internally and externally.

A job applicant with a disability who requires reasonable accommodation to participate in the application/selection process is requested to make known the need for an accommodation to Human Resources or appropriate county staff members.

Sarasota County prohibits discrimination in all services, programs or activities. View the complete policy at scgov.net (keywords: ADA Compliance). Sarasota County Government is a Tobacco-Free/Drug-Free Workplace.

Do you like leaving things better than you found them? We serve the greater good! Our team is here to make Sarasota the premier community to live, work and play! Sarasota has 37 miles of award-winning beaches, over 80 parks and 100 golf courses, and is known as the cultural capital of Florida with museums of art, theaters, an aquarium, botanical gardens and the annual international film festival. Unsurpassed beauty, rich cultural offering, diverse educational opportunities, wide-ranging recreational possibilities make Sarasota a great place to live and work!

We believe in work-life balance with a generous leave plan.