29124 - National Fire Safety Advisor

£37,218 - £46,846 (Salary will depend on location)
1
12 Months
National
National
NATIONAL
SEO
Band 7
Permanent
Full Time, Part Time, Part Time/Job Share, Flexible Working, Other
Security, Health & Safety

Overview of the job  

This is a functional and project management role within a National HSF team requiring specialist knowledge and a high level of competence.

The post holder is line managed by the National Lead - Fire Safety (Band 9) who reports to the Head of Occupational Health, Safety & Fire. They are responsible for overseeing the delivery of national Fire Safety priorities, providing leadership, specialist technical advice, statutory assurance, training and monitoring, and risk management across multiple regions of the Prison and Probation estate.

The post-holder will be expected to divide their time between their assigned Regions and Headquarters.

Summary

This is a National strategic management role based at Headquarters, London.

The job holder will be responsible for the provision of expert fire safety information, advice and guidance on a strategic level to internal and external stakeholders at a national level and within relevant regions of responsibility on all the fire safety risks to which they are exposed, the measures they need to take to discharge their responsibilities with regard to fire for all staff and others who are affected by their undertakings, and ensure compliance with relevant health and safety legislation and the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, Approved Codes of Practice, British Standards, Guidance and best practice.

The post holder will work closely with a wide range of stakeholders including Deputy Directors of Custody and other Senior Managers, along with external bodies such as the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Health and Safety Laboratories (HSL), British Research Establishment (BRE), Crown Premises Fire Safety Inspectorate (CPFSI), Project Contractors, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman Service, HMPPS Newbold Revel Learning and Development and external training and equipment providers.

They will also specialise and lead in a particular Fire Safety area within the National Team. They will be a National lead resource for their Regional establishment group on relevant serious incident investigation and casework management and provide a service in line with nationally determined priorities and plans for Fire Safety.

This is a non-operational role with strategic management responsibilities for Policy and Project delivery.

This role will attract Required Hours Allowance (RHA) as they will be expected to respond immediately in the event of serious injury or death from incidents of fire and provide expert Fire Safety Advice to Incident Managers including Gold and Silver command in the event of a serious incident involving Fire to aid those in command to make defensible decisions regarding staff and prisoner safety as per PSI 09/2014 t Incident management.

The post-holder is expected to have a sound understanding of the operational environment in order to provide an effective service.

Responsibilities, Activities and Duties

The job holder will be required to carry out the following responsibilities, activities and duties:

  • The responsibilities of the post cover all Public Sector Prisons including Long Term & High Security Estate, Adult Estate (male and female), Young Peoples Estate, Immigration Removal Centres and National Probation Service Approved Premises.
  • They will carry out a programme of periodic and targeted Business Support Visits for both Public and Private Sector Prisons and Approved Premises, reporting to the Duty Holder and National Lead - Fire Safety, on the adequacy of the fire safety arrangements.
  • They will when required be the HMPPS Fire Safety expert lead for MOJ sponsored Fire Safety Improvement projects, including refurbishments and new build, within their assigned regions of responsibility.
  • They will lead on the National strategic development of the Corporate Fire Risk Register and implementation of the associated action plan.
  • They will liaise with Band 9 Regional Service Leads and be responsible for monitoring and reporting on fire safety performance and risk management from Establishments within Regions to report at National Level.
  • They will be responsible for implementation and delivery of expert fire safety advice and programmed targeted interventions to reduce any significant fire safety risks at prison and probation premises. Cooperating with, and engaging Executive Directors and Directors, Prison Group Directors, Deputy Directors (including Deputy Directors of Custody and the National Probation Service), Governors and their SMT, other HMPPS Senior Managers and Establishment Health, Safety and Fire Safety Practitioners to deliver pragmatic solutions.
  • They will be responsible for carrying out strategic training needs analysis and lead on technical advice for developing and delivering fire training programmes at a National, Regional and Local level, (e.g. HMPPS - Newbold Revel, SMT Fire Sponsor, Prison Fire Safety Practitioners, RPE Instructor and 'end user' courses).
  • They will be responsible for monitoring the management procedure for supply, delivery and servicing/replacement of RPE equipment to establishments and the associated annual budget.
  • They will be the expert fire safety lead for FM Providers, SDMs and REMs.
  • They will be the lead on Project building sites and using their Building Engineering knowledge and Fire Safety competencies to give assurance of a building inspector that Technical Standards and Building Regulations, approved codes of practice and guidance are being complied with.
  • Deputise for the Senior Fire Safety Advisor as required.

The duties/responsibilities listed above describe the post as it is at present and is not intended to be exhaustive. The job holder is expected to accept reasonable alterations and additional tasks of a similar level that may be necessary. Significant adjustments may require re-examination under the Job Evaluation Scheme and shall be discussed in the first instance with the job holder.

Behaviours

  • Seeing the Big Picture
  • Communicating and Influencing
  • Managing a Quality Service
  • Making Effective Decisions
  • Working Together

Strengths

It is advised strengths are chosen locally, recommended 4-8

Essential Experience

  • Proven experience working as a Fire Safety Advisor
  • Proven experience/and understanding of working with PAS 79 and its fire risk assessment principles
  • Proven experience/and understanding of auditing

Technical Requirements

  • Membership of the Institute of Fire Engineers (IFE) or equivalent

Desirable

  • A Level 4 qualification or above in Fire Safety 
  • For internal candidates: HMPPS FRA Course & HMPPS Train the Trainer RPE Course (external candidates will be expected to successfully complete these courses)



Professional memberships
Membership of the Institute of Fire Engineers (IFE) or equivalent

Working Arrangements & Further Information

Some of MoJ’s, including HMPPS, terms and conditions of service are changing as part of Civil Service reform. The changes will apply to staff joining MoJ who are new to the Civil Service. Staff joining MoJ from other civil service employers will transfer onto the new MoJ terms if they are already on 'modernised' terms in their current post or onto 'unmodernised' MoJ terms if they are on 'unmodernised' terms at their current post. Details will be available if an offer is made.

Standard working hours for this post are 37 hours per week excluding breaks which are unpaid.

If you are a current NPS employee, this vacancy may be available on a Loan basis for up to 2 years. Applications are invited from suitable qualified staff.

The Loan/Secondment is subject to the approval of the selected candidate's Business Unit, which should be obtained before confirmation of appointment.

Benefits

Annual Leave

-The holiday year runs from 1 March. If you work a non standard work pattern your leave entitlement may be expressed in either hours or days as appropriate. Leave entitlement is calculated on a pro-rata basis and you will be advised of your actual entitlement on appointment. If you were appointed internally and your leave was previously calculated in days, this will continue to be the case.

Bank, Public and Privilege Holidays

-You are entitled to 9 days (66 hours 36 minutes) in recognition of bank, public and privilege holidays. These hours are added to your annual leave allowance. There is a requirement to work some public and bank holidays subject to your shift pattern and the operational needs of the establishment

Pension

-The Civil Service offers a choice of two pension schemes, giving you the flexibility to choose the pension that suits you best.

Work Life Balance

-HM Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) is keen to encourage alternative working arrangements. Work life balance provides greater opportunities for staff to work more flexibly wherever managers and establishments can accommodate requests to do so. HMPPS offers flexible working subject to completion of a satisfactory probationary period and NVQ

Season Ticket Advance

-After two months’ service, you’ll be eligible to apply for a season ticket advance to purchase a quarterly or longer-period season ticket for travel between home and your place of work

Childcare Vouchers

For any moves across the Civil Service may have implications on your ability to carry on claiming childcare vouchers

Training

-HMPPS is committed to staff development and offers a range of training and development opportunities, including areas such as Equality and Diversity, Dealing with Challenging Behaviour, Suicide Prevention and Anti Bullying Programmes

-There are opportunities to access promotion programmes and HMPPS provide a variety of training appropriate to individual posts

-All staff receive security and diversity training and an individual induction programme into their new roles

Eligibility

-All candidates are subject to security and identity checks prior to taking up post

-All external candidates are subject to 6 months probation. Internal candidates are subject to probation if they have not already served a probationary period within HMPPS

-All staff are required to declare whether they are a member of a group or organisation which HMPPS considers to be racist

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles.

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity.

There is a guaranteed interview scheme (GIS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

To be confirmed

25/09/2019, 23:55 hours.

If you require any assistance please call 0845 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@sscl.gse.gov.uk. Please quote the job reference - 29124.


Success Profiles will enable a fairer and more inclusive method of recruitment by enabling us to assess the range of experiences, abilities, strengths, behaviours and technical/professional skills required for different roles. This flexible approach to recruitment focuses more on finding the right candidate for the specific role. To find out more about Success Profiles to support your application please click here for further guidance.

if you feel that your application has not been treated in line with the Civil Service Recruitment Principles, please contact SSCL (Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com) in the first instance

We have provided detail of the assessment stages and areas being assessed to help you prepare for completing your application form, and to advise of what will be assessed following this, if you successfully pass the application stage.


Application form stage assessments

Behaviours
Communicating and Influencing - word limit
Making Effective Decisions - word limit
Managing a Quality Service - word limit
Seeing the Big Picture - word limit
Working Together - word limit
Experience
Statement of Suitability - 500 word limit
Technical Skills
Membership of the Institute of Fire Engineers (IFE) or equivalent
Desirable
A Level 4 qualification or above in Fire Safety
For internal candidates: HMPPS FRA Course & HMPPS Train the Trainer RPE Course (external candidates will be expected to successfully complete these courses) - word limit

Interview stage assessments

There is 1 interview stage for this vacancy.
Behaviours
Communicating and Influencing
Making Effective Decisions
Managing a Quality Service
Seeing the Big Picture
Working Together
Technical Skills
Membership of the Institute of Fire Engineers (IFE) or equivalent
Desirable
A Level 4 qualification or above in Fire Safety
For internal candidates: HMPPS FRA Course & HMPPS Train the Trainer RPE Course (external candidates will be expected to successfully complete these courses)

A Great Place to Work for Veterans

The "Making the Civil Service a Great Place to work for veterans" initiative includes a guaranteed interview scheme to those who meet the minimum criteria to provide eligible former members of the Armed Forces with opportunities to secure rewarding jobs. Allowing veterans to continue to serve their country, and to bring highly skilled individuals with a broad range of experience into the Civil Service in an environment, which recognises and values your previous service in the Armed Forces.
For further details about the initiative and eligibility requirements visit : https://www.gov.uk/government/news/making-the-civil-service-a-great-place-to-work-for-veterans

Redeployment Interview Scheme

Civil Service departments are expected to explore redeployment opportunities before making an individual redundant. The MoJ are committed, as part of the Redeployment Interview Scheme, to providing opportunities to those who are 'at risk of redundancy'.

MoJ are able to offer an interview to eligible candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns. Candidate's will not be eligible for the Redeployment Interview Scheme if they are applying on promotion.

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

· UK nationals

· nationals of the Republic of Ireland

· nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK

· nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window) https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families

· nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)

· individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020

· Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules

This Vacancy is closed to applications.