Fire Engineering Manager
The Government Property Agency is the largest property holder in government, with more than £2.1 billion in property assets and over 55% of the government’s office estate.
We are transforming the way the Civil Service works by creating great places to work, leading the largest commercial office programme in the UK, working towards halving carbon emissions from government offices, and achieving greater value for taxpayers.And we are looking for innovative, solutions-focused people to join our team.
Representing the best covenant in the UK – His Majesty’s Government – we are leading transformational programmes such as the Government Hubs Programme, Whitehall Campus Programme and Net Zero Programme, as well as delivering modern, cost-effective real estate service solutions.
Innovation and progress are at the heart of our behaviours. We foster a culture of lifelong learning, where curiosity and self-improvement are encouraged. And we’re dedicated to becoming a leading, inclusive employer both in the external market and throughout the Civil Service.Our strong emphasis on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) is not just about driving inclusion across our organisation, it is also about ensuring our services meet the needs of government departments and the civil servants who use our spaces.
Join our dynamic and diverse team that leads with purpose, improving sustainability, nurturing social value, driving inclusivity and flexibility, and kickstarting economic growth. We are driven by purpose, and you can be part of it too: where you make a meaningful impact; where you influence; where your voice really matters; where you help to shape our future direction.
The GPA is committed to representing the communities we serve by making Diversity, Equality and Inclusion part of everything we do.
To ensure that we are always recruiting and retaining a diverse mix of talent, we are particularly inviting applications from candidates who are disabled, ethnically or gender diverse, and people who identify as being part of the LGBTQ+ community.
Innovation and Assurance (I&A) determines and sets workspace design standards through authoring of a comprehensive suite of documents comprising the Government Property Agency (GPA) Workplace Design Guide, a range of Technical Annexes and the Employer’s Requirements.We utilise these, managing the design process and associated design consultants, across the Hubs and Whitehall Campus Programmes to deliver transformative workplaces for Civil Servants across the UK.
I&A plays a wider role across both GPA and across Government in the work that we undertake. We are seen as subject matter experts in the individual streams / disciplines, with an aim of ensuring we have access to the best information and advice, but equally in order that we influence across Government departments and into industry.
We operate as 4 distinct but intrinsically linked streams:
- Workplace Design
- Physical Security
- Sustainability
- Technical Assurance
We produce and set the technical standards for our buildings and seek assurance that our requirements are delivered, working closely with our supply chain partners, Capital Projects and Workplace Services colleagues. As subject matter experts we support a number of cross government working groups where we share knowledge with both the public and private sector.
The Fire Engineering Manager’s role is part of the Technical Assurance team. This is an assurance role to ensure buildings in design, during construction and at handover comply with the correct technical design and legislative standards set out in GPA’s Design Guide and Employer Requirements (ER).This will require regular monitoring and reporting at key project milestones.
Key Responsibilities
Reporting to the Head of Technical Assurance, the Fire Engineering Manager will be responsible for:
- Developing the Employers Requirements regarding Fire safety for Capital Projects to ensure compliance with legislative requirements and industry best practice.
- Conducting periodic site inspections including monitoring site operations to assure works are carried out in accordance with agreed build phase plans.
- Interpreting the Design Guide, Employer Requirements and exceptions (client specialist requirements) into appropriate briefing material for delivery subcontractors to use for construction and procurement.
- Providing technical support (advice, assurance and approval) to the integrated project delivery teams and GPAs consultancy partners
- Reviewing developer and supply chain designs meet relevant standards such as BS 9999, and the building regulations, identifying/reporting any deficiencies.
- Identifying high-fire risk activities and ensure they are risk assessed.
- Acting as GPA's subject matter expert supporting both Capital Projects, the wider GPA team and across Government, as required, on all fire and associated building standards and legislation.
- Providing authoritative expert professional advice on the fire safety strategy, compliance with relevant building regulations, and potential fire safety difficulties with capital projects, plans and proposals for both new builds and for refurbishments.
- Lead on Fire Safety Assurance services throughout all RIBA stages on delivery of projects.