Fire Safety Officer
The James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust serves a population of around 250,000 people in the Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft and Waveney areas. The Trust provides an integrated hospital and community children’s service.
Patient and staff experience is important to us and these are the behaviours we live by:
- Putting patients first
- Aiming to get it right
- Recognising that everybody counts
- Doing everything openly and honestly
‘Prior consideration will be given to NHS At Risk staff within East of England'
Job overview
To act as the appointed competent person for fire safety for the Trust. The post holder will be responsible for undertaking a program of suitable and sufficient fire risk assessments, providing competent Trustwide fire safety advice, developing and delivering a program of fire safety drills and ensuring that the Trust satisfies compliance with Fire Safety legislation.
Main duties of the job- Provide professional input to all matters relating to fire prevention and precaution issues affecting, or likely to affect the management of Trust fire safety. Maintain and develop specialist knowledge on current trends and keep abreast of relevant legislation.
- Provide interpretation and application of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO) and other official guidance in respect of fire safety in NHS premises. Ensure that fire safety statutory compliance is achieved and maintained.
- Create/review organisational policies and procedures relating to fire safety and ensure they are up to date. To be fully conversant with, and involved in, the Trust Risk Management system; in particular, incident reporting, hazard identification and risk assessment
Working for our organisation
We want to attract the best and brightest people to work with us and that means we will look after you from the moment you apply for a role at the Trust and throughout your career with us. Our staff are central to everything we do, and we believe that investing in you is crucial if we want to enable you to reach your full potential.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities- Provide professional input to all matters relating to fire prevention and precaution issues affecting, or likely to affect the management of Trust fire safety. Maintain and develop specialist knowledge on current trends and keep abreast of relevant legislation.
- Provide interpretation and application of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO) and other official guidance in respect of fire safety in NHS premises. Ensure that fire safety statutory compliance is achieved and maintained.
- Create/review organisational policies and procedures relating to fire safety and ensure they are up to date. To be fully conversant with, and involved in, the Trust Risk Management system (QSAFE); in particular, incident reporting, hazard identification and risk assessment.
- Assist the Director of Strategic Projects and the Head of Health and Safety in the development, dissemination and implementation of the Trust Fore Safety Policy/Strategy. Work with operational managers to ensure that fire safety is managed in line with the organisation’s strategy/policy documents. Ensure the effective and appropriate translation of fire safety strategy into practical application.
- Assist the Director of Strategic Projects and Assistant Director of Estates and Planning in the compilation of information for the annual fire safety review/Premises Assurance Model (PAM). Collate evidence to enable the Chief Executive Officer to sign the annual certificate of fire safety management.
- Carry out suitable and sufficient fire risk assessments as per the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO). Undertake specialist fire risk assessments within clinical and non-clinical secure environments as required. Ensure the dissemination and practical application of fire risk assessments to functional; heads and staff with specific fire responsibilities,
- Recommend prioritised actions in respect of fire safety improvements for Capital Investment with appropriate and periodic reports regarding the state of fire precautions within the Trust. Communicate complex fire safety-related information to senior managers and staff.
- Provide a specialist role in fire emergency planning, the impact with security issues ad the organisation’s business continuity plans. Ensure the availability, currency and dissemination of fire strategy drawings incorporating fire hazards.
- Assist operational managers in the arrangement of practical fire drills and recommend remedial action when necessary.
- Advise on the planning and design of new or existing buildings/structures with particular emphasis on specifications for fire precautions, compliance with applicable fire legislation at both design and construction stages. Ensure appropriate measures are developed and maintained to control the activities of contractors working on site and ensure their activities do not compromise the fire precautions.
- Undertake specialist investigations of all fire incidents, producing appropriate reports for the Head of Health and Safety and the local manager with responsibility for fire safety issues.
- Maintain comprehensive records of all fire incidents and investigations ensuring that trends are identified and that advice is given to the appropriate parties for remedial action to reduce incidents. Assist in the development of a strategy for reducing unwanted fire signals within the organisation and liaise with the Local Fire Authority as part of the overall fire safety strategy.
- Establish and maintain contact with professional bodies, manufacturers and suppliers within the fire safety fields to maintain knowledge of technical developments, product appraisal and national trends.
- Take an active role in appropriate Trustwide, divisional and departmental meetings.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria- Level 4 fire risk assessment qualification or equivalent
- Membership of the Institute of Fire Engineers or equivalent
Experience
Essential criteria- Experience in the application of Fire Safety legislation, especially HTM-05.
- Experience in competently assessing and documenting fire-related risk
- Fire risk assessments and audits within a healthcare environment.
Skills
Essential criteria- Comprehensive knowledge of current fire safety legislation, especially HTM-05.
- Comprehensive working knowledge of fire detection, emergency lighting and other systems in relation to fire precautions.
- Highly developed specialist knowledge across the range of fire procedures and practices underpinned by theoretical knowledge and relevant practical experience.
- Good oral and written communication skills with the ability to prepare reports and policies and present across a diverse audience.
- Ability to assimilate and analyse large amounts of information quickly and accurately
- Working knowledge of NHS or other public sector environments.
The Trust is committed to ensuring that no job applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of their age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.
‘Prior consideration will be given to NHS At Risk staff within East of England'
Tier 2 Sponsorship : We are pleased to consider applicants who require Tier 2 sponsorship to work in the UK but it is unlikely that we would be able to appoint if a suitably qualified, experienced and skilled UK/Right to work candidate is available.Applying for entry clearance into the UK, must provide a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) will also be subject to this requirement.
Visa and Immigration
If you are wishing to apply for this role and would require sponsorship (this includes if you are already in a sponsored post and looking to change employer), you can determine the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship for this post by assessing your circumstances against criteria specified on the gov.uk website https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa/your-job.
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Please note that should we experience a high level of interest in this post, the vacancy may be closed prior to the stated closing date.