Lead Fire Safety Adviser

City St George’s, University of London is the University of business, practice and the professions and brings together the expertise and excellence of City, University of London and St George’s, University of London into one institution. The combined university is now one of the largest higher education destinations for London students, combining a breadth of disciplines across health, business, policy, law, creativity, communications, science and technology. Our students are at the heart of everything that we do, and we are committed to supporting them to pursue their career and personal ambitions.

Our research is engaged, at the frontier of practice and has a positive impact on the world around us.

Background

The Lead Fire Safety Adviser will be a key member of the University Health and Safety Team, part of the Legal Services, Governance, Risk and Compliance Directorate. Reporting to the Head of Occupational Health and Safety, the post holder will lead on fire safety across all campuses, ensuring a safe, compliant, and resilient environment for students, staff, and visitors.

Responsibilities

As Lead Fire Safety Adviser, you will play a pivotal role in shaping and delivering the University’s fire safety strategy. Working closely with the Head of Occupational Health and Safety, you will act as the University’s ‘competent person’, providing expert advice on compliance with fire safety legislation, policy, and best practice across all campuses.

You will lead the development of fire prevention and protection arrangements, undertake the fire risk assessment programme, and advise on the effective design and monitoring of fire systems. A key part of the role will be carrying out the building fire risk assessments, delivering training, supporting emergency evacuation planning, overseeing the Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans and embedding a strong fire safety culture across our diverse academic, research, and residential estate.

The role also involves close liaison with staff, students, NHS partners, and third-party tenants, ensuring that fire safety management strategies, policies, and procedures remain effective, responsive, and legally compliant.

Person Specification

The successful candidate will possess extensive knowledge of UK fire safety legislation and associated health and safety law, supported by relevant professional qualifications (e.g. Fire Risk Assessor Level 4, Fire Risk Diploma, IFE membership). They will have substantial experience managing fire safety in complex organisations, excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, and the ability to advise confidently on fire safety principles. Strong interpersonal, communication, and influencing skills are essential to embed a positive fire safety culture across the University.

Additional Information

Closing date: 21 December 2025 at 11:59pm.

The interview is scheduled to take place on January 2026.

The selection process will involve an interview and presentation. Further details will be confirmed at the interview stage.

City St George’s, University of London is committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion in all its activities, processes, and culture for our whole community, including staff, students and visitors.

We welcome applications regardless of age, caring responsibilities, disability, gender identity, gender reassignment, marital status, nationality, pregnancy, race and ethnic origin, religion and belief, sex, sexual orientation and socio-economic background.

City St George’s operates a guaranteed interview scheme for disabled applicants.

At City St George’s, subject to agreement, relevant Professional Services roles may be undertaken in a hybrid way, involving a mixture of working on campus and at home each week.

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