Deputy Fire Safety Manager

This job is brought to you by Jobs/Redefined, the UK's leading over-50s age inclusive jobs board.

Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, (LGT), is a community-focused provider of local and acute care, delivering high-quality services to over one million people living across the London boroughs of Lewisham, Greenwich, and Bexley. We provide whole-life care and are here to support our communities to live healthier lives as well as taking care of them when they need us the most.

Employing almost 7,500 colleagues, affectionately known as Team LGT, we provide services at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich, University Hospital Lewisham, and at over a dozen community settings in Lewisham. We also provide some services at Queen Mary's Hospital in Sidcup.

We have recently launched our new vision and values to mark the LGT10 - the tenth anniversary of our Trust forming in 2013. Our trust vision is to be exceptional. In the quality of our patient care; our support for colleagues; and in the difference we make through our partnerships and in our communities.

To achieve this we value Respect, Compassion, and Inclusion; Being accountable over staying comfortable; Listening over always knowing best; and Succeeding together over achieving alone. You can read more about our visions and values here

Our hospitals and community sites provide a wide range of inpatient and outpatient services, as well as emergency and planned care. The Trust is rated as "good" or "outstanding" in over three-quarters of the services inspected by the Care Quality Commission.

Every year our work includes performing 10,000 procedures in our theatres; bringing seven and a half thousand new lives into the world; carrying out 570,000 visits to patients in their homes or communities and providing emergency care for more than 300,000 patients arriving in our busy Urgent and Emergency Departments.

LGT is a centre for the education and training of medical students enrolled with King's College London's GKT School of Medical Education. We are a training centre for nurses, midwives and allied health professionals. We are pioneering new roles that will support the changing needs of our patients and are one of the largest employers of physician associates in the country.

We are committed to working with our partners to deliver the best outcomes for our local communities. This means playing an active role in the South East London Integrated Care System (ICS), and in formal partnerships including the South East London Acute Provider Collaborative, provider partnerships with our local mental health trusts and borough-based boards of the ICS in Bexley, Greenwich and Lewisham.

Job overview

Deputy Fire Safety Manager

Based across all our sites. (University Hospital Lewisham, Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Community sites)

Main duties of the job

To ensure the Trust is compliant with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRO) and Firecode HTM-05-01 Managing Healthcare Fire Safety

• Responsible for the delivery of fire safety training
• To undertake fire risk assessments
• To act in support of the FS manager
• Advise the FS manager of issues
• Review and development of fire safety related policies, procedures and practices,
• Deliver FS improvements
• Convene the Trust Fire Safety Group, Deputise where the FS manager cannot attend a range of meetings.
• To ensure fire safety incidents are investigated and followed up appropriately
• To assist in the co-ordination and preparation of fire safety audits.
• Managers and staff to plan / simulate fire evacuations

To be proactive in raising awareness of fire safety issues by:

• Designing and implementing training programmes
• Providing an introduction to fire safety
• Provide training / refresher training courses for Trust staff

To maintain the Trust's risk register with regard to Fire Safety Risks.

In conjunction with external advisors (where necessary), advise on Fire Safety requirements for capital projects

To ensure records are maintained for:

• Fire Risk Assessments and Fire Safety Audits
• Fire Accident/ Arson / Incident Reports

Ensure the FRA programme is updated

To monitor and manage the Trust Fire Safety Advisory contract

Working for our organisation

Our people are our greatest asset. When we feel supported and happy at work, this positivity reaches those very people we are here for, the patients. Engaged employees perform at their best and our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) initiatives contribute to cultivate a culture of engagement. We have four staff networks, a corporate EDI Team and a suite of programmes and events which aim to insert the 5 aspirations:

1. Improving representation at senior levels of staff with disabilities, from black, Asian, and ethnic minorities background, identify as LGBTQ+ and women, through improved recruitment and leadership development
2. Widening access (anchor institution) and employability
3. Improving the experience of staff with disability
4. Improving the EDI literacy and confidence of trust staff through training and development
5. Making equalities mainstream

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To provide technical and professional advice on the management of fire safety to all levels of management, staff and design consultants.
• To act independently in the management of fire safety risk issues in response to issues raised to and including the authority to require the cessation of work by in-house staff and contractors if warranted.
• Responsible for ensuring compliance with all regulatory provisions regarding fire safety in all Trust owned or operated properties.
• Responsible for developing and implementing local plans for all wards and departments detailing actions to be taken in the event of a fire, ensuring there are regular reviews and the contents are fully understood by all staff.
• Compile monthly and annual fire safety statistics, analyse and produce reports to inform the Fire Safety Manager, Fire Safety Committee and Trust Board.
• Formulate and deliver a suitable programme of fire safety training to the whole of the Trust workforce. Methods to include e-learning, remote training using Microsoft Teams and face to face training methods as appropriate including specialist methods where appropriate such as the use of Evac-Chair and other associated evacuation equipment.
• In conjunction with the Fire Safety Manager to produce and regularly review the Trust fire related policies and procedures, updating where appropriate and communicating to all Trust employees.
• To provide induction training of new staff in fire precautions and procedures.
• To instruct staff in fire precautions, use of fire-fighting appliances and all other fire protection methods.
• To give instruction on patient and personnel evacuation.
• To arrange and carry out fire drills/evacuations annually at agreed times in conjunction with the relevant Managers.
• Plan, organise, conducts and report on emergency planning exercises of all types, with an emphasis on fire scenarios but potentially also covering other emergency planning, risk and threat areas. This includes regular communications test exercises, other Trusts, Local Fire and other Resilience Forums and other Category 1 & 2 Responders.
• Carry out audits of the Trust portfolio on a regular basis to ensure standards of fire prevention and safety are maintained.
• To ensure that fire precautions meet the standards set out in documents issued by the Department of Health and with other statutory requirements and recommendations of relevant codes of practice.
• Liaise with Trust staff and others when conducting fire safety audits and fire risk assessments, compile standardised professional management reports as necessary and incorporate within the Estates and Facilities Directorate management systems. To provide support and guidance to the Estates & Facilities Directorate on compliance with Fire Safety legislation.
• To report all deviations from the standards statutory requirements and codes of practice to the Fire Safety Manager.
• To review new fire legislation and regulations and, where necessary, provide briefing notes and draft policies and procedures for comment/approval by appropriate groups.
• To undertake fire risk assessments in all premises managed by the Trust. Prepare reports and prioritise action plans following risk assessments.
• As appropriate, implement the proposals outlined in the action plan and/or assist in the co-ordination/implementation of the action plan.
• Monitor the implementation of the action plan and report any deviations from the plan to the appropriate Director.
• Maintain comprehensive records of all fire incidents and investigations.
• Act as Trust representative in meetings with the local fire authority.
• In collaboration with Trust services, ensure that all fire-fighting equipment is maintained and available for use at all times.
• To carry out selective testing of equipment as required, ensuring fully operational.
• To maintain records of all training, drills and risk assessments carried out on all Trust premises.
• To advise relevant Managers and Workforce and Education of staff attendance at fire lectures, training sessions etc.
• Make appropriate recommendations for future safety and to minimise unwanted fire signals based on the recorded information.
• In the event of a fire, to undertake a full investigation as to cause and, if appropriate, put forward proposals to reduce the risk of recurrence.
• To prepare ad hoc reports when required by the Fire Safety Manager, General Manager or Director of Estates & Facilities.
• Keep records of all fire incidents and false alarms, and ensure that fire reports are prepared in a timely manner to a standard format and where necessary issue remedial advice on the emergency. Manage the maintenance of fire safety records and the development of local fire safety manuals for Trust premises.
• Support the 24 hour emergency cover Fire Response Team and Fire Marshals delivering specialist training at regular intervals, attending all incidents when on site.
• Manage and supervise the adequate provision, siting and maintenance of firefighting equipment, life safety systems e.g. emergency lighting, fire safety signage and systems, ensuring all required records are maintained in a current state through audit and due diligence to confirm compliance.

Person specification

Qualifications and Training

Essential criteria

• Educated to a Masters level or equivalent
• Professional qualification relating to Fire Safety

Desirable criteria

• Fire Service or NHS Fire Safety Advisor background
• Membership of the IFE or equivalent

Experience

Essential criteria

• Able to demonstrate substantial fire safety experience
• Fire safety experience within the NHS or other large public sector organisations
• Experience in the application of fire safety legislation, Firecode and other fire related guidance documents.
• Ability to assess, develop and deliver comprehensive fire training and lectures
• Experience of preparing and delivering training courses.

Desirable criteria

• Fire risk assessment and audits within a healthcare setting.
• Comprehensive working knowledge of fire detection, emergency lighting and other active systems in relation to fire safety measures

We reserve the right to close the post before the stated closing date, please apply early. We do not contact applicants with the outcome of the shortlisting. If you have been shortlisted, you will receive an invite to an assessment day or interview.

As a local employer and anchor institution we work closely with our community to recruit locally and we welcome applications from the widest variety of people to ensure our workforce are reflective of the local communities which we serve. We encourage all suitable candidates to apply including if you are Black, Asian or other ethnic minorities, live with a disability (visible or not) or are LGBT+. We have a number of active staff networks including Disability, LGBT+, Multicultural Inclusion and Women's staff networks to bring staff together and celebrate diversity across our whole workforce.

Please note, not all roles will meet the criteria for a skilled worker visa.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Applicant requirements

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Documents to download

• JD (PDF, 185.0KB)
• Working at LGT (PDF, 4.2MB)