Operations Manager - Fire Protection

House of Commons

The House of Commons is a unique and exciting place to work right at the heart of the UK's thriving democratic system.

Behind the scenes, the House of Commons Service is made up of more than 3,000 employees who support and facilitate the smooth day to day running of the House. They provide professional services to Members of Parliament, their staff, and the wider parliamentary community.

Staff Benefits

In addition to your salary, we offer an attractive range of benefits including:

• 30 days' annual leave (increasing to 35 days after first full leave year).
• Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%.
• Access to training and development.
• Flexible working.
• Interest free season ticket loan and bicycle loan.

Introduction

The Parliamentary Security Department (PSD) is responsible for physical and personnel security across both Houses of Parliament and provides support to Members and staff when away from the Estate. Its purpose is to keep Parliament safe and open for business.

PSD sets security strategy provides expert advice and delivers an operational service. It does this in partnership with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and by working closely with the Parliamentary Maintenance Services Team (PMST), Strategic Estates, Serjeant at Arms and Black Rod's office, Restoration & Renewal teams, the Parliamentary Digital Service, and other key stakeholders.

The Fire Protection Team sits within the PSD Operations and is responsible for ensuring the Parliamentary Estate occupants are safe in the event of fire. This includes involvement in fire prevention and protection activities and providing 24/7 operational cover for the Palace of Westminster and the Parliamentary Estate - 365 days a year. The FPT act as bronze responders, and the Duty Watch Manager as bronze commander, on behalf of both Houses in the event of any fire related incidents as part of Parliament's formal Incident Management Team Framework.

The Role

This role reports to the Head of Security Operations (Delivery) and provides management and leadership of the Fire Protection Team within the Parliamentary estate. As the Fire ProtectionOperations Manager, you will have direct line management responsibilities for two Deputy Fire Protection Managers and 4 Watch Managers, and act as a countersigning manager to a wider team of Fire Protection Officers.

Visible, collaborative and engaging leadership are essential in assisting and empowering colleagues to achieve their full potential. Focusing on excellent customer service you and your team will ensure that Fire Protection standards and practices are consistently met, without negatively impacting on the customers experience of UK Parliament.
You will thrive on supporting your team at both an individual and a group level. You will have a passion for serving the Parliamentary Estate and be open to working in an environment which is going through significant change. Being part of the Leadership Team, you will contribute to our response strategies and our future plans.

You will own and manage risks associated with the day-to-day operational fire response and Fire Protection activities and provide assurance on planned, actual and forecast outcomes, drawing upon your experience and expertise. You are responsible for the correct and consistent application of PSD Fire Protection policies and standard operating procedures (SOPs) in line with the Parliamentary Fire Strategy throughout the estate.

Some of the responsibilities for this role include:

• Provide visible and effective leadership throughout the operation, promoting effective two-way communications. Give direction and support, motivate and delegate tasks where appropriate, in support of continued improvement and the professional development of individuals and the wider team.
• Oversee the recruitment, training and support of a sufficient number of competent persons across the Estate to take on duties of evacuation marshals and evacuation controllers, to meet the requirements of fire routines. Oversee and support the management of the FPT officers to ensure the delivery to the Service Level standards. Ensure the production of records and reports comply with departmental and both Houses procedures.
• Ensure provision of relevant fire safety information to persons occupying the Parliamentary Estate making sure that they are aware of fire risks, prevention measures and evacuation protocols.
• Contribute to the development of fire policy and the principles of the Equality Act 2010 and its implementation as it applies to fire safety.
• Oversee the testing and availability of facilities designed to protect the Estate, and those visiting, in the event of fire. This will include those requiring assistance i.e., provision of Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs)

Skills and Experience

To be successful in this role you will demonstrate:

• Ability to successfully lead and manage large diverse teams, with experience of setting realistic objectives in line with corporate objectives, monitoring performance, giving feedback and supporting development. Driving individual and team development through performance management and setting Key Performance Indicators in line with the Organisation policies and procedures.
• Operational experience at a senior management level in the public fire service and an established record of achieving measurable compliance within a large or complex organisation.
• A comprehensive and up to date knowledge, experience and understanding of fire legislation, building regulations, building fire precautions, practice and implementation.
• Effective written and oral communication skills; able to explain complex and technical information in understandable and meaningful ways to multiple and diverse stakeholders; managing ambiguity and balancing differing interests with tact and diplomacy
• A qualification in fire prevention or fire safety and a minimum of three years' service in a Fire Safety Department.
• Membership of the Institution of Fire Engineers or other professional body, together with proof of CPD.
• Registered to a recognised fire risk assessor register or fire risk auditors register (Desirable)

Next Steps and Additional Information

If you would like to apply for this role, please submit an overall statement with a 500 word limit and upload a current CV.

More information on the role and the full criteria can be found in the Job Description.

Shift patterns will be on a rota with earlies, lates and on-call responsibilities, and will include some weekends.

We may ask you to complete a presentation as part of the selection process, followed by a 45 minute interview.

If you are successfully shortlisted to the interview stage, we will provide you full details of the presentation topic.

Please note that most job offers will be made at the minimum of the salary range, other than in exceptional circumstances.

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