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Fire Engineering Director

Contract type: Permanent
Location: UK-based
Working pattern: Remote, with travel offices as required
Package: Competitive salary, bonus & benefits package

About SVRO/Diamond & Co

We are on a mission to become the leading force in residential property management services. The global residential property management industry is currently undergoing a digital transformation. Our mission is to radically simplify living for families and individuals by delivering highly attractive and efficient property management services to building owners and associations as well as to residents. Our core belief is that digital technology combined with great people will play a central role in delivering a step change how boards and residents experience property management.

About the Property Services Division

The Property Services Division a newly established division, initially created through, the strategic integration of our established businesses: SRVO, our existing building surveying and risk assessment business, Diamond, our recently acquired surveying and fire services business, and additional recent acquisitions in valuations and fire safety. This newly formed division is poised to become a key part, enabling the delivery of high-quality people centred professional services to address client and customer needs.

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About the role:

We are seeking a highly talented experienced Fire Engineering Director to lead its fire engineering capability across a UK-wide residential property portfolio.

This is a senior leadership role, and the post holder will act as the principal technical authority on fire engineering, fire safety design, fire strategy and related technical risk. The role combines deep technical expertise with strategic leadership, commercial management, client engagement and governance responsibilities.

The Fire Engineering Director will lead a multidisciplinary team of fire engineers, technicians and support colleagues, ensuring the safe, compliant and effective delivery of fire strategies, performance-based designs, technical assessments and advisory services. The role will be central to supporting safety-first culture, regulatory obligations and growth ambitions.

Key responsibilities:

Technical leadership and assurance

  • Act as a senior technical authority on fire engineering, fire safety design and fire risk matters.
  • Set the technical strategy for the fire engineering function, including practice standards, design methodologies, assurance protocols and technical governance.
  • Provide expert review, challenge and approval of fire strategies, performance-based design solutions, computational analysis, evacuation modelling, compliance reports and other technical deliverables.
  • Ensure technical outputs comply with applicable legislation, regulation and guidance, including Approved Document B, BS 9999, BS 9991, BS 7974, relevant Eurocodes and equivalent regional standards where applicable.
  • Maintain technical oversight of complex, high-risk or high-profile projects, acting as an escalation point for critical decisions and technical challenges.
  • Keep the function aligned with evolving legislation and guidance, including the Building Safety Act, Fire Safety Act, Golden Thread requirements and Building Safety Regulator expectations.
  • Represent the company in relevant industry forums, professional bodies, technical networks and, where appropriate, standards or best-practice groups.

People leadership and capability development

  • Lead, manage and develop a multidisciplinary team of approximately 15–30 fire engineering professionals, including senior engineers, team leaders, technicians and support staff.
  • Define the team structure, capability requirements, workforce plans and succession pipeline required to support current and future business needs.
  • Attract, recruit and retain high-calibre technical talent.
  • Establish clear competency frameworks, development pathways and mentoring structures, including support for CPD and progression towards Chartered status.
  • Set clear objectives and performance expectations, providing coaching, feedback and accountability across the function.
  • Foster an inclusive, collaborative and high-performance culture built on technical excellence, continuous improvement and safety-first decision-making.

Business and commercial management

  • Own the fire engineering function’s commercial performance, including budget management, utilisation, profitability, resource planning and forward forecasting.
  • Work closely with business development, operational and commercial teams to shape client propositions, support bid activity and contribute to major opportunities.
  • Lead or support senior client presentations, technical proposals and strategic discussions for major commissions.
  • Build and maintain trusted relationships with clients, approving authorities, Building Control, fire and rescue services, regulators and other key stakeholders.
  • Identify opportunities to enhance services, improve efficiency and scale the function sustainably.
  • Champion the use of digital tools and improved workflows, including Golden Thread record-keeping and other technology-enabled approaches to fire safety management.

Governance, risk and compliance

  • Maintain robust quality assurance, independent peer review and technical sign-off processes across all fire engineering deliverables.
  • Own and manage professional indemnity and technical risk associated with fire engineering advice, ensuring appropriate documentation, competence checks and approval pathways are followed.
  • Ensure alignment with health, safety, environmental and quality management policies, including ISO 9001-aligned processes where applicable.
  • Support internal and external audit readiness by ensuring appropriate evidence, controls and records are maintained.
  • Promote consistent technical governance and risk management across the UK business.

Cross-functional collaboration and influence

  • Work closely with Technology, Legal, Finance, HR, Operations and other shared service teams to enable scalable, compliant and efficient ways of working.
  • Advise UK operating companies on fire safety strategy, design governance, technical risk and appropriate control measures.
  • Support consistency of standards and best practice across property management and engineering activities.
  • Champion knowledge sharing, lessons learned, innovation and continuous improvement across engineering, safety and property management communities.

Skills, experience and qualifications

Essential requirements

  • Chartered Fire Engineer status, such as CEng with the Institution of Fire Engineers, Engineering Council registration or an internationally recognised equivalent. Candidates able to demonstrate equivalent senior-level competence and professional standing may also be considered.
  • Degree in Fire Engineering, Fire Safety Engineering or a closely related discipline, such as Mechanical Engineering, Structural Engineering or Building Services Engineering.
  • Significant senior-level experience in fire engineering consultancy, fire safety design or fire safety management.
  • Strong experience delivering performance-based fire engineering solutions on complex, large-scale or safety-critical projects.
  • Proven track record of leading and developing technical teams of 15 or more people.
  • Evidence of building capability through coaching, mentoring, talent development and succession planning.
  • Deep knowledge of UK building regulations, approved guidance and relevant standards, including Approved Document B, BS 7974, BS 9999, BS 9991 and relevant Eurocodes.
  • Experience engaging at senior level with approving authorities, regulators, client executives and multidisciplinary design teams.
  • Strong commercial acumen, including budget ownership, pricing, resource planning, utilisation management and contribution to business development.
  • Right to work in the UK.

Desirable experience

  • Knowledge of Scottish building standards for fire safety.
  • Experience in residential, high-rise, mixed-use or property management environments.
  • Experience working with occupied building fire safety compliance.
  • Familiarity with safety case regimes, Golden Thread digital records and Building Safety Regulator requirements.
  • Postgraduate qualification in Fire Engineering.
  • MBA, leadership or management qualification.
  • Experience operating across multiple sites, regions or jurisdictions.
  • Experience contributing to industry forums, professional bodies, technical panels or regulatory engagement.

Skills and attributes

The successful candidate will be:

  • A credible technical leader with strong professional judgement in safety-critical environments.
  • Strategic, commercially aware and able to balance technical excellence with business priorities.
  • An inclusive and empowering people leader who develops, motivates and retains high-performing teams.
  • An excellent communicator, able to explain complex technical matters clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
  • Confident engaging with executives, clients, regulators, approving authorities, residents and multidisciplinary project teams.
  • Highly organised, with strong planning, prioritisation and attention to detail.
  • Calm, resilient and decisive when managing complex technical issues or urgent matters.
  • Committed to professional integrity, continuous improvement and a safety-first culture.

Additional information

  • The post holder will be expected to maintain CPD in line with chartership and professional body requirements.
  • Professional membership support is available where relevant to the role, including appropriate engineering bodies and property management accreditation routes such as TPI – The Chartered Institute of Residential Property Management.
  • Basic background checks may be required due to the safety-critical nature of the role.
  • Occasional out-of-hours support may be required for urgent technical matters, critical incidents or escalation support.

WHAT WE OFFER

  • Competitive salary, aligned to experience + bonus
  • 25 days holiday plus bank holidays
  • Annual salary review
  • Salary sacrifice scheme and option to buy or sell annual leave
  • Life assurance and private healthcare
  • Wellbeing support and employee extras (Spectrum Life)
  • Free eye tests and Cycle to Work scheme
  • Fully funded learning, development and professional training
  • Employee referral scheme with rewards up to £1,500

HOW WE HIRE

• Initial conversation with our talent team

• Interview focused on technical leadership, commercial judgement, governance and how you build high-performing teams

We aim to complete the process within two to three weeks and communicate clearly throughout.

Apply for this role

All applicants must be eligible to live and work in the UK. Documentary evidence of eligibility will be required.