Overview
Fire Safety Advisor – Reading, Berkshire, RG1 8DB
Contract: Permanent
Salary: Competitive salary offering up to £60,000 per annum, depending on experience
As a UK‑based Fire Safety Advisor for water infrastructure operations, you will support Thames Water and the Fire Safety Manager to embed a robust fire safety framework in line with Thames Water’s Zero Harm vision. You will apply UK fire safety expertise—with a focus on HOP (Human & Organisational Performance) principles—to reduce fire risk, build organisational resilience, and foster continuous learning and a Just Culture.
What you’ll be doing as a Fire Safety Advisor
- Develop and maintain a fire safety strategy aligned with organisational health & safety vision
- Ensure compliance with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, relevant British Standards (e.g. BS 9990, BS 5839), and local authority requirements.
- Manage and review fire risk registers and assessments across operational and office sites; integrate outcomes into asset lifecycle management.
- Implement, manage and continuously improve a Fire Safety Management System—including policies, procedures, audit tools and KPIs.
- Lead risk-based audits and site inspections to assess control effectiveness and drive action planning.
- Facilitate incident and near-miss investigations using HOP methodology and Safety‑II thinking.
- Use HOP mindset in incident analysis: understanding work-as-done, local rationality, system-level contributors.
- Conduct post-incident reviews that explore “what normally goes right” to learn and prevent recurrence.
- Collaborate with operational managers, contractors, site HSW teams, regulators (e.g. Fire & Rescue Service, HSE), and design/engineering colleagues.
- Present fire risk and assurance insights and influence decision-making at all levels.
- Develop, coordinate and deliver fire safety training: fire risk assessor, marshal, and evacuation drills.
- Foster a Just Culture where issues are reported openly, and workers are empowered to contribute to safety.
- Define KPIs/KRIs and maintain dashboards tracking safety performance, control gaps, and improvement initiatives.
- Monitor industry developments and incident learnings across utilities and infrastructure; update standards accordingly.
- Lead fire-related projects (e.g., detection upgrades, maintenance improvements), embedding HOP‑informed enhancements.
Base location: Reading – With frequent travel
Working pattern: 36 Hours
What you should bring to the role
To thrive in this role, the essential criteria you’ll need are:
- NEBOSH Fire Certificate or Diploma (Level 4 or above), or equivalent fire safety qualification.
- Professional recognition. (e.g. IFE Graduate/Member, CFPS, NFPA, or equivalent)
- In‑depth knowledge of RRO 2005, relevant BS/ISO standards, and UK regulatory requirements.
- Extensive experience in fire safety roles (e.g. utilities, COMAH sites).
- Experience establishing or maturing Fire Risk Management frameworks.
- Skilled in fire risk assessment, audits, investigations, emergency planning, and capital project scoping.
- Proven stakeholder engagement: influencing senior leadership, regulatory liaison, and translating technical risk into strategic insight.
- Demonstrated application of HOP or Safety II approaches in investigations and continuous improvement.
- Competence in fire risk management systems, dashboards, and inspection/reporting tools.
- Strong skills in evacuation planning, drill coordination, and training delivery.
- Excellent verbal and written communication—including executive-level reporting.
What’s in it for you?
- Competitive salary offering up to £60,000 per annum, depending on experience.
- Annual Leave – 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with the length of service. (plus bank holidays)
- Car Allowance.
- Performance-related pay plan directly linked to company performance measures and targets.
- Generous Pension Scheme through AON.
- Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of you and your family’s health and wellbeing, and your finances – from annual health MOTs and access to physiotherapy and counselling, to Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance.
Find out more about our benefits and perks
Who are we?
We’re the UK’s largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for their taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people, and the planet to thrive. It’s a big job and we’ve got a long way to go, so we need help from passionate and skilled people, committed to making a difference and getting us to where we want to be in the years and decades to come.
Learn more about our purpose and values
Working at Thames Water
Thames Water is a unique, rewarding, and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you’ll enjoy meaningful career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.
If you’re looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people’s lives while helping to protect the world of water for future generations, we’ll be here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can build a better future for our customers, our region, and our planet.
Real purpose, real support, real opportunities. Come and join the Thames Water family. Why choose us? Learn more.
We’re committed to being a great, diverse, and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and want to ensure you feel supported throughout the recruitment process. If you need any adjustments, whether that’s extra time, accessible formats, or anything else just let us know, we’re here to help and support.
When a crisis happens, we all rally around to support our customers. As part of Team Thames, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up to support our customers on the frontline as an ambassador. Full training will be given for what is undoubtedly an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s also a great opportunity to learn more about our business and meet colleagues.
Disclaimer: due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
IMPORTANT: Before applying for this role, please make sure you have the right to work in the country where the role is based. Unless it clearly stipulates within in the job advert above that the hiring company is looking to or able to sponsor applicants it is deemed that the hiring employer will only consider applications from those able to comply with and work in the country where the role is based.
