Crown Premises' Fire Safety Inspector

Job summary

Do you have a strong background in fire safety enforcement and are able to build strong relationships that will enable you to influence and challenge at all levels? Do you have exceptional communication skills?

If so, we have an exciting opportunity for a Crown Premises' Fire Safety Inspector to join our team at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and we'd love to hear from you!

The Crown Premises’ Fire Safety Inspectorate is a small, specialist team which ensures compliance with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order in government buildings, Parliament, Royal palaces and other premises which are owned or occupied by the Crown in England

Job description

As the Crown Premises' Fire Safety Inspector your responsibilities will include:

• Inspect Crown premises (alone and as part of a team) for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the Order.
• Act as Lead Inspector in terms of enforcement relating to one or more Crown departments.
• Audit the fire safety management arrangements of Crown departments and investigate fire safety failures following fires and injuries in Crown premises.
• Take appropriate enforcement action in accordance with the CPFSI Enforcement Policy (on CPFSI website) and the principles of good enforcement set out in the Regulators’ Code.
• Provide advice and guidance (through meetings and presentations, as necessary) to all stakeholders regarding fire safety.
• Liaise with fire and rescue services, other enforcing authorities, statutory bodies and others where joint working is necessary, to promote consistency, and for the purposes of risk information exchange.
• Provide compliance support as set out in the Regulators’ Code along with completing and updating risk-based forms and records and recording work activity.
• Draft letters and notices and providing general support and assistance to the Team Leader.

Person specification

• Accreditation to the Level 4 Diploma within the CFOA/NFCC Competency Framework for Business Fire Safety Regulators.
• Able to evaluate fire hazards and risks in complex premises and environments.
• Minimum of Graduate level member of the Institution of Fire Engineers or equivalent professional body.
• Full UK Driving Licence
• Possess excellent written and verbal communication skills, producing clear, accurate reports and correspondence and articulating complex information clearly to a diverse audience
• Effectively identify areas to improve and work collaboratively with team members and stakeholders

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £41,890, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government contributes £12,135 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.At MHCLG we offer many benefits that range from tailored career pathways and flexible working to MyLifestyle Childcare Voucher and Cycle to Work Schemes. For more information, please click here.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

Application and Selection
The application process will be split into 2 stages, testing the following Success Profiles:

Behaviours , Experience, Technical

Please ensure your CV does not contain any personally identifiable information.

Note: We do not consider direct CV applications. All applications must be submitted via the provided application link.

Important: Your CV and Cover Letter must be merged into a single document before uploading.

Stage 1: Sift (CV & Cover Letter)

Experience: Your covering letter should be no more than 1 page referencing how you meet the criteria set out in the job description.

Stage 2: Interview

• Behaviours: Making Effective Decisions, Communicating and Influencing, Working Together, Delivering at Pace

• Technical: Technical questions will be based around the essential skills and criteria as listed in the job description.

There will be a fire safety based scenario task to begin the interview. Further details will be provided prior to interview.

Sift and Interview Dates

Sifting is envisaged to take place the week commencing 26/01/2026

Interviews are envisaged to take place the week commencing 16/02/2026 and are currently being held remotely via videocall. This could be subject to change.

How We Recruit

Find out more about our recruitment processes here.

• Applying

• Sifting

• Interview

• Interview Results & Feedback

• Reserve List

• Near Miss

• Civil Service Grades

• We are a DCS, RIS & GPTWV employer

• Reasonable Adjustments

How to Apply

Find out everything you need to know before applying here.

You must review the following information from the MHCLG Career's Site before submitting your application. This step is essential to ensure your eligibility for the role and that your application is completed correctly.

• Security Clearance Requirements

• Civil Service Nationality Requirements

• Right to Work

• Artificial Intelligence

• Civil Service Code and Recruitment Principles

• CV Declaration

• Sponsorships

• Salary and Grade

• Existing Civil Servants

• Conflict of Interest

• Location and Flexible Working

• Fixed Term Contracts

• Internal Fraud Database - Internal Fraud Register

• Appeals and Complaints

• Conflict of Interest

Security Clearance Requirements

National Office: + SC

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Peter Holland
• Email : Peter.Holland@communities.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : recruitment@communities.gov.uk

Further information

If you are unsure about any part of the process or require additional information about the post to enable you to progress your application, you should speak to the Resourcing team - recruitment@communities.gov.uk. Candidates can appeal at any stage of the recruitment process if they believe there has been:

a procedural irregularity

an infringement of the Civil Service equal opportunities policy

exceptional circumstances which were not notified to the interview panel which might have affected performance on the day.

It is important to note that these are appeals about the process not the decision. In the first instance, an appeal should be directed to the MHCLG Resourcing Hub at recruitment@communities.gov.uk.

If the MHCLG Resourcing Hub is unable to satisfactorily resolve your complaint, you may contact put your complaint in writing to the Civil Service Commission, Room G8,1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ or by email to: info@csc.gov.uk