Life Safety Systems Manager
Location: Weybridge - Hybrid 3 days office / 2 days home
Contract: 3-6 Months
Rate: £(Apply online only) per day (Inside IR35)
Security Clearance: Active SC Clearance
Closing Date CV Deadline: 28th July COP (4pm)
Life Safety Systems Manager – Defra
Charlton Recruitment is recruiting on behalf of Defra for an experienced Life Safety Systems Manager to join a specialist team on an initial 6-month contract.
This is an excellent opportunity to play a pivotal role in ensuring the safety, compliance, and operational resilience of life safety systems across one of the UK's most complex scientific estates. Working from Defra’s Weybridge site houses the Animal and Plant Health Agency central laboratories, serving as the UK's primary scientific facility for animal health, disease surveillance, and the upcoming National Biosecurity Centre, you will provide technical leadership and governance across high-risk environments where safety, compliance, and operational excellence are paramount.
About Defra
The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) is responsible for protecting and enhancing the environment, supporting the UK's world-leading food and farming industries, and sustaining thriving rural communities. Defra's work impacts millions of people every day, from the air we breathe and the water we drink to the food on our tables.
Defra’s Weybridge site houses the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) central laboratories, serving as the UK's primary scientific facility for animal health, disease surveillance, and the upcoming National Biosecurity Centre
The Role
As the Life Safety Systems Manager, you will be the recognised Subject Matter Expert (SME) for life safety systems, providing technical leadership, governance, assurance, and compliance across the science estate - Specialist Laboratories and Campuses, Research Hubs, Environment and Plant Health Facilities
You will ensure critical systems remain safe, compliant, reliable, and operational while supporting maintenance programmes, capital projects, and continuous improvement initiatives.
This role is ideally suited to someone with extensive experience managing life safety systems within complex, highly regulated, or high-risk environments.
Key Responsibilities
* Act as the Subject Matter Expert (SME) for all life safety systems across the Weybridge site and wider science estate.
* Lead governance, assurance, and statutory compliance for life safety systems in accordance with legislative requirements, industry standards, and Defra policies.
* Take ownership of the full lifecycle of critical life safety systems, including:
* Fire detection and alarm systems
* Fire suppression systems (gas suppression and sprinklers)
* Emergency and escape lighting
* Smoke control and pressurisation systems
* Confined space safety systems, including oxygen depletion monitoring and man-trapped alarms
* Emergency egress and protected building infrastructure
* Ensure all life safety systems are maintained, tested, validated, and fit for operational use.
* Develop, implement, and maintain technical standards, policies, procedures, and best practice guidance.
* Undertake technical assurance reviews, compliance audits, and risk assessments, ensuring risks are identified, recorded, and appropriately mitigated.
* Lead and support technical investigations following incidents, producing detailed reports and recommendations.
* Act as the Intelligent Client Function (ICF), providing technical oversight of Facilities Management service providers.
* Review and approve engineering designs, modifications, and new installations to ensure compliance with statutory requirements and engineering best practice.
* Support capital projects through design reviews, Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT), Site Acceptance Testing (SAT), commissioning, and technical assurance.
* Maintain accurate asset data, technical documentation, and compliance records.
* Develop competency frameworks and deliver technical guidance and training for engineers, contractors, and end users.
* Monitor system performance, identifying opportunities to improve reliability, resilience, and operational efficiency.
* Build strong relationships with APHA stakeholders, project teams, contractors, and service providers to ensure effective collaboration.
* Support financial planning, lifecycle management, and prioritisation of maintenance and capital investment programmes.
About You
You will have substantial experience managing life safety systems within complex engineering or highly regulated environments and possess a strong understanding of engineering governance, statutory compliance, and risk management.
You'll also demonstrate:
Significant experience working in a high-risk environment as a safety or engineering professional.
Proven experience managing the full lifecycle of life safety systems, including specification, installation, commissioning, maintenance, and replacement.
Experience delivering or supporting engineering projects involving life safety systems.
Experience working with safe systems of work, including developing and reviewing risk assessments and method statements, particularly relating to engineering and decontamination systems.
* Experience managing contractors and ensuring safe working practices on site.
* Strong knowledge of life safety systems and their application within complex buildings and infrastructure.
* The ability to undertake technical compliance audits and provide expert engineering guidance.
* Excellent stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence and build effective working relationships at all levels.
* Experience using a variety of complex IT systems to manage contractors, suppliers, people, properties, and assets.
* Strong investigation skills, including engineering analysis and root cause investigation methodologies.
* Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Essential Qualifications & Experience
Bachelor's Degree in Safety, Engineering, Construction, or a related discipline, or an equivalent qualification such as the NEBOSH Diploma.
Membership of a recognised professional body such as IOSH, IET, or another relevant engineering or safety institution.
Professional registration or membership such as CMIOSH, IEng, or CEng is desirable; candidates who are actively working towards professional registration will also be considered.
Applicants should demonstrate substantial experience managing life safety systems within complex, high-risk, or highly regulated environments, together with the technical expertise and stakeholder management skills required to lead governance, assurance, and compliance activities.
This role is suited to an experienced life safety or engineering professional who can provide expert technical leadership, ensure statutory compliance, and work collaboratively with stakeholders to deliver safe, resilient, and compliant engineering systems.
What's on Offer
£500 – £585 per day (Inside IR35)
Initial 6-month contract
Based from Weybridge laboratories
Opportunity to work with one of the UK's leading Government departments on nationally significant infrastructure.
Play a key role in protecting critical scientific facilities and ensuring compliance across a complex estate.
Work alongside experienced engineering and facilities professionals on high-profile programmes

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