Fire safety manager jobs in Manchester
Are you passionate about making a real impact through safer, high‑quality environments? Do you want to use your estates, health & safety and compliance expertise to help drive meaningful change across a national charity? If so, Life Charity would love to hear from you.
We are looking for an experienced, proactive, and values‑driven Estates Manager to lead our Estates function and ensure our services, properties, and environments consistently meet the highest standards.
The Role:
As Estates Manager, you will be the driving force behind the quality, compliance and safety of Life’s estate. This role combines strategic oversight with hands‑on management of our property portfolio, ensuring all sites are safe, secure and operating to required standards.
You will:
- Lead Health & Safety and Premises/Facilities Management across the charity
- Ensure compliance with relevant legislation, regulatory requirements and internal standards
- Oversee risk management, audits, inspections and safety monitoring
- Manage the Estates Coordinator and foster a culture of continuous improvement
- Work with external partners to ensure checks are carried out (Gas, Fire Safety, Legionella, Asbestos, etc.)
- Manage property acquisition, disposal, leases, maintenance and contracts
- Develop and maintain estates policies and reporting systems
- Drive a positive, proactive health & safety culture across Life
This is a fantastic opportunity for someone wanting to lead meaningful change within an organisation that truly makes a difference.
What You’ll Bring:
We’re looking for someone who is:
- Highly organised, proactive, and able to take initiative
- A strong communicator with excellent written and verbal skills
- Confident managing estates compliance, risk, safety and property-related functions
- Experienced in managing a portfolio of properties (minimum 3 years)
- Able to lead others and support their development
- Skilled in identifying improvements and driving change
Qualifications/Experience:
✔ NEBOSH (or equivalent) in Occupational Health & Safety
✔ Evidence of continuous professional development
✔ Experience in data analysis or financial management (desirable)
✔ HND or equivalent in business/charity administration (desirable)
Information about the role:
For further information, please see the attached job description.
Please note, there is a requirement to drive for this role.
Salary: £38,000 per annum
Hours: 35 hours per week
Location: Home Based with travel to Leamington Spa and sites around the UK
Benefits:
At Life we are passionate about providing our employees with a supportive and engaging environment. As well as ongoing development and training, we offer our:
- Generous holiday allowance, starting at 25 days per year, plus 8 Bank Holidays (pro rata for part time hours)
- Birthday Leave (applicable after 1 years service)
- Additional annual leave for long term service
- Company Pension Scheme
- Signed member of the Menopause Workplace Pledge
Safeguarding and Equality:
Life is committed to protecting all staff, volunteers and service users from harm of any kind. Life expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment through our code of conduct.
We are committed to ensuring diversity and equality within our organisation by encouraging applications from all backgrounds.
All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks. Life takes its obligation to protect the rights of children and vulnerable people very seriously; therefore, the successful candidate for this post will be also subject to extensive background checking, including an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check (DBS) which is paid for by the Charity.
Direct Reports and span of control: Head of Property Compliance, Head of Mechanical & Electrical, Head of Specialist Repairs
Dimensions (budget holder, level of contract/systems etc responsibility):
- Responsible for delivery of compliance related services of over 30,000 homes, 90,000 customers
- Controls budget >£20m per annum
- Responsible for headcount of circa 200 colleagues including managers and trades
- Member of the Property Services Senior Leadership Team
- Representation at operational panels to support Compliance Delivery
- Organisation leader
Created/Reviewed date: October 2025
Role Purpose
Oversee a blended model of in-house direct labour teams and external supply chain partners, lead and empower your teams to successfully deliver effective building, mechanical, electrical and regulated compliance related works and services across the organisation's property portfolio to ensure our homes are safe and well maintained. Delivering against challenging KPI's, ensure continuous improvement and customer safety across gas, fire, water, electrical, lifts, M&E and asbestos.
Working with the Property Services Director and Assistant Directors to shape and implement the Property Compliance Delivery strategies to deliver effective building/property regulatory compliance in line with statutory, regulatory and policy requirements. Instrumental in leading change and embedding a positive, enthusiastic, and empowered culture that enables colleagues to deliver good performance and great customer service.
Lead on new ways of working including the use of modern digital solutions to make our business more effective, agile, and responsive, requiring a forward and outward looking approach as well as an open mind and applying Lean principles in decision making.
Key Accountabilities
- Shape and contribute to the organisation's long-term compliance strategy, ensuring alignment with national housing policy and emerging legislation.
- Lead on the effective management of statutory compliance, ensuring all regulatory and legislative responsibilities for gas, electrical, asbestos, fire safety, legionella, water, and lifts are delivered.
- Oversee the delivery of regulatory repairs within the required timelines such as Damp, Mould and Condensation, Disrepair cases, and HHSRS related complex repairs, oversee escalated complaints that require additional attention to de-escalate and resolve.
- Responsibility for preparing and presenting detailed assurance, risk and performance reports to the senior leadership teams and relevant committees / boards.
- Ensure services delivered have customers at the heart of decision making, proving excellent customer service which prioritises keeping them safe.
- Accountable for performance targets, budgets and work programmes, agreeing and monitoring these and ensuring team managers align and set objectives that deliver the strategic and directorate plan.
- Manage critical relationships with stakeholders both internally and externally including but not limited to, in-house colleagues and external contractors, senior stakeholders, governing bodies, external auditors and consultants and legal representatives.
- Lead a team which is capable of delivering all current and new regulated delivery, such as Awaab's Law, HHSRS, and disrepair cases.
- Lead on external audits, inspections and regulatory reviews.
- Ensure effective property compliance 1st line assurance is in place for all areas of service and works delivery.
- Lead on the development of the compliance schedule, creating programmes on a pre-emptive cycle to ensure that the business remains compliant.
- Recruit, manage, coach, motivate, and develop colleagues within your team in line with organisational policies.
- Critically evaluate compliance information and KPIs, producing regular assurance reports covering all areas of compliance performance, processes, procedures, and statutory responsibilities.
- Oversee the development and on-going review of compliance related policies and procedures, in line with legislation and industry best practice.
- Ensure a sustainable suite of competent specialist Supply Chain partners is in place.
- Ensure that business compliance responsibilities are complied with in respect of properties where there is no maintenance responsibility.
- Responsible for a responsive aspect of repairs and maintenance in respect of Gas/Heating b
We are recruiting a Head of Income and Engagement to provide strategic leadership and vision for two critical functions—Fundraising and Marketing & Communications—bringing them together into a unified, high-performing team. This role focuses on shaping strategy, building external relationships, and driving organisational growth through income generation and brand engagement, rather than day-to-day operational management.
You will set the direction for attracting significant funding, particularly through corporate partnerships, while strengthening what PAPYRUS already does well:
- Securing grants and trusts funding
- Harnessing the passion of our large, committed supporter base - including bereaved families and others who raise voluntary income for us
In a challenging financial climate, you will lead efforts to grow these income streams and maintain a strong, values-driven presence across press, social media, and broadcast channels. The role requires influence, innovation, and the ability to inspire all managers and staff, as well as external stakeholders.
Please visit the careers site for the full job description and person specification for the role.
Salary: £58,523 per annum (Scale SCP 46) progressing by increments to £62,852 per annum (Scale SCP 49)
Hours: 36 hours per week Location: Remote with regular travel across the UK
Contract: Permanent
Benefits: You will receive 28 days annual leave plus Bank Holidays (pro rata for part time workers), hybrid and flexible working arrangements, an attractive pension scheme, Simply Health membership, enhanced sick pay and enhanced parental pay. Please visit our website for more details.
Closing date: midnight on 22nd February 2026
We reserve the right to close the vacancy earlier if we receive sufficient applications so, please submit your application as soon as possible.
PAPYRUS is committed to the principle of equal opportunity in employment, and its recruitment policies are designed to ensure that no job applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of age, disability, gender re-assignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.
PAPYRUS is committed to safeguarding all children, young people and adults at risk that interact with the organisation. The organisation recognises its responsibility to safeguard the welfare of these vulnerable groups by a commitment to procedures to protect them. The charity expects all staff and volunteers to fully support and promote these commitments.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
