DESCRIPTION

Under the general direction of the Environment, Health & Safety Director, the Fire Marshal (FM) is responsible for developing and implementing integrated fire and life safety programs to protect faculty, staff, students and the general public at UC San Diego. The FM has responsibility for the management of daily operations of the Fire, Life & General Safety Division (FLGS) with EH&S, which includes General Safety Programs of Environmental Health, Pest Control Services and Due Diligence program. General management duties include teambuilding, professional development planning, management of cross training, benchmarking performance indicators with other large universities, integrating programs to improve efficiency, developing and maintaining fire, life and general safety specific EH&S policies, and strategic planning for the Division.

The FM plans, organizes, and supervises staff and daily operations, addressing fire and life safety issues and planning for the future needs of the University. The FM develops and maintains the fire and life safety programs to meet requirements of the California Code of Regulations, Titles 19 and 24 as required by a Memorandum of Understanding, and Agreement with the Office of the State Fire Marshal. The FM manages fire prevention and life safety for all existing UC San Diego buildings. Routinely tours UC San Diego facilities, both owned and leased, to assess the overall status of campus fire prevention and life safety. The FM supervises fire evacuation exercises and fire drills, oversees fire extinguisher training and other fire and life safety training sessions. Investigates fires and false alarms at UC San Diego campus locations.

The FM acts as the Designated Campus Fire Marshal (DCFM) for the final construction review of building plans, construction inspections, fire alarm plans, fire sprinkler plans, and inspections of built-in building fire protection features. The FM may also be selected by the Director of EH&S to be considered by the State Fire Marshal as the Lead Designated Campus Fire Marshal. The FM shall provide final acceptance for building occupancy. The FM shall also develop and manage comprehensive fire and life safety programs for existing buildings. The Fire Marshal is responsible for review and approval of plans for large public events and theatrical performances to ensure fire and life safety issues and requirements are fully addressed. Inspects event set-ups to verify compliance with applicable fire and life safety concerns. The FM is authorized to discontinue operation of any university function or activity when imminent danger to life and/or health is observed.

This position has oversight for regulatory compliance in shops, food facilities, and pest control services to the UC San Diego Community. Address all requirements/demands of the Office of President, campus administration and impacted departments in these programs, and maintain benchmarking data for the Director of EHS. The FM is responsible for managing division personnel issues, screening applications, interviewing candidates and making decisions or recommendations of individuals for hire. The FM makes recommendations for employee incentive awards and salary increases, merit increases, or reclassifications. The FM independently performs employee evaluations, develops the annual budget and management of recharge accounts that are related to division activities.

• Must be willing and able to immediately return to campus during work hours and non-work hours for major emergencies (earthquake, fire, hazardous material spills, etc.). Ability to be available on-call and return to campus on short notice as necessary during non-work hours for EHS related concerns/incidents.

• Must be able to respond to periodic fire and life safety calls outside of normal working hours. Must be willing and capable to assist in emergency response activities which may include exposure to fire scenes, hazardous materials spills, and medical emergencies.

• Serve as EHS Duty Officer. Must be available on-call 2-4 times per year for one-week shifts to respond to UCSD in the event of an after-hours, weekend or holiday incident involving hazardous materials or requests for services that are regularly provided by the EHS department. May be requested to respond back to campus throughout the year to respond to EHS related incidents and/or for services provided within the employee’s subject area of expertise.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s and Master's degree in a civil, electrical, or mechanical engineering, public administration or closely related field, and progressive professional years experience including 2 years of supervisory and program development experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

• Five (5) or more years’ progressive professional level experience in the areas of fire and life safety management. Comprehensive and thorough knowledge and understanding of EH&S technical requirements, logistics, materials and operations, rules, regulations, laws, etc.

• Demonstrated knowledge and expertise in all subject areas across the EHS discipline. Knowledge of local, state, and federal regulations specific to general safety, occupational health and safety, chemical safety, biosafety, radiation safety, fire/life safety, emergency management, and environmental protection.

• Excellent management skills to effectively lead and direct subordinate staff. Good management skills to effectively lead and direct subordinate staff who are assigned duties in different programs. Skills to effectively integrate several highly regulated subject and program areas.

• Demonstrated leadership aptitude including clear focus on customer service as well as regulatory compliance. Experience leading staff as a strong and effective team gaining synergy across discipline boundaries.

• Comprehensive knowledge and understanding of EH&S technical requirements, logistics, materials and operations, rules, regulations, and laws. Comprehensive knowledge of fire and life safety applications of local, state, and federal laws, codes, regulations, standards, specifications, and policies, including the California Health & Safety Code; Titles 8, 19 and 24, California Fire and Building Codes; and NFPA standards.

• Comprehensive knowledge of the principles and practices of modern fire detection and alarm systems, suppression systems, and other fire and life safety systems and equipment.

• Demonstrated knowledge, skills, and ability necessary to execute incident management activities safely and effectively. Ability to analyze situations, evaluate the need for additional EHS resources and/or activation of the EHS response team, and assume responsibility for incident management. Ability to provide leadership during incident management until a transfer of responsibility takes place or the incident has been resolved.

• Excellent skills to appropriately and efficiently respond to and direct the response to emergencies and critical situations, including follow-up evaluation and critique of response efficacy, and to recommend, develop and implement changes to emergency response as required.

• Demonstrated expertise in project management, including planning, programming, and budgeting, following through, and providing prompt services, reports, and responses. Excellent skills to create, develop, and implement EH&S projects/programs.

• Demonstrated expertise in reading and interpreting complex plans, specifications, blueprints, shop drawings, and extinguishing system calculations.

• Demonstrated knowledge of budget and personnel procedures. Ability to develop an annual budget, monitor and adjust as needed.

• Proven ability to grasp needs and concerns in varied areas of research safety, and solve complex problems through compromise when necessary and appropriate. Demonstrated expertise in negotiating with outside agencies to obtain their approval for alternate means of compliance to state, federal, or local requirements.

• Demonstrated ability to prepare meeting agendas, run productive meetings and edit/publish minutes. Provide accurate follow-through and communication of all action items. Demonstrated ability to work independently, edit own work and follow up on projects. Ability to determine and create new and innovative ways to accomplish desired results.

• Demonstrated ability to maintain records accurately and lead projects to completion. Strong organizational skills and ability to effectively manage large volumes of electronic and hard copy records.

• Excellent written, verbal and interpersonal communications skills, including advanced political acumen and skill to effectively communicate with diverse constituencies in a highly political environment. Experience in active consensus-building and principle-based negotiation.

• Proven ability to communicate honestly, positively, and effectively with all levels of employees and faculty in higher education labs. Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively, both written and verbally, with senior management, administrative staff, executive officers of external agencies, architects, engineers, project managers, building inspectors, and contractors.

• Demonstrated ability to promote, develop and work with a diverse workforce. Ability to embrace and uphold the UC San Diego Principles of Community and promote cultural diversity within EH&S with sincerity.

LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS

• Must meet Office of the State Fire Marshal requirements for approval as a Designated Campus Fire Marshal within twelve months of employment.

• Technical certification, such as Fire Prevention Officer III, Building Inspector, Fire Code Inspector, or similar professional recognition, preferred.

SPECIAL CONDITIONS

• DOJ/FBI and DMV background checks and clearances required prior to hire. Job offer is contingent upon satisfactory clearance based on Background Check results.

• Must possess and maintain a valid California Driver License and participate in the DMV Pull Notice System as required for daily operation of departmental cars/light trucks.