JOB DESCRIPTION

Employment status and working hours

Permanent, full time for 35 hours per week.

Full time hours at the University are 35 per week with the standard working pattern Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 17:00.

Organisation structure

Education and Students, School of the Built Environment.

Your line manager will be Nicola Allen, Head of School.

Place of work flexibility

You will normally spend your total working time at home*, which must be within the UK. You may, on occasions, be expected to attend the Horizons, Reading office to attend meetings or training events. This will total a minimum of six visits per year and dates will be notified to you in advance. *Working from home is only possible if your environment is suitable.

High level summary of job role

This is a key academic position within the School of Construction, Surveying and Engineering at the University of the Built Environment. As a Lecturer, you will support the development, delivery, enhancement and monitoring of undergraduate and postgraduate modules within the Fire Safety Engineering discipline, within a fully online higher-education environment.  You will support the University’s commitment to producing motivated, ethical and safety-conscious built-environment professionals, ensuring the curriculum aligns with UK legislation, industry standards, professional body requirements and emerging best practice in fire safety engineering.

Working collaboratively with academic colleagues, industry partners, and stakeholders, you will contribute to the development of course content, learning outcomes, assessment strategies, and teaching materials.

In addition to programme development, you will contribute to teaching and student support, supporting validation and accreditation processes, and helping to establish the programme’s reputation within the sector.

Specific job role accountabilities and responsibilities

• Be the subject area expert and advocate for Fire Safety within the School of the Built Environment team and the wider University.

• Be an active part of the academic community, taking on academic leadership roles, sitting on deliberative committees and mentoring staff.

• Deliver high-quality, inclusive learning, teaching and assessment within the Fire Safety discipline.

• Support the design, development and delivery of Fire Safety/Fire Engineering modules, contributing to related built-environment subject areas where appropriate. Modules and topics may include (but not limited to): Fire Science Fundamentals, Fire Safety Legislation and Regulations, Fire Risk Assessments and Management, Fire Engineering (dynamics and fire behaviour), and Active and Passive Fire Protection.

• Deliver engaging, inclusive, and pedagogically online teaching across Fire Safety modules. This includes live webinars, pre-recorded lectures, interactive learning, discussion and forums.

• Design and develop asynchronous online learning materials such as narrated presentations, videos, quizzes, case-based learning tasks, and structured activities that support students learning at a distance.

• Work with the Apprenticeships team to ensure the Fire Safety Engineering and Building Control apprenticeship students are supported appropriately, according to their contexts.

• Engage with employers, industry forums and Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Bodies (PSRBs) to ensure the programmes at the University are in alignment with industry requirements and skills needs.

• Support the University’s research, scholarship and industry-engagement ambitions through professional practice links and engagement with Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Bodies (PSRBs).

• Work with the University’s Online Academy in the development of CPD short courses for professional training in the Fire Safety/Engineering subject area.

• Maintain current professional knowledge of Fire Safety and engineering practice, legislation, safety regulation, and industry developments.

• Promote inclusive learning environments and support students with diverse needs, in line with the University’s EDI policy.

• Encourage professional body engagement (e.g. RICS, CABE, CIOB or IFE membership) and mentor students pursuing professional registration.

• Contribute to the University’s aspirations around Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) and Research Excellence Framework (REF) submission, including impact cases and journal paper publications.

Other important features of the job role

Line management responsibilities: None.

Budget responsibility: None.

In this role you will liaise with the following: Academic colleagues across the academic specialisms; Academic Operations team; Digital Education team; Professional Services; Apprenticeships team; Admissions team; Business Development team; Marketing team; External Professional Practitioners; Professional Bodies.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

E = Essential person requirement; D = Desirable person requirement

How the person requirement will be assessed:

A = Application; I = Interview; T = Test or other assessment

Please be aware that as part of onboarding processes, we will seek original documentary evidence of the relevant academic and/or professional qualifications which you include within your job application. This is all part of our comprehensive pre-employment screening which also includes checking your identity, right to work, criminal record history (basic disclosure), and three years employment history.

Qualifications and training

Professional teaching qualification such as Post-Graduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCHE) and/or HEA fellowship or willingness to achieve this qualification within 18 months of appointment (E, A).

Degree level qualification in Building Control, Fire Engineering or cognate discipline (E, A).

Full membership of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Chartered Association of Building Engineers (MCABE), Chartered Institute of Building (MCIOB) or Institution of Fire Engineers (MIFireE) (E, A).

A PhD in Fire Engineering (or cognate discipline) or equivalent professional experience (D, A).

Previous experience

Relevant industry experience in the role of a built environment practitioner, or established research/CPD or tutoring record to be able to deliver education in Fire Safety Engineering and related subjects, within the context of current and emerging digital and data environments (E, A, I).

Experience in the management of modules or equivalent continuing professional development, including familiarity with the administration of relevant quality assurance procedures and practice (E, A, I).

Teaching experience and/or ability to effectively communicate and deliver teaching in a variety of modes through the ongoing development of innovative teaching methods (E, A, I).

Technology Enhanced Learning/online learning and development in Higher Education (E, A, I).

Skills, knowledge, and aptitudes

Understanding of current developments in Fire Safety/Fire Engineering and Built Environment practice or education (E, A, I).

Familiarity with the requirements of professional bodies, practice and potential employers (E, A, I).

Ability to produce innovative module material to enthuse students and to integrate your specialist subject area holistically within the teaching of the wider discipline (E, A, I).

Ability to work effectively as part of a team, both communicating and collaborating with colleagues (E, A, I).

Strong and effective all-round communication skills, including presentation skills, with an ability to communicate with people of all ages and levels (E, A, I).

Strong IT and digital skills, due to being an online university, with an understanding of industry software relevant to the area of expertise (E, A, I).

A passion and keen interest in using technology to enhance learning (E, A, I).

Other requirements or special requirements

Alignment to the University’s core values of Passion, Integrity, Excellence and Support; all employees are expected to demonstrate our values at work (E, I).

Commitment to delivering positive outcomes for our students; we want our students to be successful (E, I).

You must be prepared to undertake mandatory online training should you be appointed including Data Protection, Health and Safety, Safeguarding, Prevent, and EDI (E, I).

PAY AND BENEFITS

Salary: Salary range £39,000 to £47,000 per annum.

Holiday: 26 days paid holiday (rising to 28 with service) plus paid bank/public holidays plus up to five paid closure days (typically between Christmas and New Year); all per holiday year Full Time Equivalent. Our holiday year runs from 1 August to 31 July. We also have a holiday buy and sell scheme in place. Sometimes the University does not need to close for five days per year and any balance (for example one day), can be used as a paid Wellbeing Day to take time out for your own physical or mental health.

Pension and life assurance: Pensions auto-enrolment to the Universities Superannuation Scheme which is a default salary sacrifice scheme. You may opt out of salary sacrifice but remain in the scheme, or you may choose to opt out altogether.

Family-friendly policies: Policies in place for all types of family-friendly statutory leave with enhanced pay available from day one of employment for some leave types. Access to Tax-Free Childcare (Government scheme).

Wellbeing: Full access to the Employee Assistance Programme as well as the Thrive Mental Wellbeing app. Several employees are trained Mental Health First Aiders and can support staff. We have a wellbeing policy and we focus on five pillars of wellbeing.

Sustainable travel: Cycle to Work and Electric Vehicle salary sacrifice schemes.

Parking: We have locked sheds for bicycles. For cars, for Horizons based roles, we may in the future be able to offer parking on site however you must not assume this will be possible. Every now and then we may have a spare parking space become available and you can ask to join the waiting list. The University is keen wherever possible, to encourage staff to commute as sustainably as possible.

Other health related benefits: Employer-funded Health Cash Plan (Simplyhealth) and voluntary dental insurance (Unum).

Other valuable benefits:

• Charity giving options available including one voluntary paid day, per annum.

• You will have access to Microsoft Office 365 applications for personal use.

• You will have access to range of lifestyle discounts and everyday savings.

• We offer learning platforms including LinkedIn learning.

On the Join the team page of our website, you will find the full list of employee benefits.

APPLICATIONS - THINGS TO CONSIDER

For an informal discussion about the role please contact Nicola Allen on email n.allen@ube.ac.uk. For any other enquiries please contact HR on 0118 467 2454 / 2433 or email recruitment@ube.ac.uk

Did one of our employees recommend you? If you apply on the recommendation of an existing employee, please make sure to mention their name within your application.

We're passionate about sustainability and we have a five-year strategic plan: We expect job seekers to be curious about who we are and what we do. We point you towards a couple of resources about who we are and sustainability.

Closing date and next steps

We will receive applications until the advert closes on Monday 09 March 2026 at 17:00. We will not consider late applications. Our ATS does not screen applications, we humans do. Applications may be reviewed prior to the closing date and occasionally, you may be invited to interview ahead of the closing date.

Interview details

Initial interviews are scheduled for the week commencing 23 March 2026. We'll ask you to tell us about any dates you cannot make, up to 4 weeks from the closing date; this helps us to plan interviews should you be shortlisted, prior to contacting you.

Interviews are normally carried out over Microsoft Teams or Zoom. Depending on the job role and place of work, your interview may be at our Reading or London office. Please be prepared for a two-stage interview process, held on different dates. As part of the interview process, you will likely meet a member of the Senior Leadership Team.

Note for internal candidates

If you are an existing employee, we request you inform your current line manager of your intention to apply for this role.