Head of Building Safety Compliance in Kensington and Chelsea

Head of Building Safety Compliance

Location: South Kensington, London
Contract: Permanent, Full-Time
Working Arrangement: Fully Onsite

The Role

We are seeking an experienced Head of Building Safety Compliance to provide strategic leadership and operational oversight of building safety, statutory compliance, facilities management and maintenance across a complex, multi-building estate.

The successful candidate will bring substantial senior-level experience in managing building safety and compliance within occupied buildings, alongside a strong understanding of the Building Safety Act, Higher-Risk Building requirements and wider statutory obligations.

This role will lead the development and delivery of robust compliance, risk management and assurance frameworks, ensuring that buildings remain safe, legally compliant and operationally effective. You will work closely with technical specialists, contractors, consultants and senior stakeholders to manage building safety risks, oversee maintenance programmes and deliver continuous improvement across the estate.

Based fully onsite in South Kensington, this is a permanent leadership position requiring a proactive, collaborative and technically knowledgeable professional who can balance strategic planning with effective operational delivery.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for building safety, statutory compliance, facilities management and maintenance across a complex, multi-building estate.
• Ensure compliance with the Building Safety Act 2022, Higher-Risk Building regulations and other relevant building and fire safety legislation.
• Develop, implement and maintain effective compliance, risk management, governance and assurance frameworks.
• Oversee building safety risk assessments, statutory inspections, audits, compliance reporting and remedial action plans.
• Ensure appropriate building safety documentation, safety case information and golden thread records are maintained where applicable.
• Lead the identification, assessment, escalation and management of significant building safety risks and compliance issues.
• Oversee planned preventative maintenance, reactive repairs, statutory maintenance and building performance across occupied properties.
• Manage significant building incidents, compliance failures and complex remediation programmes, ensuring appropriate investigation and corrective action.
• Lead, manage and develop professional facilities, property and building management teams, promoting accountability and high operational standards.
• Work collaboratively with technical specialists, internal centres of expertise, external consultants, contractors and senior stakeholders.
• Manage maintenance budgets, resource allocation and expenditure, contributing to capital investment planning and long-term asset strategies.
• Oversee major refurbishment, capital projects, commissioning and building mobilisation activities where required.

Essential Experience

• Significant senior experience in building safety, statutory compliance, facilities management, building maintenance or a closely related property discipline.
• Significant experience managing safety and compliance across a complex, multi-building estate.
• Demonstrable practical knowledge of the Building Safety Act and Higher-Risk Building requirements.
• Experience leading and developing professional facilities, property or building management teams.
• Proven experience developing and operating compliance, risk management and assurance frameworks.
• Experience managing planned, reactive and statutory maintenance within complex, occupied buildings.
• Strong experience identifying, assessing and escalating significant building safety and compliance risks.
• Experience managing significant building incidents, compliance failures or complex remediation activities.
• Demonstrable ability to work effectively with technical specialists, consultants, contractors and senior stakeholders.
• Experience managing budgets and contributing to maintenance programmes and capital investment planning.

Essential Knowledge and Technical Skills

• Strong knowledge of the Building Safety Act 2022 and the Higher-Risk Building regulatory framework.
• Strong knowledge of statutory building compliance and associated assurance requirements.
• Thorough understanding of facilities management, building maintenance and asset performance.
• Good understanding of building and fire safety governance, including the interfaces between responsible specialist functions.
• Strong understanding of risk management, auditing, assurance and regulatory compliance.
• Ability to interpret complex legislation and translate requirements into practical operational controls.
• Strong leadership, decision-making, communication and stakeholder management skills.

Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate will be a confident and credible senior professional with the technical expertise, leadership capability and judgement required to oversee building safety across a complex estate. They will be comfortable managing competing priorities, making evidence-based decisions, escalating critical risks and working collaboratively to achieve high standards of compliance and building performance.

This is a permanent, fully onsite position based in South Kensington, London.