Building Surveyor (Building Remediation & Fire Safety)

Greystar Worldwide, LLC; London; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 75,000

Job description

ABOUT GREYSTAR

Greystar is a leading, fully integrated global real estate company offering expertise in property management, investment management, development and construction services in institutional-quality rental housing, logistics, and life sciences sectors. Headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, Greystar manages and operates over $315 billion of real estate in 250 markets globally with offices throughout North America, Europe, South America, and the Asia-Pacific region. Greystar is the largest operator of apartments in the United States, manages more than 1,000,000 units/beds globally, and has a robust institutional investment management platform comprised of more than $78 billion of assets under management, including over $36 billion of development assets. Greystar was founded by Bob Faith in 1993 to become a provider of world-class service in the rental residential real estate business. To learn more, visit www.greystar.com.

JOB DESCRIPTION SUMMARY

The Building Surveyor (Building Remediation & Fire Safety) will support project delivery utilising in depth building knowledge to identify and mitigate fire related safety risks, advise on permissible fire safety regulations, and develop high technical standards and guidance to support the business. The role will support the Director, Technical Fire Safety and Building Improvement on delivering fire safety compliance and provide support on technical due diligence on acquisitions and disposals, to review, digest, and report on fire safety concerns, advising on remedial strategies, impacts and residual risks.

This role sits within Capital Projects which delivers strategic, multi discipline, capital project works across Greystar’s purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) and build-to-rent (BTR) property portfolios across the UK.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Key Role Responsibilities

• Ability to utilise detailed technical building knowledge and analysis to support project delivery in new developments, existing buildings, and remediation projects, including Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls (FRAEW), Fire Risk Assessments, building defects, upgrading works, refurbishment projects, structural issues etc., to mitigate fire-related risks.
• Advise on permissible fire safety regulations (historic and current) and provide direction on compliance with current regulatory frameworks (including Approved Document B, British Standards, Fire Safety Act, The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order, Building Safety Act requirements, etc).
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of evolving fire safety legislation, Building Safety Regulator requirements, and industry best practices, and areas of responsibility by attending internal and external training sessions, and translate and present requirements into clear guidance to the wider Greystar team, project teams, and clients.
• Liaise with internal teams, and external consultants (for example, fire engineers, architects, structural engineers, and M&E consultants) where relevant, to integrate fire safety into broader design strategies and Greystar standards.
• Support the business with fire safety and building construction technical expertise to develop and maintain high technical standards, strategies, policies, procedures, and guidance, ensuring quality assurance, consistency and best practice standards, aligned with Greystar, Building Safety Regulator and regulatory requirements, are met.
• Assist in reviewing contractual documents for compliance with construction and fire safety project requirements and relevant legislation, supporting project delivery and mitigating risk.
• Work closely with the Director, Technical Fire Safety, Technical Due Diligence lead, and Investment teams on acquisitions and disposals, to review, digest and report on fire safety concerns, and advise remedial strategies and recommendations, impacts and residual risks.
• Support Greystar teams with fire safety information to support wider business strategy, BSR requirements and fire safety and building information requests.
• Identify, raise and collate relevant information in relation to potential claims through defect identification to relevant teams for review and pursual.
• Develop updates for leadership and the wider business capturing compliance audits / gap analysis and regulatory updates, alongside the development of initiatives to streamline and drive regulatory and Greystar standards compliance.
• Deputise meetings for Director, manage expectations and lead meetings where necessary to develop projects and strategies.
• Act as technical liaison and provide fire safety and building construction technical expertise and guidance to internal teams, asset managers, investment and external consultants.
• Lead and provide technical expertise to specific fire safety and building improvement projects, and where necessary, to develop overarching delivery strategies to enable wider project rollout to move forward fire safety improvements.
• Co-ordinate and update FRA actions using Greystar systems to drive compliance and action monitoring.
• Identify and recommended asset improvements in line with upcoming regulations and best practice, and relay recommendations on next steps to the respective internal stakeholders, and feed into the portfolios 5-year asset plans.
• Support document control via requesting and filing of project-specific information, to maintain adequate and accessible records.
• Proactive, self-motivated, and detail-oriented with excellent problem-solving skills.

Knowledge & Qualifications

• Degree in Building Surveying, Fire Engineering, or a related field.
• RICS Chartered (or similar)
• Knowledge of the building development/redevelopment industry, with demonstrable experience in building surveying, fire safety, or construction remediation projects.
• Experience with UK building regulations and relevant fire safety statutory requirements (historic and current).

Experience & Skills

• Detailed technical understanding of building fabric and fire safety in the built environment.
• Familiarity with fire safety engineering principles, active and passive fire protection, etc.
• Able to absorb complex information and assess requirements readily.
• A strategic thinker with the ability to approach fire safety challenges from both a technical and commercial perspective.
• Self-motivated with strong organisational skills and the ability to work autonomously, lead, and the ability to manage multiple timelines and prioritise effectively.
• Demonstrated willingness to be flexible and adaptable to changing priorities.
• Ability to develop and identify improvements on standards and processes, with consideration of live projects.
• Excellent communication, written and presentation skills, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence.
• Strong attention to detail and the ability to interpret data and other information accurately.
• Proven ability to work effectively both independently and in a team based environment.
• Provide a pragmatic and problem-solving approach, with good judgement to decide when to challenge, negotiate or compromise.
• Experience of managing payment and reporting processes.
• Proven track record of establishing and maintaining effective relationships.