Fire Engineering Manager

Lead the Future of Fire Engineering in Victoria

 What if your next career move wasn't just about taking on a bigger title?

What if it was about building something of your own?

At Jensen Hughes, we're looking for an experienced Fire Engineering Manager to lead our Melbourne team and help shape the next stage of our growth across Victoria.

This is an opportunity for an established Fire Engineering leader who wants to go beyond project delivery.

You'll have the opportunity to lead people, build client relationships, win work, influence strategy, develop future leaders and help shape the direction of one of the world's leading fire engineering consultancies.

You'll still be close to the technical work but your influence will extend far beyond your own projects.

You'll help create the environment where talented engineers can do their best work.

You'll be in the room with clients, helping identify opportunities and solve complex problems.

You'll have the freedom to develop relationships, build our market presence and grow the Jensen Hughes brand across Victoria.

And you'll have the backing of a global organisation with some of the industry's most experienced technical specialists behind you.

Why Join Jensen Hughes?

• Lead a growing Fire Engineering team and help shape its future direction.
• Build something meaningful: influence how we grow our people, clients, projects and market presence.
• Have genuine commercial influence: identify opportunities, develop relationships and help win new work.
• Stay connected to the technical side while expanding your leadership and business impact.
• Develop people: mentor engineers, build future leaders and create a high-performing team culture.
• Build your personal brand within the industry and become a recognised voice in the Melbourne market.
• Work with major clients and iconic projects across commercial, infrastructure, healthcare, transport and other sectors.
• Collaborate globally with some of the world's leading fire engineering and safety professionals.
• Have autonomy: we're looking for someone who can take ownership, make decisions and drive outcomes.
• Keep growing: with access to global expertise, learning opportunities and a wide range of career pathways.

This role is ideal for someone who is already a strong Fire Engineering leader—or someone who is ready to make the step from Senior/Principal Engineer into a role where people, clients, strategy and growth become just as important as technical delivery.

JOB OPPORTUNITY

We are looking for an experienced Fire Engineering Manager to lead our Melbourne Fire Engineering team.

This is a broad leadership role combining technical leadership, people management, client development, business development and market growth.

You'll be responsible for creating a high-performing environment where our engineers can deliver outstanding technical work, while also helping grow our presence and reputation across the Victorian market.

You'll work closely with the wider Jensen Hughes leadership team to identify opportunities, develop strategic client relationships and ensure our team has the capability and resources required to support our growth.

Most importantly, you'll be a leader who is visible, engaged and connected to your people, your clients and the industry.

What You'll Be Doing

Lead & Develop People

• Lead, support and develop the Melbourne Fire Engineering team.
• Create a high-performing, collaborative and positive team culture.
• Provide coaching, mentoring and career development to engineers at different stages of their careers.
• Identify and develop future technical and business leaders.
• Support recruitment and workforce planning to ensure the team has the right capability for future growth.
• Help create an environment where people want to stay, develop and build their careers.
• Set clear expectations around performance, quality, utilisation and project delivery.
• Recognise high performance and address challenges early and constructively.

 Technical Leadership

• Provide senior technical leadership on complex and high-profile fire engineering projects.
• Review and provide guidance on fire safety engineering solutions and technical deliverables.
• Support teams in developing innovative and practical solutions to complex fire safety challenges.
• Maintain a strong understanding of the Australian Building Code, relevant Standards and fire engineering practices.
• Provide technical input into major proposals, client presentations and strategic projects.
• Continue to build your own technical profile and credibility within the industry.

Build the Market

This is where you'll have the opportunity to make a real difference.

• Develop and maintain strong relationships with key clients and industry stakeholders.
• Identify new opportunities and help convert them into projects.
• Work closely with our technical teams to understand where we can create value for clients.
• Participate in client meetings, presentations, networking events and industry forums.
• Develop strategies to increase Jensen Hughes' presence and reputation across the Victorian market.
• Represent Jensen Hughes at industry events and within professional networks.
• Build a strong personal and company profile within the Fire Engineering industry.
• Work with our wider business development and marketing teams to create opportunities and promote our expertise.
• Help develop annual business plans and growth objectives.
• Monitor market opportunities, client pipelines and future workload.
• Support proposal development, fee negotiations and major tender opportunities.

What We're Looking For

We're looking for someone who combines technical credibility with leadership, commercial thinking and an ability to build relationships.

You'll ideally have:

• Significant experience in Fire Engineering, with strong technical knowledge and project experience.
• Chartered status preferred or ability to obtain chartered status.
• Experience leading complex fire engineering projects from inception through to completion.
• Previous experience managing, mentoring or leading engineers.
• Strong understanding of the Australian Building Code and relevant fire safety Standards.
• Strong client management and relationship-building skills.
• Experience in business development, networking and winning work.
• A strong professional network across the Victorian construction, property, engineering or fire industries.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Commercial awareness and an understanding of what drives a successful consulting business.
• The ability to balance technical quality, people, clients and commercial outcomes.
• A genuine interest in developing people and building high-performing teams.
• The confidence to represent Jensen Hughes externally and build our profile in the market.
• A willingness to challenge conventional thinking and look for better ways of doing things.

Most importantly, we're looking for someone who wants to build.

Someone who sees an opportunity and thinks:

"How can we make this better?"

"How can we grow this team?"

"Who should we be working with?"

"What could this business look like in three years?"

You'll have the backing of a global organisation, while having the bells and whistles that help you perform the role.

• Work alongside some of the industry's most respected professionals.
• Flexible working arrangements.
• Casual Friday.
• Regular monthly social activities and other celebrations.
• Five weeks annual leave.
• Company paid parental leave.
• Career development and ongoing internal and external learning opportunities.
• Perks, benefits and reward platform – Perkbox.
• A collaborative culture where people are encouraged to share ideas, challenge thinking and support each other.

If you're ready to take your Fire Engineering career beyond technical delivery and have a genuine influence on people, clients, projects and growth, we'd love to hear from you.

Company Overview

Throughout our worldwide network of experts, clients and communities, we are renowned for our leadership in fire protection engineering—a legacy of responsibility we have proudly upheld since 1939.

Today, our expertise extends across closely related security and risk-based fields, including accessibility consulting, risk analysis, process safety, forensic investigations, security risk consulting, emergency management and digital innovation.

Our engineers and consultants collaborate to solve complex safety and security challenges, ensuring our clients can protect what matters most.

For more than 80 years, we have helped mitigate risks that threaten lives, property and reputations. Through technology, expertise and industry-leading research, we remain dedicated to our purpose of making our world safe, secure and resilient.

At Jensen Hughes, we believe that creating and sustaining a culture of trust, integrity and professional growth starts with putting our people first. Our employees are our greatest strength, and we value the unique perspectives and talents they bring to our organisation.

Our global Employee Networks connect people from across the organisation, supporting career development and providing forums for individuals to share experiences on topics they're passionate about.

Together, we're cultivating a connected culture where everyone has the opportunity to learn, grow and succeed.

#LI-JS111

Jensen Hughes is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or protected veteran status.

At Jensen Hughes, we embrace innovation and understand that people are increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT and other generative platforms to learn, prepare and communicate.  We have provided some guidelines regarding the responsible use of AI in the recruitment process.  Please click here to review.

The security of your personal data is important to us. Jensen Hughes has implemented reasonable physical, technical, and administrative security standards to protect personal data from loss, misuse, alteration, or destruction. We protect your personal data against unauthorized access, use, or disclosure, using security technologies and procedures, such as encryption and limited access. Only authorized individuals may access your personal data for the purpose for which it was collected, and these individuals receive training about the importance of protecting personal data.  Jensen Hughes is committed to compliance with all relevant data privacy laws in all areas where we do business, including, but not limited to, the GDPR and the CCPA.  Additionally, our service providers are contractually bound to maintain the confidentiality of personal data and may not use the information for any unauthorized purpose.

*Policy on use of 3rd party recruiting agency for direct placements

Jensen Hughes will occasionally augment a recruiting search through agencies for certain positions when business conditions warrant. Jensen Hughes will not accept resumes, inquiries or proposals from recruiting agencies as an acceptable method to consider a candidate. 3rd party recruiting agencies must sign a standard Jensen Hughes agreement after being evaluated and accepted by a Human Resources or Talent Acquisition manager, or member of the talent acquisition team. Hiring managers and employees of Jensen Hughes are not authorized to accept resumes, engage in fee-based searches through recruiting firms or sign a search agreement. Please note this policy does not apply to “staffing firms” or firms that are involved with hiring temporary staff. Any recruiting agency interested in being considered may contact our recruiting team at jensenhughesrecruiting.com.