Chief Fire Officer - Kerry County Council

About the Role

The mission of the Fire and Rescue Service is to protect and rescue persons and property from injury or damage by fire or another emergency. The service responds to emergencies other than fires, such as road traffic collisions, hazardous materials incidents, water rescues, flooding, and other major accidental hazards. The service also aspires to prevent emergencies happening in the first place through a range of fire prevention and technical fire safety work carried out within the County and through various community fire safety initiatives. Kerry Fire and Rescue Service operates ten front-line fire stations with a vehicle fleet of 48 vehicles. The Fire Service Headquarters is located at Balloonagh, Tralee.

Reporting to a nominated Director of Services, the Chief Fire Officer will manage and administer an efficient and effective Fire and Rescue Service in accordance with the Fire Service Acts and applicable associated legislation. They will hold responsibility for the management and administration of Major Emergency Planning and Building Control and will also have responsibility for strategic planning and the implementation of any associated change requirements throughout the Fire and Emergency Services. The Chief Fire Officer may also be assigned responsibility for the management of any other relevant function(s) at the discretion of the Chief Executive.

A full Job Summary/Description is available in the Information Booklet.

Main Duties of the Job

Planning, directing, organizing, overseeing and managing: Fire Service Operations, Technical Fire Safety, Community Fire Safety, Building Control, Civil Defence and Major Emergency Management for Kerry County.

Ensuring achievement of KPIs and service delivery targets. Preparing and delivering detailed and accurate management and performance reports as may be required by Senior Management and Central Government in a timely manner.

Strategic Planning and Change Management in an evolving environment and working with the various stakeholders of the Fire and Emergency Services Department to develop a comprehensive balanced strategy for prevention, protection, and response in relation to the built environment and the enhancement of a Culture of Compliance in the Community which will be informed by national guidance and statutory legislation to ensure a fit for purpose fire service.

A full list of main duties is available in the Information Booklet.

Details

Location: Kerry

Closing date: 19 Nov 2026

Recruitment for this role is managed by publicjobs.

Benefits

Salary Scale effective from 1st June 2026: €93,698 - €95,995 - €98,283 - €100,582 - €102,874 - €105,177 - LSI 1 - €108,641 - LSI 2 €112,107

Hours of attendance will be fixed from time to time but will amount to not less than 35 hours gross per week.

The annual leave allowance for the position of Chief Fire Officer is 30 days.