People, Careers & Graduates
The people who make the places.
Our colleagues make OFR the great business that it is today and that’s why we invest in and nurture our team — many of whom have a shareholding in the company.
It’s something for which we’ve won recognition making the list of 2021’s Best Companies to work for.
Unlike multi-disciplinary businesses in our sector, we focus solely on fire engineering, and are one of the only businesses in our sector to directly employ a large contingency of expert fire engineers who help clients deliver viable, environmental, sustainable buildings and developments — without compromising on safety.
As committed professionals, we are helping our clients create future places, applying knowledge and expertise to safely bring architectural vision to life.
We want to keep OFR at the top of the game, that’s why we invest in knowledge, health and wellbeing. Every single OFR colleague can undertake professional development courses, training and seminars to expand their expertise. There are regular team wide seminars hosted by internal experts and experts from the wider fire engineering community as well as major team events and an OFR Wiki which provides a repository for reference information.
Since we were founded, we’ve operated with a flexible approach that embraces the individual needs of everyone that comes to work with us, including initiatives that allow paid time away from OFR to undertake charitable work in their community.
We’re also cognisant of our duty to support the wellbeing of our colleagues and have an agenda in place to ensure they are supported with schemes such as mental health advice, funded fitness sessions and health insurance.
Working for OFR means joining a culture and environment that supports personal development and fosters a shared passion for our goals and ambitions, as we continue to grow.
Careers
OFR Consultants have grown rapidly since our founding in 2016. We are always open to receiving applications from the brightest and the best in the industry.
This includes all grades, all locations, all skill types and experience levels. We have a flexible and entrepreneurial approach to recruitment, and will always listen to a good idea and examine opportunities with a positive attitude.
If you are engaging, enthusiastic and keen to work on unique and award-winning projects, in an environment that promotes innovation and likes to challenge the norm, then please contact us.
Working with us, you will have the opportunity to contribute to projects such as large and landmark high-rise buildings, historic renovations, theatres, hospitals, schools, iconic sporting venues as well as boutique local projects that change lives. We work on projects both around the UK and further afield, and have technical experts in many specialist fields including smoke modelling, evacuation modelling and structural fire engineering. As well as the design side of our work, the team engages in research, code development and thought leadership on UK and international platforms.
The team at OFR is focussed on quality, innovation and changing the way that fire engineering is delivered. That’s what our clients want, that’s what we believe the fire safety design, approval and construction sector needs and this is why we have built such a strong team.
Come join us…
We are always on the lookout for brilliant fire engineers and support colleagues to join our team.
If you’d like to be a part of our business, then we’d love to hear from you.
Email your CV
Graduate opportunities
Graduating or looking for that great opportunity?
We’d love to hear from you if you are about to graduate, or have recently finished university…wherever you may be based in the UK.
Whether you are in Scotland, the North West, London or the South West, our regional teams give each graduate the potential to become a technical leader in our field. We expose you to projects which are at the leading edge of fire engineering.
With teams currently working on projects from London to Manchester, Spain and Antarctica, we partner with the most creative architects, leading researchers, developers and contractors to deliver the most progressive projects.
Our ambitious team is made of great problem solvers and communicators, people who have joined us based on the opportunities we provide — affording them the chance to learn and grow on the job. Even without prior experience of the fire industry, we develop your skills and support you to work on pioneering construction projects all over the world.
We believe that diversity, experience and different mindsets brings a fresh perspective to every working challenge, so we make sure that everyone in the team is able to do their job well, whatever their needs, circumstances and background.
We are a friendly bunch. We enjoy working together and building relationships based on common interests and fun — being ourselves is an important part of the business and because of this we value the importance of a work-life balance by encouraging flexible working.
With special extras, such as an additional day’s leave for your birthday plus providing support to individuals who wish to undertake voluntary work each year, we are proud of the sustainable business that we have built together over the past three years.
Every autumn we open our graduate programme to students with degrees in wide range of disciplines. The programme supports you from your first day with mentoring, training, working on interesting and innovative projects, working with other graduates and more senior colleagues. We provide a bespoke development plan, to help structure your progress.
Applications for 2023 are now closed. Please check back next year.
“Working at OFR has allowed me to develop my skills whilst working with industry experts. I was fortunate enough to work and study, applying what I was learning at University to real live projects.
“It’s been a great place to start my career as even at graduate level you are treated as a valuable member of the team and continuously supported on a daily basis. The culture and work life balance offered at OFR was a huge attraction along with opportunities to undertake voluntary work.”
— Greg Miller studied Fire Risk Engineering at Glasgow Caledonian University and graduated in June 2019
Introducing our approved colleague share scheme and quarterly bonus programme
Our approach to fire engineering puts us at the forefront of creating safe and sustainable buildings across the world, but we want you to know that we are equally as pioneering when it comes to the way our business is run. OFR Consultants is owned wholly by the people who work with us — whose ownership is facilitated through our EMI scheme. It is part of an independent structure, which means that we can follow our own path, with flexibility that allows us to proactively respond to the market around us. Colleagues also benefit from a quarterly bonus scheme and the topline details of both are featured below:
So, what is EMI?
EMI stands for Enterprise Management Incentive — which is an HMRC approved employee share scheme, allowing employers to grant share options to employees as a reward for efforts within the business.
It’s all inhouse
All shares in OFR Consultants are owned by current employees, this means that no third party can hold shares, so all the benefits stay within our team.
Who can benefit?
Colleagues at Principal Engineer level have the option to be a part of the OFR EMI scheme, and by October 2023 we expect to have 40+ separate shareholders.
You’re in from the start
All new starters joining us from Principal Engineer level are invited to join the scheme in the April or October following the successful completion of their probation period; and they can expect to be a shareholder 12 months after that time.
What if I’m not at Principal Engineer level?
Fear not, as ALL OFR colleagues, regardless of their role, benefit from our quarterly bonus payment, whereby 10% of profit is paid out to staff pro-rated by salary every quarter.