DEPUTY FIRE CHIEF DIRECTOR

City of Toronto • Toronto, ON

10d • Onsite

About The Position

Reporting to the Fire Chief, the Deputy Fire Chief leads Toronto Fire Services’ Community Risk Reduction Division, which is responsible and accountable for fire safety inspections, fire investigations, public education and fire protection engineering. This role operates at the intersection of fire service, law enforcement, and the judicial system, while also advancing public education, fire prevention, and regulatory compliance through oversight of permitting, inspections, and enforcement activities. The Deputy Fire Chief ensures investigations, inspections and related functions are rigorous, defensible, and aligned with legislative requirements, provides executive leadership on high-profile cases and stakeholder coordination, and assumes the duties of Fire Chief as required.

Requirements

• Extensive senior leadership experience in a fire prevention, regulatory enforcement, inspections, investigations, or a related enforcement environment (e.g., fire services, policing, regulatory agencies)
• Demonstrated expertise in enforcement, inspections, investigations, and judicial processes, including experience providing evidence in court
• Experience leading large, unionized, multidisciplinary teams in a complex, public-facing environment
• Strong understanding of applicable legislation, regulatory frameworks, and enforcement practices
• Proven ability to manage politically sensitive issues and advise senior decision-makers
• Experience working across jurisdictions and with multiple enforcement and regulatory partners
• Post-secondary education in a related discipline or an equivalent combination of education and experience

Nice To Haves

• Experience as an Incident Commander for major events is an asset

Responsibilities

• Executive Leadership of Large, Multidisciplinary Teams: Lead a large, unionized and highly specialized workforce of over 200 professionals, including inspectors, fire investigators, engineers and public educators. Provide clear direction, accountability, and alignment across diverse functional disciplines, ensuring consistent service delivery and operational excellence. Create a culture of high performance, grounded in safety, professionalism, inclusion, and continuous improvement.
• Regulatory Enforcement & Judicial Acumen: Possess deep expertise within a regulatory and legislative environment, with a thorough understanding of the full judicial lifecycle from inspection and investigation to charges, court proceedings, and resolution. Ensure actions meet evidentiary standards and withstand legal scrutiny, particularly in complex, precedent-setting cases involving injury, fatality, or public risk. Bring a strong understanding of court processes as well as administrative rigor to avoid procedural gaps that could compromise cases or outcomes.
• Investigations/Inspections & Case Management Excellence: Provide strategic oversight of complex fire and life safety inspections and investigations, including fatal fires, and incidents involving the Toronto Police Service, Office of the Fire Marshal and the Coroner, ensuring thorough, defensible investigations and inspections that integrate technical expertise, legal requirements, and multi-agency coordination. Create a culture of best practice in investigative and inspection methodology, documentation, disclosure, and case continuity through to prosecution.
• Public Safety & Urban Risk Leadership: Lead fire prevention strategies in a complex, high-density urban environment, addressing risks across multi-tenant housing, encampments, transit systems, major events, and evolving development models, while balancing proactive and data driven public education and fire safety enforcement to support community safety and city-building priorities.
• Strategic Policy, Governance & Accountability: Direct the development and implementation of policies, bylaws, and programs aligned with Council priorities and directives and guidelines issued by the Ontario Fire Marshal, ensuring strong governance, operational consistency, and legal defensibility. Guide the team on sound documentation, performance monitoring, and compliance with legislation and collective agreements.
• Political Acuity, Issues Management & External Relations: Operate in a highly visible, politically sensitive environment, providing expert advice to TFS Command, City Divisions, Agencies and Corporations and Council. Manage complex, high-profile issues and build strong relationships with enforcement partners, regulatory bodies, and oversight agencies.
• Operational Command, Emergency Response & Community Engagement: Lead public education efforts that are inclusive, data driven and accessible, strengthening community awareness, safety, compliance, and trust.

Benefits

• The City is an equal opportunity employer, dedicated to creating a workplace culture of inclusiveness that reflects the diverse residents that we serve.
• The City of Toronto is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive organization.
• We are committed to providing barrier-free and accessible employment practices in compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).
• Should you require Code-protected accommodation through any stage of the recruitment process, please make them known when contacted and we will work with you to meet your needs.
• Disability-related accommodation during the application process is available upon request.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: Associate degree