Fire Marshal

Full Job Description

WHAT WE OFFER

The County of Ventura offers an attractive compensation and benefits package. In addition to the annual salary, an employee within this position may also be eligible for the following:

• General Salary Increase (GSI): 3.5% effective December 20, 2026, and 3.5% effective December 19, 2027.

Merit Increases: New employees are eligible for an initial 5% merit increase within the pay range upon completion of at least 1,040 hours (approximately 6 months), assuming work meets satisfactory standards.

Subsequent merit increases within the pay range will be upon completion of each additional 2,080 hours (approximately one year) from the initial merit increase.

• Educational Incentive: An educational incentive of 2.5% for completion of an associate degree, 3.5% for completion of a bachelor's degree, OR 5% for completion of a graduate degree.
• Annual Leave: The candidate selected for this position will earn 208 hours per year, increasing to 288 hours after 5 years of service, to 296 hours after 10 years of service, and to 304 hours after 15 years of service.

Annual Leave Redemption: The ability to “cash in” or redeem up to 100 hours of Annual Leave per year after using 80 hours of annual leave within the previous 12 months.

Effective Election Year 2027, the maximum annual leave eligible for cash out will increase to two hundred (200) hours (Management Resolution, § 1207).

• Holidays: 13 paid days per year which includes a scheduled floating holiday.

Deferred Compensation: Eligible to participate in the County's 401(k) Shared Savings Plan and/or the Section 457 Plan. This position is eligible for up to a 3% match on your 401(k) contributions.

Following five (5) years of continuous County service, eligible employees meeting the criteria in Sec.

1907 of the Management Resolution will receive a two percent (2%) non-elective contribution of their annualized compensation into their 401(k) account.

• Health Insurance Plans: Medical, dental, and vision plans for you and your dependents. A flexible credit allowance of up to $26,626.86 annually.
• Flexible Spending Accounts: Increase your spending power by reimbursement with pre-taxed dollars for IRS-approved dependent care and health care expenses.
• Retirement/Social Security: Defined retirement benefits vest after 5 years of service. The County and you also each contribute to Social Security. For more information, visit: www.vcera.org. If you are eligible, you may establish reciprocity with other public retirement systems, such as CalPERS.
• Additional Benefits: Tuition Reimbursement, Disability Plans, Employee Assistance Program, Life Insurance and Wellness Program.

THE POSITION

As the Fire Marshal, the selected candidate will lead the Fire Prevention Bureau in safeguarding lives and property through strategic leadership, managing enforcement of fire/life safety laws, and managing community risk reduction programs.

As part of the executive management team, the Fire Marshal coordinates with other Bureaus and divisions in implementing community risk reducing programs, directs multiple divisions/units, develops policies for operational efficiency, and allocates resources to protect over 840,000 residents across an 848-square mile jurisdiction including unincorporated areas along with the cities of Camarillo, Moorpark, Ojai, Port Hueneme, Santa Paula, Simi Valley, and Thousand Oaks.

This role is essential in shaping the department’s strategic goals, ensuring regulatory compliance, and driving initiatives that enhance public safety and departmental effectiveness.

Under the direction of the Deputy Fire Chief, this position supervises, plans, organizes, and directs all of the activities within the Fire Prevention Bureau, and is responsible for the enforcement of all laws, ordinances and regulations related to the protection of lives and property from fire; and public fire prevention education; and to perform related duties as required.

This is a single position classification allocated in the Fire Protection District.

The Fire Prevention Bureau is responsible for management and supervision of the following activities: Fire Systems Engineering; Planning and New Construction; Fire Safety compliance and Permitting; Fire Prevention Support staff; Fire Prevention Training.

This position may also oversee other fire risk reduction related activities, such as Community Wildfire Preparedness and Community Fire Risk Reduction Education.

AGENCY/DEPARTMENT: Ventura County Fire Department

The Fire Marshal is a Management position and is exempt from overtime. The position is eligible for benefits at the MB3 level.

The eligible list established for this position may be used to fill existing and future regular, temporary, fixed-term, intermittent and extra-help positions within the Fire Protection District. There is currently one (1) Regular vacancy.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE

OPENING DATE: March 30, 2026

CLOSING DATE: April 13, 2026

Requirements

Duties may include, but are not limited to the following

• Plans, organizes, and directs the activities of the Fire Prevention Bureau.
• Supervises, reviews, and evaluates the activities of subordinate staff and is responsible for disciplinary actions and grievances for all Bureau employees.
• Attends and represents the District at Planning, City Council, Board and County meetings, as appropriate.

Responsible for promulgation of codes and regulatory enforcement.

Ensures compliance with all local, state, and federal regulations for the County's unincorporated areas along with seven additional cities served by the Ventura County Fire Protection District.

This includes promulgating, interpreting, and enforcing the California Fire Code, Health and Safety Codes, California Code of Regulations, and other codes and standards.

• Analyzes and monitors the Bureau’s budget; approves all Bureau budget expenditures.
• Proposes, evaluates, and develops policies and procedures for the Bureau.
  
• Responsible for the department-wide fire company inspection program across a 34-station fire department.
• Coordinates the Bureau’s activities with other County agencies and federal, state, and local governmental agencies.
• Directs the development and implementation of new programs and activities.
• Oversees code/abatement hearings and appeals.
• Conducts and develops educational programs and training opportunities for the public.
• Directs the District’s community risk reduction education programs.
• May function as a member of the Incident Command System’s command staff during emergency incidents.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

These are entrance requirements to the examination process and assure neither continuance in the process nor placement on an eligible list.

EDUCATION, TRAINING and EXPERIENCE

Considerable management/supervisory experience in fire prevention which has led to the acquisition of the required knowledge, skills, and abilities.

The required knowledge, skills, and abilities can also be obtained by completion of a Bachelor's degree in Public Administration, Fire Administration or related field from an accredited college and five (5) or more years of progressively responsible experience in fire prevention programs, fire code enforcement, and hazardous materials which has included at least three (3) years of management/supervisory experience.

NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

Possession of, or the ability to obtain and maintain a valid California driver license.

HIGHLY DESIRABLE:

• Possession of a current Fire Protection Engineer (FPE) license
• California State Fire Training Fire Marshal Certification or equivalent
• International Code Council (ICC) Certified Fire Marshal

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Comprehensive knowledge of: modern principles of organization, public administration and management; the Uniform Fire Code; cause and spread of fire; public education and customer service program development and delivery; federal, state, and local laws pertaining to fire prevention; emergency management principles, including the National Incident Management System (NIMS).

Ability to: work cooperatively with those who have competing interests; liaison with local and state government officials and representatives; interpret and compose fire prevention regulations and standards; represent the District in public meetings and forums; supervise and evaluate subordinate employees; effectively communicate orally and in writing.

Supplemental Information:

Work is usually performed in an office environment, but incumbent may be required to travel to various sites including emergency incidents.

Additional Information

FINAL FILING DATE

Applications must be received by the County of Ventura Human Resources in Ventura, California, no later than 5:00 p.m. on April 13, 2026.

To apply online, please refer to our website at hr.venturacounty.gov. If you prefer to submit a paper application, please call (805) 654-5129 for application materials and submit them to County of Ventura, Human Resources Division, 800 S. Victoria Ave., Loc. # 1970, Ventura, CA 93009.

LATERAL TRANSFER OPTION: If presently permanently employed in another “merit” or “civil service” public agency/entity in the same or substantively similar position as is advertised, and if appointed to that position by successful performance in a “merit” or “civil service” style examination, then appointment by “Lateral Transfer” may be possible.

If interested, please click here (Download PDF reader) for additional information.

Note to Applicants: It is essential that sufficient information is provided under the Education/Work Experience portion of the application and supplemental questionnaire to thoroughly and accurately demonstrate your qualifications.

A resume and/or other related documents may be attached to supplement the information in your application and supplemental questionnaire; however, it/they may not be submitted in lieu of the application.

SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE – QUALIFYING

All applicants are required to complete and submit the questionnaire for this exam at the time of filing.

This supplemental questionnaire may be used throughout the examination process to assist in determining each applicant’s qualifications and acceptability for the position.

Failure to complete and submit the questionnaire may result in the application being removed from consideration.

APPLICATION EVALUATION – QUALIFYING

All applications will be reviewed to determine whether the stated requirements are met. Those individuals meeting the stated requirements will be invited to continue to the next step in the examination process.

ORAL EXAMINATION - 100%

A job-related oral examination will be conducted to evaluate and compare participating examinees' knowledge, skills, and abilities in relation to those factors which job analysis has determined to be essential for successful performance of the job.

Examinees must earn a score of seventy percent (70%) or higher to qualify for placement on the eligible list.

If there are three (3) or fewer qualified applicants, an Oral Examination will not be conducted.

Instead, a score of seventy percent (70%) will be assigned to each application, and each applicant will be placed on the eligible list.

Applicants successfully completing the exam process may be placed on an eligible list for a period of one (1) year.

BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION

A thorough pre-employment, post offer background investigation which may include inquiry into past employment, education, criminal background information, and driving record may be required for this position.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY: The County of Ventura is an equal opportunity employer to all, regardless of age, ancestry, color, disability (mental and physical), exercising the right to family care and medical leave, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religious creed, sex (includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and related medical conditions), and sexual orientation.

For further information about this recruitment, please contact Lucy Fernandez by email at lucy.fernandez@venturacounty.gov or by telephone at (805) 389-9679.