Building Safety Director - City of Vestavia Hills

Job Summary

The City of Vestavia Hills is seeking a Building Safety Director to oversee building safety operations, including inspection services, plan review, permitting, code administration, and enterprise permitting software functions. This position involves enforcing building codes and safety standards, supervising departmental staff and operations, managing the departmental budget, and providing strategic guidance on building safety matters.

Compensation & Benefits

The City of Vestavia Hills offers competitive pay and comprehensive benefits packages, including medical and dental insurance, employer-sponsored retirement plan (pension), generous paid holidays, sick and vacation leave, and more. The pay range for this job is $98,883 - $153,400.

Minimum Qualifications

• Driver’s license.
• Certification as an ICC Certified Building Official (CBO).
• Experience performing building inspections, plan reviews, or code enforcement activities to determine compliance with applicable building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, gas, and zoning constructions codes.
• Experience providing technical guidance to employees involved in building inspections, plan review, permitting, code enforcement, construction administration, or a closely related function.

Typical Job Duties

• Directs building safety, building inspection, inspection services, plan review, permitting support, and code administration operations by establishing priorities, developing procedures, monitoring work outcomes, resolving operational issues, and ensuring services are delivered accurately, consistently, and timely.
• Establishes and maintains departmental policies, procedures, and guidelines by reviewing and researching state and federal legislation, professional standards, and regulations to ensure departmental and organizational compliance.
• Develops and manages organizational budgets by compiling financial data, forecasting revenues and expenditures, and monitoring fund allocations in accordance with established laws, regulations, and policies to ensure fiscal accountability, support program objectives, and optimize resource utilization.
• Interprets and enforces building codes, zoning requirements, ordinances, and related construction standards by researching applicable codes, reviewing amendments, resolving code-related disputes, explaining requirements to construction professionals and the public, and ensuring consistent application of regulatory requirements.
• Oversees and/or conducts technical review of building plans, specifications, drawings, floodplain maps, and related construction documents by comparing plan components to applicable codes and ordinances, coordinating reviews with other departments, identifying deficiencies, and authorizing permits or required modifications.
• Covers permitting and development-related activities by reviewing permit information, resolving complex permitting issues, communicating with contractors, developers, architects, engineers, property owners, and city departments, and ensuring permitting activities support code compliance, public safety, and customer service standards.
• Manages municipal code enforcement software system operations, design, and development by implementing configuration setups, workflows, document templates, and fee schedules, communicating with permit technicians, plans examiners, field inspectors, and city departments, and ensuring software functionality supports technical proficiency, cross-departmental collaboration, and hands-on training standards.
• Supervises inspection, administrative, and related support staff by assigning and directing work, monitoring performance, providing feedback and training, addressing personnel issues, and participating in staffing and disciplinary processes to ensure efficient and effective operations.
• Provides service to internal and external customers by responding to complex inquiries, researching complaints, explaining building safety and code requirements, resolving escalated issues, and communicating decisions clearly to contractors, property owners, city officials, and the public.
• Oversees the maintenance of inspection, permitting, plan review, enforcement, and code compliance records by documenting inspection results, maintaining permit records, preparing correspondence, gathering information for legal or administrative proceedings, and ensuring records are complete and accurate.
• Engages in professional development by attending training, conferences, classes, etc. to maintain professional certifications and licenses, and remain abreast of current practices, trends, and regulatory changes relevant to the field.

Physical Demands

Work involves moderate physical exertion required for occasional prolonged periods of walking, standing, climbing, balancing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, or crawling during inspections or site visits. Work may involve occasional lifting of items or objects weighing up to 50 pounds.

Work Environment

Work is conducted both indoors in an office setting and outdoors during field visits to residential, commercial, industrial, and construction worksites. Work may involve exposure to active construction environments, uneven terrain, heights, weather conditions, noise, dust, mud, and other conditions commonly associated with inspection and construction sites.