Capital Planning Manager

University of Chicago•Chicago, IL

5d•Onsite

About The Position

The Capital Planning Manager works under the limited direction of the Director of Planning and in coordination with Facilities Services senior leadership. The role manages capital planning and facility-condition and other building assessments for Facilities Services, coordinating the process from project prioritization and cost estimation for funding approvals through transition to Capital Project Delivery (CPD) project managers. The Manager directs architects, engineers, and cost consultants in developing project scopes, schedules, and rough-order-of-magnitude estimates, and serves as a technical resource to Facilities Services and the University community. This is a working-manager position that combines hands-on technical support with management of the Manager’s own projects. The position oversees the annual Facilities Services capital planning process and contributes to the University’s five-year capital plan. It coordinates project identification, risk assessment, prioritization, budget requests, approvals, consultant work, and the transition and follow-up of funded projects. The Manager also manages facility inspections and condition-assessment programs, develops and integrates assessment data, maintains cost and benchmarking resources, and prepares analyses and reports to support strategic planning and investment decisions. The role additionally contributes to space and urban planning initiatives and works with University units to implement approved plans. The position is based in a standard office environment and requires moving around campus and traveling to various campus locations to inspect buildings and grounds. Inspections may include mechanical spaces, penthouses, and rooftops. Some travel may be required. The work involves extensive computer use, reviewing architectural and engineering plans, and may include keyboarding, bending, stooping, light lifting, standing, and sitting for short or extended periods.

Requirements

College or university degree in a related field.
At least 7 years of work experience in a related job discipline.
Substantial knowledge of Microsoft Office, particularly Excel and PowerPoint, and database programs.
Substantial knowledge of SmartSheet.
Demonstrated ability to understand project budgets across design, construction, and project-delivery phases.
Strong problem-solving, quantitative, and analytical skills.
Detail orientation and ability to work independently and with people at all organizational levels to complete assignments, improve operations, and meet objectives.
Ability to establish data-collection and measurement standards and ensure they are consistently met.
Demonstrated management and organizational skills, including maintaining accuracy and attention to detail in a fast-paced environment with changing priorities.
Ability to direct consultants’ work.
Ability to participate in and lead teams that balance competing interests.
Ability to apply management principles, including planning, controlling, leading, and organizing, to meet responsibilities effectively and efficiently.
Excellent customer service skills and effective communication within and outside the department.
Ability to interpret University and departmental policies, procedures, and practices.
Oral and written communication skills suited to supporting decision-making at the highest management levels of a complex institutional organization.
Ability to integrate departmental user groups’ detailed functional requirements with broader project goals.
Detailed understanding of building systems, plant operations and maintenance, construction practices, contracting procedures, building design methodologies, and code requirements.
Ability to balance historic preservation needs with current program and code requirements and sustainability potential.
Ability to move around campus and physically tour and visually inspect buildings, including mechanical spaces, penthouses, and rooftops.
Ability to use a computer extensively and review architectural and engineering plans; the work may involve keyboarding, bending, stooping, light lifting, and standing.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in engineering, architecture, or a related field.
Ten years of experience in design and construction, construction cost estimating, establishing and monitoring project budgets, value engineering, and project management or related activities; or ten years in a leadership role managing operations and maintenance of a large, research-intensive higher-education building and infrastructure portfolio.
Owner-side experience managing architects and contractors in Facility Condition Assessment processes for building programs.
Experience developing historic preservation or heritage reports, conducting sensitive renovations of heritage buildings, and estimating costs for historic preservation and sensitive renovations.
Capital planning management experience at a higher-education institution.
Experience with data analytics and visualization tools such as Tableau, AI explorations, and dashboard development.

Responsibilities

Contribute to development of the University’s five-year capital plan under the guidance of the Director of Planning.
Manage the annual Facilities Services capital planning process, covering existing buildings and building systems, utility infrastructure, energy management and greenhouse-gas reduction, and campus-environment enhancement projects.
Coordinate development of annual capital budget requests, from project identification using facility condition assessments, work-order data, and input from Operations and campus partners through risk assessment, prioritization, and submission.
Align the capital planning process with the Facility Condition Assessment program.
Obtain approval from the department’s cross-functional capital planning working group and support recommendations in presentations to the Office of the Provost, Budget Office, and Office of the Vice President of Operations.
Review capital planning processes and coordinate and implement improvements, including consideration of AI opportunities.
Work with CPD project managers after funding approval to transition projects, assist with RFP development, and identify scope refinements and future funding needs.
Manage consultants, in partnership with CPD project managers, to develop project scope documents, schedules, and cost estimates for capital budget requests.
Develop and maintain a University cost database for estimating and budgeting, and maintain peer-institution benchmarking and local construction-market data.
Participate in the Facilities Services Project Review Committee to evaluate scopes, budgets, and schedules for proposed capital projects.
Facilitate departmental and University approvals and uphold FS2 performance-based guidelines to support operational and design excellence.
Manage the ongoing facility inspection program with Facilities Services Operations, identifying deficiencies and assigning correction timeframes and cost estimates.
Manage Facility Condition Assessment consultants conducting annual assessments to complete building assessments on a five-year cycle.
Update assessment data annually using new inspections, compile escalation data, and track completed projects.
Work with CP+S, CPD, and OPS to systematize collection of building-condition, heritage, and other facility data; establish evaluation matrices and a structured process for assessing the building portfolio.
Contribute to project-prioritization processes, develop rough-order-of-magnitude pricing, and manage the development and integration of renewal projects into near-, mid-, and long-range planning.
Analyze data from application systems, including FCA and Maximo databases, for project identification, strategic planning, and funding.
Prepare estimates, presentations, and reports, including campus Facility Condition Index forecasts and campus investment needs, and provide stakeholder reports based on collected data.
Interpret data from multiple application systems and report findings to relevant stakeholders.
Use integration between the FCA database and Maximo to cross-reference component-level data and support analyses and recommendations.
Manage the heritage reports program for the University’s legacy buildings.
Improve integration of facility assessments, including FCAs, heritage reports, elevator studies, and façade assessments, to support holistic project prioritization.
Coordinate with University units to establish consistent methodologies and metrics for building-condition assessments and reports.
Lead, plan, coordinate, and implement space and urban planning initiatives.
Lead space management, design, and sustainability activities, including seminars, conferences, workshops, and internships that promote departmental initiatives at the University and in the community.
Develop complex ideas that advance the University’s planning commitment and evaluate opportunities for technical feasibility, cost effectiveness, and acceptability to the University community.
Independently create detailed implementation plans and collaborate with units to implement approved project plans.
Perform other related work as needed.