Director, Integrated Facilities Management

University of Ottawa • Lexington, MA

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About The Position

Facilities services are characterized by a dynamic and creative growing team where the winds of change are blowing, offering people like you opportunities to use your leadership and innovation skills to contribute to the achievement of their inspiring mission: to deliver best in class research infrastructure, reshape campus life and student experience, and provide a sustainable environment for students, researchers, teachers and community. uOttawa’s facilities encompass three main sites that are comprised of over 600,000 square meters of building space (over 6.4 million square feet), 42.5 hectares of grounds, 125 buildings and 4,500 beds in 11 residences. There are over 150 employees in Facilities, including Project Managers, Energy and Commissioning Specialists, Mechanical and Electrical Engineers, Architects, and space Planners. The facilities capital and operating expenditures are in the range of $100M for the University’s $2.0 billion assets under management. The 20-year Capital spending plan envisions $4.0 billion of new investment highlighted by uOttawa launch of project Top Shelf, a $300 million capital investment to build a new facility for the Faculty of Health Sciences at uOttawa’s River Campus, as well as a tower at the Roger Guidon campus to house uOttawa’s new Advanced Medical Research Center (AMRC). The Director provides strategic leadership, oversight, and direction for all facilities, maintenance, infrastructure, and building services across the university’s campuses and clients. This role ensures that the built environment (classrooms, laboratories, offices, residences, sports facilities, etc.) is safe, efficient, sustainable, and aligned with the institution’s mission, strategic goals, and regulatory obligations. The Director is responsible for balancing operational reliability with long-term strategic capital planning, energy and sustainability goals, regulatory compliance, and user service quality. The role manages spaces on campus to improve user experience and ensure their associated safety. The role develops and optimizes tactical and operational plans to enhance spaces while acting as the main liaison for all construction and move related projects. Key player in helping and facilitating the campus development of short/medium/long-term space plans geared towards optimization and enhance utilization. Responsible to ensure that building structures, building operating and monitoring systems for the university owned and leased properties are operated and maintained in a reliable, efficient and cost-effective manner to ensure a safe and comfortable work environment in which campus users can carry out their activities.

Requirements

• Degree in management or an equivalent combination of education and varied experience in management positions.
• Minimum of ten (10) years of experience in a management position, including at least 5 years of which in the domain of Facilities.
• Bilingualism, French and English (spoken and written).
• Knowledge of building management acknowledged by a recognized body, BOMI, FMI, CEFP, etc.
• Experience managing client relationship and a team that serves clients.
• Knowledge of inner workings of a university or a similar organization, especially from the perspective of Facilities management.
• Analytical skills with demonstrated ability to solve problems and manage conflictual situations.
• Ability to prioritize, plan and organize the work of a multidisciplinary team.
• Ability to work under pressure and meet strict deadlines.
• Proven ability to be impactful at all level, including senior managers.
• Demonstrated track record in capital planning, energy programs, and maintenance optimization.
• Knowledge of the legislation governing Occupational Health and Safety and Environmental Protection in the province of Ontario.

Responsibilities

• Strategic and operational leadership, including the preparation and successful deployment of an annual strategic and operational plan related to space and capital projects.
• Develop and communicate a compelling vision that provides a purpose and focus for the team and that broadly supports the overall mission for Facilities.
• Plan, prioritize and manage the workload of staff and external resources to achieve an optimization of resources to deliver strong value to the university.
• Ensure compliance to all policies, codes and regulations as well as develop, monitor and maintain the practices, policies and procedures for Client Engagement.
• Direct relationship with the leaders of faculties and services (Dean, CAO, Professors, Researchers) in order to ensure ongoing institution-wide satisfaction with Facilities services.
• Establish performance metrics, KPIs, dashboards, and continuous improvement processes for facilities operations.
• Advise senior leadership on policy, risk, capital priorities, space utilization, and facility standards.
• Prepare and manage facility audits, site inspections, and report to external regulatory bodies.
• Prepare, manage, and control the operating budget for facility management, including maintenance, utilities, consumables, staffing, and minor capital.
• Negotiate and administer contracts with external service providers, consultants, and contractors; manage performance and service levels.
• Lead human resources to ensure effective management of the teams under his / her responsibility by fostering a culture of service excellence, a philosophy of respect, openness to diversity and tolerance.
• Provide mentoring to employees to improve their crisis management and conflict resolution skills.
• Provide tools and training to ensure client satisfaction is a priority and the subject of continuous improvement: Implement the long-range facilities strategy developed by the Planning team which are aligned with the university’s academic, research, and sustainability plans.
• Work collaboratively with faculties, administrative units, research groups, IT, libraries, and other stakeholders to deliver facility services as per the agreed upon service standards.
• Optimize use of spaces and reduce costs and is accountable for the space performance and cost per square metres of the buildings on campus.
• Oversees the overall operational budget of Facilities Managers.
• Lead or support emergency response planning (e.g. building failures, HVAC emergencies, flooding, structural issues)
• Work closely with health & safety, risk management, emergency planning, and security units to coordinate preventive and reactive responses.

Benefits

• The University of Ottawa offers a generous pay and benefits package that includes a competitive salary, a defined benefit pension plan, group insurance coverage and an employee and family assistance program.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees