Director of Facilities and Plant Operations

Sentara Health • Norfolk, VA

3d • Onsite

About The Position

The Director of Facilities and Plant Operations provides strategic and operational leadership for facility services, plant operations, infrastructure reliability, and related construction and space-planning activities at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. The director is responsible for maintaining a safe, reliable, compliant, and highly functional environment that supports patient care, team members, visitors, and hospital operations.
This leader oversees the day-to-day operation of the hospital’s complex physical plant and critical building systems, including electrical power, emergency power, mechanical systems, utilities, preventive maintenance, and other essential infrastructure. The director partners closely with hospital leadership, Facilities, Construction, Safety, Emergency Management, clinical departments, and external partners to ensure operational continuity, regulatory readiness, and effective execution of facility priorities.
The director contributes to the development and implementation of the hospital’s five-year facilities and construction plan and participates in capital planning, space planning, construction coordination, and related hospital committees. This individual evaluates facility needs, helps prioritize projects, supports renovation and construction activities, and ensures that infrastructure investments align with operational requirements and the hospital’s long-term strategic direction.
The successful candidate will be a highly visible, collaborative, and hands-on leader who can build trust with an experienced facilities team while developing a strong understanding of the hospital’s complex infrastructure. This leader will establish clear expectations, strengthen accountability, support the technical and leadership development of team members, and cultivate a culture of teamwork, responsiveness, safety, and service excellence.
The director maintains a high level of readiness for unannounced inspections by local, state, and federal agencies and accrediting organizations. This role also provides leadership for continuous improvement, change management, quality, human resource compliance, emergency preparedness, and activities that improve patient, staff, and visitor safety across the hospital campus.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required. Equivalent experience in facilities or plant operations leadership may be considered in lieu of the degree.
• Progressive facilities, plant operations, or engineering services leadership experience in a complex healthcare environment
• Experience overseeing critical hospital infrastructure, including electrical power, emergency power, mechanical systems, utilities, and preventive maintenance programs
• Experience leading facility operations in an environment that requires continuous operational coverage and rapid response to infrastructure issues
• Construction, renovation, capital planning, or major facility project experience
• Experience contributing to long-range facility plans, space-planning initiatives, and capital project prioritization
• Knowledge of healthcare regulatory requirements, life safety standards, emergency preparedness, environmental and workplace safety practices, and survey readiness
• Experience leading and developing skilled facilities professionals, supervisors, managers, and technical team members
• Budget management, vendor management, operational planning, labor productivity, and performance measurement experience
• Demonstrated change leadership, human resource compliance, quality improvement, and problem-solving experience
• Strong communication, relationship-building, organizational leadership, and collaboration skills
• Ability to work effectively with hospital executives, clinical leaders, construction partners, regulatory agencies, and facilities subject-matter experts

Nice To Haves

• Experience supporting a Level I trauma center, tertiary care hospital, academic medical center, or comparably complex healthcare facility preferred

Responsibilities

• Provides strategic and operational leadership for facility services, plant operations, infrastructure reliability, and related construction and space-planning activities.
• Maintains a safe, reliable, compliant, and highly functional environment that supports patient care, team members, visitors, and hospital operations.
• Oversees the day-to-day operation of the hospital’s complex physical plant and critical building systems, including electrical power, emergency power, mechanical systems, utilities, and preventive maintenance.
• Partners with hospital leadership, Facilities, Construction, Safety, Emergency Management, clinical departments, and external partners.
• Contributes to the development and implementation of the hospital’s five-year facilities and construction plan.
• Participates in capital planning, space planning, construction coordination, and related hospital committees.
• Evaluates facility needs, prioritizes projects, and supports renovation and construction activities.
• Ensures infrastructure investments align with operational requirements and the hospital’s long-term strategic direction.
• Establishes clear expectations, strengthens accountability, and supports the technical and leadership development of team members.
• Cultivates a culture of teamwork, responsiveness, safety, and service excellence.
• Maintains a high level of readiness for unannounced inspections by local, state, and federal agencies and accrediting organizations.
• Provides leadership for continuous improvement, change management, quality, human resource compliance, emergency preparedness, and activities that improve patient, staff, and visitor safety.

Benefits

• Medical, Dental, Vision plans
• Adoption, Fertility and Surrogacy Reimbursement up to $10,000
• Paid Time Off and Sick Leave
• Paid Parental & Family Caregiver Leave
• Emergency Backup Care
• Long-Term, Short-Term Disability, and Critical Illness plans
• Life Insurance
• 401k/403B with Employer Match
• Tuition Assistance – $5,250/year and discounted educational opportunities through Guild Education
• Student Debt Pay Down – $10,000
• Pet Insurance
• Legal Resources Plan
• Annual discretionary bonus if established system and employee eligibility criteria is met.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director