Director of Facilities

Eataly North America•New York, NY

18h

About The Position

The Director, Facilities and Maintenance leads facilities strategy and operations across Eataly North America restaurants, markets, and caffès. The role oversees multi-site maintenance, building infrastructure, asset lifecycle and capital planning, cleaning and sanitation, security, utilities, compliance, emergency response, and vendor performance. It establishes consistent standards, systems, and performance measures across locations, manages facilities operating and capital expenditures, and partners with Operations, Food Safety, Health & Safety, Finance, Procurement, Legal, landlords, and Design and Construction. The Director ensures work is performed safely, efficiently, within regulatory requirements and approved budgets, and on schedule, while supporting facilities readiness for new openings. The Director provides leadership, management guidance, and technical direction to Facilities Managers and store maintenance teams across Eataly North America, including hiring, training, performance management, standard operating procedures, and technical resource allocation. Responsibilities span building systems and equipment, work-order and asset management standards, preventive maintenance, asset lifecycle and replacement planning, repair and capital projects, facilities KPIs, budgets, competitive vendor processes and contract management, and landlord coordination. The role ensures compliance with applicable building, fire, environmental, workplace safety, and life-safety requirements; manages inspections, testing, records, and permit renewals; and leads emergency response and business continuity planning for critical equipment failures and utility interruptions. It oversees facilities health and safety, cleaning supplies and sanitation programs, food-safety-related facilities corrective actions, security services, and utility management. The Director also collaborates with Design and Construction on new openings and capital projects, including maintainability input, facilities readiness, handover documentation, warranties, and service contracts. Travel to Eataly North America locations is required as needed. The position reports to the VP, Operations.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Facilities Engineering, Engineering, Construction Management, or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience.
At least 7 years of progressive facilities or engineering management experience in a large-scale, multi-site operation.
Demonstrated experience leading distributed facilities and maintenance teams and establishing consistent processes, standards, and accountability across locations.
Hands-on technical knowledge of commercial kitchen equipment, refrigeration and walk-ins, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, building management systems, hoods and fire suppression, elevators and escalators, and other building mechanical systems.
Working knowledge of federal, state, and local building, fire, environmental, workplace safety, and life-safety codes, regulations, permitting, and inspection requirements, including OSHA requirements.
Experience with capital planning, asset lifecycle management, total-cost-of-ownership analysis, and repair-versus-replace decisions.
Experience building and managing facilities OPEX and CAPEX budgets, forecasts, business cases, and variance reporting.
Experience leading RFPs, tenders, and contract negotiations, including vendor scorecards, MSAs, rate cards, and SLAs.
Demonstrated ability to improve cost, compliance, and service efficiency.
Experience with computerized maintenance management, work-order, or asset management systems.
Strong proficiency with Microsoft Office, particularly Excel and Word.
Strong leadership, organization, judgment, and written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to partner effectively with operational leaders, landlords, vendors, and cross-functional teams.
Ability to travel as needed to Eataly North America locations.

Nice To Haves

Experience in a supermarket, restaurant, hospitality, or other food-service environment.
Relevant facilities, engineering, safety, or trade certifications.

Responsibilities

Lead facilities strategy and operations across Eataly North America restaurants, markets, and caffès.
Provide leadership, management guidance, and technical direction to Facilities Managers and store maintenance teams, including hiring, training, performance management, SOPs, and technical resource allocation.
Manage building infrastructure and critical systems, including HVAC, electrical, plumbing, lighting, building management systems, commercial kitchen equipment, hoods and fire suppression, refrigeration and walk-ins, elevators and escalators, fire protection, and other mechanical systems.
Establish work-order and asset management standards across locations, covering preventive maintenance, records, repair prioritization, escalation, and timely completion.
Assess equipment condition and lead multi-year asset lifecycle and replacement planning, including total-cost-of-ownership analysis, repair-versus-replace decisions, CAPEX requests, business cases, and OPEX/CAPEX treatment.
Develop short- and long-range maintenance plans and direct site repair, construction, and preventive maintenance projects within approved scope, schedule, and budget.
Define and monitor facilities KPIs, drive corrective actions, and pursue continuous improvement.
Build, forecast, and manage store-level facilities OPEX budgets with Finance; monitor variances, control spending, and identify savings opportunities while maintaining safety, compliance, and service quality.
Lead competitive RFP and tender processes, prepare scopes of work and vendor assessments, and negotiate MSAs, rate cards, and SLAs with relevant partners.
Manage facilities service vendors, contracts, and performance for maintenance, cleaning, security, pest control, waste and grease disposal, utilities, and other services; validate invoices against contracted terms and approved work and supplies.
Clarify landlord and tenant maintenance responsibilities under leases, coordinate requests with landlord representatives, and follow issues through to resolution.
Ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, and local building, fire, environmental, workplace safety, and life-safety requirements, including OSHA requirements and relevant codes.
Establish processes for required inspections, testing, records, and permit renewals, including fire suppression, sprinklers, alarms, backflow, and elevators; implement escalation and corrective-action protocols.
Lead emergency response and business continuity for critical equipment failures and utility interruptions, including on-call coverage, emergency vendor agreements, escalation protocols, and contingency plans for refrigeration, power, and HVAC.
Oversee facilities health and safety practices, including hazard identification, contractor safety, and timely corrective actions, in partnership with Operations and Health & Safety leadership.
Oversee purchasing, inventory, storage, and safe use of cleaning supplies, and manage cleaning and sanitation programs, schedules, and quality standards.
Partner with Operations and Food Safety teams to ensure facilities, equipment, cleaning practices, and sanitation programs support food safety requirements; coordinate corrective actions after inspections and audits.
Oversee security services, coverage, and vendor performance, and coordinate with location leadership on security concerns and incident follow-up.
Manage utility providers, usage, and costs, and identify efficiency and expenditure-reduction opportunities.
Collaborate with Design and Construction on new openings and capital projects, providing input on maintainability, equipment, cleaning, security, and utilities, and coordinating facilities readiness, handover documentation, warranties, and service contracts.
Participate in meetings, workshops, and seminars to communicate and gather information required for the role.
Travel as needed to Eataly North America locations.