Director of Support Services

Paradigm at the Prairies•El Campo, TX

3d•Onsite

About The Position

Paradigm at The Prairies is seeking a dedicated and highly skilled Lead Building Engineer to lead our support services team! This hands-on role focuses on maintaining building systems while overseeing a small team. This role ensures resident safety and comfort through hands-on maintenance of building systems, grounds, and equipment, while directly leading a maintenance assistant and providing oversight to housekeeping and laundry teams. Responsibilities align with federal, state, and local regulations, including the Life Safety Code, with full utilization of TELS for work order tracking, compliance documentation, and preventative scheduling.

Requirements

High school diploma or GED (trade certification preferred).
3-5 years' hands-on experience in building maintenance, with a preference for long-term care or healthcare settings.
1-2 years directly supervising small teams (e.g., assistants) in a single-facility setting.
Familiarity with regulatory surveys, life safety codes, minor repairs, and systems like HVAC, fire safety, and emergency equipment.
Experience with maintenance software (e.g., TELS or similar) for work orders, compliance tracking, and reporting.

Responsibilities

Perform hands-on repairs and preventative maintenance on key systems, including HVAC, plumbing, electrical, PTAC units, fire alarms, nurse call lights, internet/network setups, phone systems, and emergency equipment like generators.
Respond on-call to facility emergencies as needed.
Directly manage and mentor the maintenance assistant as an extension of your role, delegating tasks to efficiently complete maintenance duties, including repairs, preventative schedules, and compliance activities.
Provide higher-level oversight to housekeeping and laundry operations (which have their own department leads), including inspections, sign-off on compliance, assigning maintenance-related cleaning tasks (e.g., deep cleans impacting equipment or life safety), and ensuring a sanitary, odor-free environment.
Prioritize and schedule preventative maintenance using TELS to organize work orders from tagged assets, track progress, minimize reactive repairs, and generate reports for budgeting and audits.
Log all maintenance, service, vendor, and compliance activities in TELS, including incident reports, periodic tests/inspections for licenses and permits, and life safety requirements.
Conduct frequent facility rounds to monitor cleanliness, orderliness, and potential issues; resolve or delegate minor problems immediately and escalate urgent risks (e.g., In Jeopardy items) to the Administrator or Director of Plant Operations.
Manage department budgets for supplies, labor, and repairs in collaboration with the Administrator, monitoring inventory and replenishing products through established policies.
Solicit, evaluate, and coordinate vendors for specialized repairs or services, ensuring timely execution, cost-effectiveness, and documentation in TELS.
Hire, train, and develop qualified staff (focusing on the maintenance assistant) with a growth mindset; administer fair disciplinary actions and coordinate terminations with HR and the Administrator.
Oversee completion of all compliance-related tasks on time, including survey preparations, safety drills, and adherence to regulations.
Communicate effectively with residents, families, staff, supervisors, and external parties; attend departmental meetings, report concerns or incidents immediately, and foster collaboration across departments.