Director, Real Estate & Facilities

First Command Financial Services, Inc.•Fort Worth, TX

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Director, Real Estate & Facilities leads First Command’s real estate portfolio, corporate campus, physical workplace environment, facilities and grounds operations, physical security, emergency preparedness, and capital improvement program. The role develops and executes strategies that align space and facilities with business objectives and the desired employee experience, and advises senior leadership on real estate, occupancy and space planning, risk, capital, and facilities service-delivery decisions. It ensures that facilities, projects, leases, vendors, and workplace programs are governed and documented effectively, operated responsibly, and contribute positively to the employee experience. The position directs enterprise real estate, facilities, workspace, and campus strategy; workplace modernization and capital projects; real estate and lease activities; physical security and emergency preparedness; budgeting and vendor management; and compliance. It provides direct leadership to Real Estate & Facilities managers and functional teams, including mail room, imaging, and supply, and indirect oversight of contractors, consultants, service providers, and contingent workers. The role requires daily on-site work and readiness to respond to urgent facility, security, weather, or life-safety matters outside normal business hours, including 24/7 on-call emergency coverage.

Requirements

10 or more years of progressive corporate real estate, facilities, construction, workplace, or property-management experience.
Experience leading a complex facilities function and cross-functional capital initiatives.
Ability to assess and synthesize information and make well-informed decisions.
Strong collaboration and ability to influence effectively regardless of positional authority.
Clear, confident, and credible communication skills.
Holistic thinking and understanding of how contributions align with business objectives and people and culture strategy.
Professional composure while managing complex, ambiguous, high-visibility, and confidential matters.
Strong servant leadership, financial judgment, negotiation, and contract-management skills.
Analytical and problem-solving skills.
Ability to develop people and maintain accountable teams.
Ability to create and maintain productive partnerships across organizational boundaries.
Ability to lead and act in accordance with First Command’s core values of courage, love, and effectiveness.
Ability to work on-site daily and respond to emergency issues outside normal business hours, including 24/7 on-call coverage.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in business, real estate, facilities management, architecture, engineering, construction management, or a related field.
Experience successfully leading workplace transformation, capital projects, and adaptable workplace programs that support employee experience, safety, and business needs.
One or more recognized industry credentials, such as IFMA Certified Facility Manager (CFM), BOMI Real Property Administrator (RPA) or Facilities Management Administrator (FMA), CoreNet Master of Corporate Real Estate (MCR), or a recognized project-management credential.

Responsibilities

Develop and lead enterprise real estate, facilities, workspace, and campus strategy, including long-range space and occupancy planning, capacity modeling, and portfolio recommendations.
Advise executive and senior leaders on workspace strategy, employee experience, capital priorities, facility risk, lease matters, and operational impacts of business decisions.
Lead workplace modernization, renovations, construction, furniture programs, phased moves, temporary-space planning, and return-to-workplace initiatives from concept through closeout.
Serve as a business owner within applicable project governance, overseeing scope, budgets, schedules, procurement, change control, inspections, punch lists, approvals, documentation retention, warranties, and project closeout.
Direct real estate activities, including market evaluation, broker coordination, lease negotiation and administration, tenant strategy, occupancy reporting, landlord obligations, and assignment or amendment activity.
Establish and communicate standards for space, furniture, signage, wayfinding, conference rooms, shared workspaces, campus appearance, amenities, and employee and visitor experience.
Provide strategic oversight and continual evaluation of physical security, access control, surveillance, alarms, vendor access, parking controls, investigations support, and related policies, contracts, systems, and audit responses.
Lead emergency preparedness, evacuation planning, severe-weather readiness, crisis-management support, business continuity coordination, training, drills, and communication protocols.
Develop and administer operating and capital budgets, forecasts, expenditure approvals, financial controls, project cost tracking, invoice reconciliation, and management reporting.
Establish and maintain sourcing, RFP, vendor evaluation, contract, service-level, insurance, lien-waiver, and performance-management practices for facilities suppliers and contractors.
Ensure compliance with applicable building, life-safety, accessibility, environmental, security, records, procurement, and company policy requirements, and coordinate remediation of audit and control observations.
Lead and develop Real Estate & Facilities managers and teams; clarify accountability, build succession capability, assess staffing needs, and support performance, compensation, and development decisions.
Build productive partnerships across departments and functions, tenants, brokers, architects, engineers, contractors, and public agencies, including city and county emergency management officials.
Keep leadership and teams informed about significant property-specific issues and facilities management developments.
Monitor industry practices, technology, market conditions, and workplace trends, and translate relevant developments into practical recommendations for First Command.
Remain accountable for department operating and capital budgets, project budgets, forecasts, expenditure approvals, cost controls, and financial reporting, subject to current company approval limits.
Establish priorities, delegate authority, coach leaders, and remain accountable for department performance and succession readiness.
Be prepared to work flexible indoor and outdoor hours and respond to urgent facility, security, weather, or life-safety matters outside normal business hours; remain on call 24/7 for emergency issues.
Work on-site daily, regardless of the broader enterprise hybrid work environment.