Director of Facilities and Capital Projects

Department: Financial Affairs

Reports To: Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Status: Full Time/Exempt

Description

The Director of Facilities and Capital Projects is responsible for the strategic oversight, planning, and coordination of all campus facilities operations and capital construction projects. This position provides leadership for day-to-day facilities management, including maintenance, custodial services, grounds, and utilities, as well as the planning and execution of major capital improvement and construction initiatives. This position works at the direction of the CFO.

Qualifications

Prerequisites Required for Position

Minimum Education Requirement:

• Bachelor's degree in a related field (business, construction, engineering, or facilities management).

Minimum Work Experience

• Minimum of five years of experience in capital project management and/or facilities operations management;
• Extensive relevant successful professional and/or administrative experience demonstrating high standards of integrity and ethics;
• Demonstrated experience managing outsourced facility maintenance or other third-party service contracts, including SLA/KPI management, vendor performance evaluation, and contract oversight and issue resolution; and
• Demonstrated experience in dealing with varied constituencies in promoting university special projects and goals, including maintaining project timelines and budget.

Preferred Qualifications

• A Master's degree in a related field: MBA, Project Management, Construction Management, Facilities Management, or Urban Planning;
• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification;
• Certified Facility Manager (CFM) credential or equivalent;
• LEED Accreditation or demonstrated experience with sustainability and energy-management initiatives;
• Successful institutional facilities and project management experience within a private university context;
• Prior experience serving as the client-side contract manager for an outsourced facilities or maintenance services provider.

Special Skills

• Effective interpersonal, problem-solving, and decision-making skills;
• Ability to successfully apply leadership, management, communication, and organizational skills with confidence and integrity;
• Ability to prepare and present special campus project and facilities reports and information to audiences including the President and Board of Trustees;
• Comprehensive knowledge of the specific duties and responsibilities of project management and facilities operations within an academic setting;
• Working knowledge of building systems (mechanical, electrical, plumbing, life safety) and applicable building and fire codes;
• Ability to read and interpret construction drawings, specifications, and contracts;
• Strong vendor and contract management skills, including SLA/KPI development, performance monitoring, invoice reconciliation, and dispute resolution with outsourced service providers.

Requirements

Description of Essential Job Duties

• Directs and coordinates all planning, design, and construction activities for capital campus projects, including facility renovations, new construction, and major infrastructure upgrades.
• Serves as the University's primary owner-representative for the outsourced facility maintenance contract, holding the provider accountable for scope, service levels, and performance as part of the University's overall facilities strategy.
• Manages the outsourced maintenance operations contract end-to-end: negotiates and renews contract terms, sets and monitors service-level agreements (SLAs) and key performance indicators, reviews invoices against contracted scope, and approves change orders.
• Serves as the University's primary liaison for outsourced building and facility leases, including invoice and payment tracking, monitoring cost increases, managing the available budgets, and issue resolution in case of dispute.
• Conducts regular performance reviews and site audits of the outsourced maintenance provider to verify preventive and corrective maintenance is being performed to contractual and industry standards, and drives corrective action plans when performance falls short.
• Integrates the outsourced maintenance provider's work plans and preventive-maintenance schedules with capital project timelines, and campus event needs to ensure a single, coherent facilities strategy.
• Oversees facilities operations across campus, including custodial services, grounds and landscaping, and utilities management, in coordination with the outsourced maintenance provider.
• Oversees the schedule and budgetary completion of major and special capital projects, including facility renovations, new facility construction, and technology integration, including coordination of any unforeseen costs with the University's Budget Office.
• Serves as key campus liaison among academic and administrative departments, the outsourced maintenance provider, and external contractors for coordinating and scheduling maintenance, construction, and renovation projects, ensuring a transparent and communicative relationship.
• Regularly visits active work sites to monitor progress and quality, and keeps the CFO fully informed of project status, budget, schedule, and any areas of concern.
• Develops and administers annual operating and capital budgets for facilities and capital projects, including oversight of the outsourced maintenance contract budget; monitors expenditures and ensures fiscally responsible use of resources.
• Establishes and oversees a campus work-order and preventive-maintenance tracking system, ensuring the outsourced maintenance provider and in-house staff are properly coordinated and accountable for facilities requests and assignments, including managing proactive communication to impacted students or staff.
• Leads deferred-maintenance planning, and capital renewal strategy, in partnership with the outsourced maintenance provider.
• Ensures campus facilities comply with applicable building codes, fire and life-safety codes, ADA requirements, and environmental regulations; oversees inspections and permitting, and holds the outsourced maintenance provider accountable for compliance-related work.
• Works effectively with outside organizations, architects, engineers, and vendors, including the outsourced maintenance provider, as appropriate for the effective management of facilities operations and special campus projects.
• Serves as an advisor to the CFO and executive staff on event logistics and management of special campus projects, including facility readiness for institutional events and "grand openings."
• Tracks ongoing initiatives assigned by the CFO, ensuring all necessary collaboration and consultation occurs across university departments.
• Works collaboratively with other campus leadership on programs and activities related to facilities and special campus projects.
• Assists the CFO and other senior-level administrators in gathering and analyzing information relative to facilities and capital project planning.
• Manages all contracts and service agreements with outside vendors, contractors, and service providers for facilities operations and capital construction, and negotiates contractual changes or disputes in conjunction with the University's Procurement Services team.
• Serves as the subject matter expert (SME) in facilities and capital construction for procurement and contracting activities, including drafting scopes of work, evaluating vendor proposals, and negotiating rates.
• Represents the University on regional and national committees and organizations related to facilities and capital planning, as requested by the CFO.
• Establish and monitor customer satisfaction targets (e.g., survey scores, work order response-time benchmarks, first-time fix rates, complaint resolution rates) for the outsourced facility maintenance provider and any retained internal maintenance functions.
• Ensure timely acknowledgment and resolution of facility-related complaints (e.g., HVAC outages, custodial issues, safety concerns), with escalation paths clearly communicated to building occupants, department chairs, and residence life staff.
• Review customer satisfaction data quarterly with the FM vendor and internal facilities managers, using results to inform service improvements, staffing adjustments, and contract renegotiations or performance- based fee decisions.
• Promote a culture of responsiveness, professionalism, and continuous service improvement among all facilities staff and the contracted maintenance partner, including front-line technicians and custodial crews who interact directly with the campus community.
• Report customer satisfaction trends, work order performance metrics, and improvement initiatives to executive leadership and the Board's facilities/finance committee on a regular basis.
• Responsible for other duties as assigned.

To Apply

Interested and qualified applicants should send a completed Jacksonville University employment application, professional resume, list of references, and letter of interest to hr@ju.edu.