Director, Facilities Operations and Space Management

Classification & Regular Hours

Hours per Week: 35

Salary Grade: 18

The base salary will be $90,460 - $129,090 per annum. Starting salary will be aligned with the successful candidate’s experience, skills, and demonstrated qualifications.

About Western

Since 1878, Western University has been committed to serving our communities through the pursuit of academic excellence and by providing students, faculty, and community members with life-long opportunities for intellectual, social, and cultural growth. We seek excellent students, faculty, and staff to join us in what has become known as the "Western Experience" - an opportunity to contribute to a better world through the development of new knowledge, new abilities, new connections, and new ways to make a difference.

About Us

The Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry provides outstanding education within a research-intensive, distributed learning environment, where tomorrow’s physicians, dentists and health researchers and other scholars learn to be socially responsible leaders in the advancement of human health. The Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry is the largest Faculty on campus and employs over 2,000 part-time and full-time faculty and over 1,200 staff.

The mission of Facilities Operations & Space Management portfolio at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry is to provide safe and current facilities in which faculty, staff and learners can fulfil the mission of the School which is to deliver “outstanding education, advances high-impact research and innovation, and partners with communities to improve health for today and tomorrow”.

Responsibilities

The Director, Facilities Operations and Space Management provides strategic leadership in health and safety for the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, ensuring alignment with institutional priorities and regulatory requirements, and plays a key role in ensuring compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act and related legislation. The position is a strategic and operational leader responsible for the planning, development, management and oversight of all facilities and physical spaces across the school including oversight of building security and access control. This role ensures that the school’s infrastructure effectively supports its academic, research, and clinical missions in a safe, sustainable, and efficient manner. They are responsible for managing capital plans and contributing to the development of a comprehensive strategic space and capital plan for the faculty. Working collaboratively with academic and administrative leaders, the Director support the design and execution of building renovations and space optimization initiatives. This position manages approximately 1M gross square feet of facilities across nine buildings, oversees all renovation and capital projects and is responsible for management of an annual renovation budget that typically ranges from $500,000 to over $10 million. The role also represents Schulich on the Western-wide Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) Committee, contributing to university-wide safety policy development and implementation.

Qualifications

Education:

• Undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering, Facilities Management, or related field
• Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee (JHSC) Certification
• Master’s degree in a relevant field preferred
• Project Management Professional certification (PMP) preferred
• Advanced laboratory safety training would be an asset

Experience:

• 7 years of progressive leadership experience in facilities operations, space planning, and/or capital project management within a large, complex organization; preferably in a post-secondary, healthcare, or research-intensive environment
• Demonstrated experience leading health and safety initiatives and contributing to institutional safety compliance
• Proven track record managing large-scale capital projects, multi-site facilities portfolios, and capital budgets exceeding $10 million
• Experience managing multi-site facilities portfolios, health and safety compliance and emergency protocols
• Experience collaborating with various stakeholders (contractors, researchers, and principle investigators) on capital plans and renovations with the ability to meet deadlines
• Experience representing an organization on institutional or sector-wide committees (e.g., OH&S, capital planning, emergency preparedness) preferred
• Experience working with teams in complex research environments including CL2+ laboratories would be an asset

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Demonstrated ability to lead health and safety initiatives in a complex, multi-site environment, with experience contributing to institutional safety governance bodies or committees
• Familiarity with building systems (HVAC, electrical, plumbing, etc.), construction and renovation processes, building codes, space planning and utilization strategies with the ability to provide feedback on building plans
• Knowledge of Health and Safety legislation (e.g., OHSA, Fire Code, AODA), environmental sustainability practices and security and access control systems
• Ability to analyze space data and operational metrics to inform decision-making
• Strategic mindset with the ability to align facilities planning with institutional goals
• Strong project management skills and ability to execute creative and cost-effective space and capital projects with demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects with strict deadlines
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with a demonstrated ability to complete detailed analytics and reports
• Ability to deal with all levels of an organization, and the ability to effectively interact with technical and non-technical users
• Demonstrated commitment to ongoing learning and professional development
• Demonstrated ability to apply creativity, innovation and resourcefulness to daily work
• Ability to understand customer needs and expectations and provide excellent customer service directly and indirectly to satisfy expectations by handling enquiries and resolving issues in a professional and timely manner
• Positive, outgoing attitude with genuine customer service orientation
• Basic understanding of financial statements
• Ability to work within a flexible schedule to accommodate the University’s events and activities
• Ability to work in a fluid, challenging, fast-paced environment, meet tight deadlines and adapt to growth and change
• A strong record of teamwork with the motivation and ability to work independently with little supervision
• Demonstrated ability to work independently, achieve results, and follow through on work assignments
• Possesses a reputation for resourcefulness with a strong sense of accountability and initiative
• Ability to establish and build healthy working relations and partnerships with clients, peers and external stakeholders
• Strong cognitive skills including problem analysis, decision-making, financial and quantitative analysis
• Intermediate computer skills in Microsoft Office and with space management software and project tracking tools

Western Values Diversity

The University invites applications from all qualified individuals. Western is committed to employment equity and diversity in the workplace and welcomes applications from women, members of racialized groups/visible minorities, Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, persons of any sexual orientation, and persons of any gender identity or gender expression.

Accommodations are available for applicants with disabilities throughout the recruitment process. If you require accommodations for interviews or other meetings, please contact Human Resources or phone 519-661-2194.

Please Note:

This position is an existing vacancy. This position is fully in-person, on-site. We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those chosen for an interview will be contacted.