Assistant Vice President, Facilities Operations

Department

About the Department

Job Information

Job Summary:

Reporting to the Associate Vice President of Facilities Services, the AVP is the senior operating executive accountable for the day-to-day performance of building operations and maintenance, skilled trades, grounds, work control, service partners, assigned residential properties, and Energy Programs. The Senior Director of Energy Programs reports directly to this role. This leader is accountable for service delivery, asset performance, labor-management relations, safety, emergency response, operating and utility budgets, contracts, customer experience, and continuous improvement.

The role requires a visible, field-engaged leader credible with skilled-trades employees, shop and zone managers, campus customers, and University executives. The immediate mandate is to stabilize operations; evaluate and implement an effective zone model; right-size spans of control and administrative support; rebuild trust and morale; and institutionalize consistent leadership practices, SOPs, and CBA administration. A critical near-term priority is transforming how the organization uses Maximo and data-driven tools — moving from a reactive, paper-based culture toward a disciplined, technology-enabled operating model in which AI and automation actively improve decision-making, workforce deployment, and asset performance.

NEAR-TERM LEADERSHIP PRIORITIES

Evaluate and implement an effective campus operating model — zone structure, spans of control, decision rights, field leadership coverage, administrative support, and after-hours responsibilities.

Stabilize the leadership team; fill essential supervisory, administrative, customer-service, and skilled-trades gaps; establish succession and knowledge-transfer programs for specialized technical roles. Rebuild trust, morale, and labor-management relationships through visible leadership, consistent policy application, employee engagement, and clear accountability. Transform Maximo utilization: create a plan and make measurable, significant progress towards establishing Maximo as the single authoritative platform for all work intake, prioritization, dispatch, labor and material capture, asset history, and performance reporting — eliminating shadow systems and informal workarounds. Institute daily urgent-work reviews and recurring dashboards that hold leaders accountable to data. Embed AI and analytics into daily operations: deploy approved tools for predictive maintenance, work-order routing, backlog analysis, utility anomaly detection, and executive reporting — with clear governance, data-quality standards, and human oversight. Build durable staff fluency so adoption outlasts any individual leader. In partnership with Campus Planning & Sustainability, develop a long-term asset management and deferred maintenance strategy integrating facility-condition data, asset criticality, life-cycle forecasts, FMEA findings, and available funding. Restore customer confidence through clear service standards, transparent work-order status, and disciplined service recovery. Strengthen operational readiness and formal turnover protocols for new and renovated facilities, especially complex research and laboratory buildings. Modernize procurement and contract management; conduct disciplined evaluation of in-house vs. contracted service models. Partner with the Associate Vice President to complete an asset-by-asset strategic review of Residential Properties and implement the approved strategy.

Responsibilities:

• Build and lead an inclusive, high-performing Facilities Operations organization with clear roles, aligned goals, and shared accountability for service, reliability, safety, and stewardship within approved budgets.
• Evaluate and refine zone structure, spans of control, field leadership, decision rights, scheduling, and on-call coverage; implement the model approved by the Associate Vice President.
• Develop the senior leadership team through talent assessment, recruitment, coaching, succession planning, and candid feedback; model visible, field-engaged leadership and a no-surprises culture.
• Own the full Maximo operating model: define data standards, work-intake rules, asset hierarchies, PM schedules, labor and material coding, and closure requirements — eliminating informal workarounds and making Maximo the organization's single source of operational truth.
• Build and publish executive and shop-level dashboards — PM completion, backlog age and volume, planned-vs-reactive ratio, cycle time, labor productivity, cost, energy, safety, and customer satisfaction — and drive weekly accountability reviews with direct reports.
• Lead the organization's adoption of AI and analytics: prioritize high-impact use cases (predictive maintenance, work-order optimization, utility anomaly detection, workforce scheduling, contract analysis); govern data quality and model outputs; require measurable outcomes before scaling.
• Build lasting AI and technology fluency across the workforce — through training, coaching, and embedding approved tools into standard daily workflows — so adoption is durable, not episodic.
• Partner with Information Technology on system integration, cybersecurity, data governance, and roadmap prioritization for Maximo, building automation, metering, and related platforms.
• Ensure buildings, engineering systems, utility infrastructure, grounds, and operating practices are managed for safety, reliability, resilience, efficiency, regulatory compliance, and sustainability.
• Maintain a controlled library of SOPs; audit adherence regularly. Require disciplined Maximo data practices — accurate intake, scheduling, labor capture, and closure — as a non-negotiable baseline for every shop and zone.
• Develop and execute a risk-based asset management and deferred maintenance strategy; lead FMEA and central utility plant assessments; conduct root-cause reviews after significant failures.
• Ensure reliable 24/7/365 monitoring, alarm routing, escalation, and response for critical building and utility systems.
• Through the Senior Director of Energy Programs, provide executive oversight of the central utility plant, building automation, utility planning and procurement, commissioning, and infrastructure reliability — leveraging metering data, monitoring-based commissioning, and AI-driven analytics to improve equipment performance and demand management.
• Integrate Facilities Operations and Energy Programs into annual capital and non-capital planning; ensure maintainability, commissioning, and operational readiness are addressed before facilities are accepted. Lead risk-rating process, FCA support of issue identification and prioritization, and provision of information required for annual capital and operational budget planning.
• Implement and champion energy efficiency, energy conservation, and sustainability initiatives in furtherance of the University’s greenhouse gas reduction goals. In partnership with Campus Planning + Sustainability, develop an update to the utility master plan that supports the institution’s climate action goals.
• Define, document, and manage service-delivery levels; develop SLAs for units requiring specialized service. Standardize customer communication from request through closure using Maximo notifications, outage notices, and escalation protocols; lead prompt service recovery when performance falls short.
• Develop a multi-year workforce plan; address succession risks across leadership, trades, grounds, administrative, energy management, and controls roles.
• Administer CBAs and workplace policies fairly and consistently; partner with HR and Labor Relations on employee relations, grievances, and negotiations.
• Promote a measurable safety culture; lead front-line emergency and utility-interruption response; maintain practiced continuity plans; available 24/7.
• Lead Facilities Operations and Energy Programs operating budgets — development, reforecasting, variance analysis, cost containment, and year-end reporting — in close coordination with Finance and Business Services.
• Partner with Procurement on solicitation schedules, scopes, performance measures, and supplier-diversity expectations. Regularly review contracts, fleet, and in-house vs. contracted service models without compromising mission-critical reliability.
• Lead the operational and financial performance of Residential Properties; support an asset-by-asset strategic review; implement the approved strategy for investment, repositioning, third-party management, or divestiture.
• Perform other related work as needed.

Competencies:

• Translate strategic vision into disciplined operational plans and measurable results in a complex, decentralized institution.

• Lead visibly and credibly in a field-based, 24/7 environment while operating effectively with senior academic and administrative leaders.

• Design effective operating structures, clarify decision rights, and align workforce and contracted resources with mission and workload.

• Build employee engagement, trust, accountability, empowerment, and a respectful service culture. Exemplify a collaborative, communicative environment within FS and other University units.

• Drive technology adoption and AI integration as a core operating discipline — embedded in daily workflows and accountability systems, not treated as a side initiative.

• Apply financial stewardship, procurement discipline, cost control, and total-cost-of-ownership thinking.

• Lead maintenance optimization, asset management, infrastructure reliability, and emergency response.

• Negotiate effectively and manage labor-management relationships with tact, fairness, and institutional judgment.

• Exemplify integrity, emotional intelligence, resilience, and calm leadership under pressure.

Additional Responsibilities

Education, Experience or Certifications:
Education:

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, facilities management, business, construction management, or a related field is required.
• Master's degree is preferred.

Experience:

• A minimum of 12 years of experience including facilities management experience at a large corporate campus or higher education institution, utility, and/or manufacturing/government institution, or comparable experience delivering resource- and personnel-intensive operations and services in a decentralized environment required.
• Property management experience, and experience in a university, academic medical center or other decentralized institutional setting is preferred.
• A minimum of 8 years of supervisory experience including experience leading unionized personnel required.

Technical Knowledge or Skills:

• Demonstrated success in client management and management of large operating staffs, significant operating and utility budgets, and major change initiatives required. Experience with property management budgets preferred.
• Excellent client-service skills plus the ability to provide and model to staff at all levels effective communication within and outside of the department required.
• Proven budgetary experience with forecasting, analysis, cost containment and execution of multi-million dollar budgets within a service-oriented environment required.
• Extensive knowledge of building operations and successful management of real-estate operations, housekeeping, general trades, utility operations, HVAC, space management, landscaping and grounds, and engineering preferred.
• A track record of involvement in energy conservation and sustainability initiatives required.
• Energy, tact, diplomacy, and excellent communication skills required.

• Attention to detail; ability to perform within deadlines; reading; confidentiality; problem solving; ability to handle ambiguity and exert informal authority; excellent written and oral communication, ability to manage multiple competing priorities and crisis/emergency responses required.

Working Conditions and Physical Requirements:

• Regular field presence throughout campus and assigned off-site locations; ability to work in office, shop, mechanical, utility, construction, residential, and outdoor environments.

• Ability to review plans, specifications, operating procedures, CBAs, contracts, and technical assessments. Available 24/7 for emergency response.

Pay Range:

• $286,246.00 ($23,853.84 per month)

Required Documents:

• Resume

• Cover letter

• List of References

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When applying, the document(s) MUST be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.

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Scheduled Weekly Hours

Drug Test Required

Health Screen Required

Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required

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Pay Range

The included pay rate or range represents the University’s good faith estimate of the possible compensation offer for this role at the time of posting.

Benefits Eligible

The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off. Information about the benefit offerings can be found in the Benefits Guidebook.

Posting Statement

The University of Chicago is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or expression, national or ethnic origin, shared ancestry, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.
 

All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history.  A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment.  Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.
 

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