"Associate Director for Facilities and Space Planning, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences"

Position Summary

The Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (Jacobs School) at the University at Buffalo seeks a strategic, collaborative, and solutions-oriented Associate Director for Facilities and Space Planning to advance the School’s mission through long-range facilities and space planning. This newly created role will serve as a key partner to senior leadership, providing guidance and oversight of strategic space allocation, capital project planning, and infrastructure investment across the VPHS and the Jacobs School enterprise.

Reporting to the Interim Associate Vice President for Business Operations and Unit Business Officer, the Associate Director will lead the development and implementation of space and facilities strategies that align with the School’s priorities in research, education, and clinical partnerships. The Associate Director will be responsible for analyzing space utilization, facilitating multi-stakeholder planning efforts, and serving as a liaison with campus and external partners on major renovations and capital improvements. This position complements an existing Staff Associate role that oversees day-to-day facilities operations.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Facilities and Space Planning

• Lead the development of long-range space planning strategies across basic science, clinical, and administrative units.
• Develop short- and long-term recommendations to optimize space utilization, support program growth, and advance academic and research goals.
• Partner with leadership to shape and implement the School’s Facilities Master Plan.
• Facilitate space planning conversations with department chairs and unit leaders and present findings and recommendations to executive leadership.

Capital Project Management

• Serve as the primary liaison for capital planning and renovation projects within the Jacobs School, including needs assessment, budgeting, design coordination, and implementation oversight.
• Coordinate closely with university Facilities Planning and Design, Capital Planning, and other administrative units throughout project development and execution.
• Prepare project briefs, feasibility assessments, and justifications for new or modified space requests.

Data Analysis and Decision Support

• Maintain and analyze data on space usage and occupancy to inform strategic decision-making.
• Lead the development of space management tools, dashboards, and reporting that support transparency and informed planning.
• Evaluate requests for space or renovations and provide recommendations based on strategic priorities and available resources.

Stakeholder Engagement and Communications

• Collaborate with internal stakeholders—including faculty, staff, and department administrators—to understand space needs and priorities.
• Ensure that planning processes reflect the diversity of programmatic needs across education, research, and administrative functions.
• Draft proposals, presentations, and reports for executive leadership and university-level planning committees.

Outstanding Benefits Package

Working at UB comes with benefits that exceed salary alone. There are personal rewards including comprehensive health and retirement plan options. We also focus on creating and sustaining a healthy mix of work, personal and academic pursuit - all in an effort to support your work-life effectiveness. We support your growth and development through our career coaching and training department, and we qualify as a public service loan forgiveness organization. Learn more about the great benefits the University at Buffalo has to offer.

About The University at Buffalo

The University at Buffalo (UB) #ubuffalo is one of America’s leading public research universities and a flagship of the State University of New York system, recognized for our excellence and our impact. UB is a premier, research-intensive public university dedicated to academic excellence. Our research, creative activity and people positively impact the world. Like the city we call home, UB is distinguished by a culture of resilient optimism, resourceful thinking and pragmatic dreaming that enables us to reach others every day. Visit our website to learn more about University at Buffalo. The university seeks to recruit and retain a diverse workforce as a reflection of our commitment to serve the diverse people of Buffalo, to maintain the excellence of the university and to offer our students richly varied disciplines, perspectives and ways of knowing and learning. University at Buffalo is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and, in keeping with our commitment, welcomes all to apply including veterans and individuals with disabilities.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in architecture, planning, engineering, business, or a related field.
• A minimum of 3 years of progressive experience in space planning, capital project management, or facilities strategy within a large, complex organization.
• Demonstrated ability to lead strategic planning initiatives and manage complex projects involving multiple stakeholders.
• Excellent communication, analytical, and organizational skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree.
• Experience in higher education, academic medicine, or research-intensive environments.
• Familiarity with space management software or related tools.
• Experience working with government-funded capital projects or university facilities planning processes.