Job Details

Director, Regional Operations and Maintenance

Wayne State University is searching for an experienced Director, Regional Operations and Maintenance at its Detroit campus location.

Wayne State is a premier, public, urban research university located in the heart of Detroit, Michigan where students from all backgrounds are offered a rich, high-quality education. Our deep-rooted commitment to excellence, collaboration, integrity, diversity and inclusion creates exceptional educational opportunities which prepare students for success in a global society.

Essential functions (job duties):

The Director, Regional Operations and Maintenance is responsible for overseeing the maintenance, repair, and operational activities in one of two campus regions at Wayne State University. This role ensures that all facilities are safe, functional, and conducive to the educational and research environment. The Regional Director will lead a team of operations and maintenance professionals, manage budgets, and develop strategies to improve operational efficiency and sustainability. In this role you will be responsible for customer satisfaction, budget, and preventative maintenance management oversight of approximately 50% of the campus physical facilities environment, comprised of three districts. In this role, you will manage a group of direct reports consisting of three Associate Directors, 3 planning and scheduling managers, various skilled trades and operating engineers.

Leadership and Management, (20%):

• Hire, Mentor and Supervise the management team of associate directors, managers, supervisors and planners.
• Develop and implement a planned and preventive maintenance culture.
• Develop and monitor team goals and objectives including performance evaluations and job ratings.
• Develop and implement technical training to enhance the skills of the overall operations team
• Foster a culture of safety, accountability and continuous improvement

Strategic Planning, (10%):

• Identify and manage facility capital upgrades and improvements with a focus on reduction and elimination of deferred maintenance.
• Collaborate with academic, administrative and faculty departments to align facilities management with institutional goals within the area of responsibility
• Implement sustainability initiatives to reduce the environmental impact of campus operations

Operations and Maintenance, (20%):

• Oversee the maintenance and repair of buildings, grounds and equipment.
• Ensure compliance with local, state and federal regulations including OSHA and environmental standards.
• Review the scope of work and perform field walk-downs to ensure a high level of safety, training and job plan compliance are met within district teams.
• Coach, motivate and lead teams to achieve high preventative maintenance success with the objective of 90% or greater planned scheduled compliance to weekly assignments
• Review and manage backlog reports - developing planned and scheduled countermeasure and recovery tasks when scheduled items are missed.
• Manage to our Campus Commitment metrics for response to emergency, urgent, routine and PM tasks and reporting campus wide KPI’s on a monthly basis.

Budget and Resource Management, (20%):

• Working with our Business Operations Administration (BAO) Team - Prepare and manage the annual fiscal budget for facilities operations and maintenance.
• Track O&M costs by building, district and region, against annual budgets monthly.
• Monitor and approve requisitions for materials, labor and contracted services
• Monitor and report on expenditures, including reduction of reliance on contracted services for routine repairs and replacements.
• Optimize resource allocations.
• Prepare and present reports to senior leadership.

Project Management, (5%):

• Partner with Design and Construction services project managers to coordinate and oversee construction, renovation and refurbishment projects.
• Liaise with contractors, architects and engineers.

Safety and Compliance, (20%):

• Ensure all facilities comply with health, safety and environmental regulations and policies.
• Conduct regular inspections and audits to identify and mitigate risks
• Respond, develop and implement emergency response plans.
• Maintain a culture of safety first for all employees, staff, faculty and students across campus.

Stakeholder Engagement, (5%):

• Collaborate with academic and administrative departments to understand and meet their facility’s needs.
• Communicate effectively with stakeholders, including faculty, staff, students and external partners,
• Represent Facilities Planning and Management department in meetings and committees.
• Implement quality standards through surveys from stakeholders to create a culture of continuous improvement.

Qualifications:

EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree
• Minimally a bachelor’s degree in Facilities Management, Engineering, Business Administration or a related field OR 7-10 documented experience in a leadership role within facilities operations and maintenance.
• An advanced degree in business management and/or a licensed professional in mechanical, electrical or skilled trades is preferred.

EXPERIENCE: Expert (established subject matter expert, 7+ years experience)
• Bachelor’s degree in Facilities Management, Engineering, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Minimum of 7-10 years of experience in facilities operations and maintenance, with at least 5 years in a leadership role.
• Strong knowledge of building systems, maintenance practices, and regulatory requirements with detailed understanding of coordination of technical field services activities in the facilities environment.
• Previous hands-on experience as tradesman or operating engineer working on large commercial HVAC, Boilers and Chiller systems.
• Ideally, trained and experienced in industrial/commercial electrical, mechanical, pneumatic, and hydraulic applications.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Functional knowledge of computerized maintenance management systems (WebTMA preferred),

Preferred qualifications:

• Experience in higher education or similar institutional setting.
• Training and Certifications in Facilities Management
• Previous hands service and repair experience

School/College/Division: H42 - Facilities Plan & Manage

Primary department: Facilities Planning and Management

Employment type:

• Regular Employee
• Job type: Full Time
• Job category: Staff/Administrative

Working conditions: In general, environmentally controlled spaces and analytical office settings. Requires work in various plant conditions to develop a scope and execute field surveys. Some processes within the facility are highly reliant on machinery and other processing equipment and, as a result, noise levels may reach or exceed 85 decibels and require the use of hearing protection for most of the work shift. Outside temperature ranging from below freezing to exceed 100 degrees based on the season. May also have exposure to inclement weather conditions including, but not limited to, rain and wind.

Job openings: Number of openings: 1