North American Director, Critical Environments

North American Director, Critical Environments

BGIS is looking for a North American Director, Critical Environments to join the team in Remote, US.

BGIS is a leading provider of integrated real estate management services, including facilities management, project management, energy & sustainability services, strategic workplace consulting, real estate services and capital planning. Its range of solutions, supported by efficient systems, processes, and people, enables it to create and optimize places that work for its clients. The team is dedicated to inspiring better business performance and helping clients focus on their core businesses.

The North American Director, Critical Environments is a senior leadership role responsible for overseeing the strategy, performance, and continuous improvement of critical environment facilities across North America for the Client Business Group's (CBG) organization. This includes data centers, call centers, and other high-availability, high-risk facilities where uptime, environmental control, and compliance are paramount. The Director will lead a team of regional critical environments managers and specialists, drive operational excellence, ensure regulatory compliance, and partner with clients to deliver world-class facility management services that support their most sensitive and business-critical operations. This job description positions the role as a true Senior Leadership position within a facility management organization, emphasizing both technical depth and business leadership.

Key Duties & Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Develop and execute the North American strategy for critical environments, aligned with global standards and organizational objectives.
• Identify opportunities for service expansion, innovation, and operational efficiency in the critical environment's portfolio.
• Lead the standardization of best practices, processes, and technologies across client business-critical spaces working with the FM organization.

Operational Excellence

• Oversee day-to-day operations of critical facilities, ensuring zero unplanned downtime events/business disruptions with alignment within the US and CA GMs.
• Implement and monitor robust preventive maintenance, predictive maintenance, and reliability-centered maintenance programs.
• Manage risk, business continuity, and disaster recovery planning for critical environments.

Team Leadership & Development

• Build, mentor, and lead a high-performing team of critical environments professionals across the U.S. and Canada.
• Foster a culture of safety, accountability, technical excellence, and continuous improvement.
• Support talent acquisition, succession planning, and professional development.

Client Partnership & Service Delivery

• Act as the senior leadership point of contact for CBG with critical environment requirements.
• Ensure SLA/KPI performance exceeds client expectations.
• Collaborate with sales and business development teams on RFP responses and contract renewals.

Compliance, Safety & Quality

• Ensure full compliance with all relevant regulations, standards, and certifications (including ASHRAE, NFPA, OSHA, local environmental regulations, etc.).
• Champion safety programs and maintain an exemplary safety record.
• Lead internal and external audits, incident investigations, and corrective action programs.

Innovation & Sustainability

• Evaluate and implement emerging technologies (DCIM, BMS, AI-driven predictive analytics, energy-efficient cooling solutions, etc.).
• Drive sustainability initiatives, including energy efficiency, water usage reduction, and carbon footprint minimization in critical facilities.

Knowledge & Skills

General Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, Facilities Management, Data Center Operations, or a related technical field.
• Minimum 10–15 years of progressive experience in critical environments / mission-critical facility management. At least 5 years in a senior leadership role managing multi-site or national-level operations.
• Deep technical knowledge of critical infrastructure systems: UPS, generators, chillers, CRAC/CRAH units, fire suppression, BMS/BAS, power distribution, and redundancy architectures. Proven track record managing data centers or other Tier III/IV critical facilities.
• Certifications such as CMCO, CEng, PE, CFM, or PMP.
• Experience with both owner-operated and third-party managed critical environments.
• Experience working in a facility management service provider environment (IFM, TFM, or outsourced services).

Key Competencies

• Strategic thinking and business acumen.
• Exceptional leadership and people development skills.
• Strong client relationship and stakeholder management.
• Crisis management and decision-making under pressure.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills (including C-level interaction). Data-driven mindset with strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.

Travel Requirements

• Ability and willingness to travel extensively across North America (up to 30-50% of the time).

Our company culture includes a robust mix of sound business practices and employee initiatives that promote personal and professional development, work/life balance, health and wellness and community involvement.

The Company is an equal opportunity employer. We believe every employee has the right to work in surroundings that are free from all forms of unlawful discrimination. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunity to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, ancestry, creed, marital status, sexual orientation, or Veteran or military status, genetic information or any other basis prohibited by local, state or federal law in the relevant jurisdiction. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment including, but not limited to employment, advancement, assignment, and training.

BGIS is committed to strengthening our diversity through recruiting and retaining minority and women professionals from all backgrounds. Our commitment is consistent with our recognition that it is the outstanding people within BGIS who the source of our strength has always been. We recognize that promoting diversity is an integral component of our continuing quest for organizational excellence.

This commitment to Equal Employment Opportunity is made equally as a social responsibility and as an economic and business necessity.

Anyone with questions or concerns regarding Equal Employment Opportunity should contact their direct supervisor or the Human Resources Department without fear of retaliation of any kind.

A candidate's salary offer is determined by various factors including, but not limited to, relevant work experience, knowledge, skills, abilities, education, certifications, licenses, and location.

The salary range for this position in the US is $152,000-$200,000.

BGIS offers a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, prescription coverage, health savings account, flexible spending account (both healthcare and dependent), 401(k) with a Company match, Paid Time Off, paid company holidays, short term and long-term disability, life insurance, employee assistance program, tuition reimbursement, paid parental leave, gym membership discount and team member referral bonus.