Facilities Manager

Facilities ManagerThe Facilities Manager will provide technical leadership, operational oversight, and subject-matter expertise for facility infrastructure, with a particular focus on fire detection, emergency communications, and associated life-safety systems. This position will serve as a key technical resource responsible for ensuring that critical facility systems are appropriately designed, integrated, commissioned, documented, maintained, modernized, and operationally ready throughout their lifecycle. The Facilities Manager will work closely with internal stakeholders, consultants, architects, engineers, contractors, vendors, regulatory authorities, and other facility partners to support safe, reliable, compliant, and cost-effective facility operations. The initial engagement is anticipated to be for a one-year term.Core Responsibilities:Provide technical ownership and oversight of fire alarm and associated life-safety system architecture, standards, design criteria, and overall technical direction.Provide expertise across multiple fire alarm manufacturers and platforms, including panel interoperability, configuration, migration, platform consolidation, and standardization strategies.Develop and review design criteria, specifications, drawings, technical submittals, sequences of operation, and other technical documentation.Conduct technical reviews of renovations, new construction, system modifications, device changes, and system-interface changes.Coordinate with architects, electrical and mechanical engineers, consultants, contractors, facilities personnel, IT, emergency management, security, licensed design professionals, and Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJs).Research and interpret applicable codes, standards, and technical requirements, recognizing that final code authority rests with the applicable AHJ.Provide technical oversight of interfaces among fire alarm, access control, elevators, smoke control, door release, fire suppression, emergency communications, monitoring, building automation, and other connected life-safety or building systems.Support commissioning, acceptance testing, deficiency resolution, and operational-readiness activities for new, modified, or migrated systems.Plan and coordinate system impairments, outages, migrations, contingency operations, and major system replacements.Troubleshoot and perform root-cause analysis for significant system failures, recurring deficiencies, interoperability issues, and other complex technical problems.Evaluate inspection, testing, and maintenance deficiencies and recommend appropriate corrective actions.Maintain system documentation, configuration baselines, sequences of operation, as-built information, and technical change-control practices.Support lifecycle planning, obsolescence management, capital forecasting, modernization strategies, and system replacement recommendations.Provide technical governance and oversight of vendors, manufacturers, integrators, and service providers, including escalation of complex technical or performance issues.Coordinate preventive and corrective maintenance activities and monitor contractor performance.Support facility planning, project coordination, construction activities, and infrastructure improvements.Assist with development of capital improvement plans and long-term facility infrastructure strategies.Monitor the condition and performance of critical facility systems and identify opportunities for reliability, efficiency, and operational improvements.Maintain accurate facility records, system documentation, drawings, equipment information, and maintenance histories.Provide training, knowledge transfer, and technical development to internal personnel to strengthen organizational facilities and life-safety capabilities.Support emergency response, business continuity, contingency planning, and facility-related incident investigations as required.Minimum Contractor Capabilities:A dedicated primary resource.Qualified secondary or backup personnel.Defined minimum experience requirements.Certifications appropriate to applicable systems, platforms, and jurisdictions.Manufacturer-specific training and technical expertise where applicable.Continuing education and professional development.Defined minimum onsite availability.After-hours and escalation support.Documented succession and personnel-replacement procedures.Formal knowledge-transfer obligations.Client ownership and control of system documentation and configuration information.Maintenance of system drawings, configurations, and technical records within client-controlled repositories.Regular lifecycle and system-health reporting.Formal deficiency identification and tracking.Defined commissioning and acceptance criteria.Clearly established service-level and performance expectations.Appropriate professional liability/errors-and-omissions coverage.Appropriate insurance and contractual indemnification.Confidentiality, information-security, and cybersecurity requirements.Appropriate controls surrounding vendor and product recommendations.Independent or competitive review of major capital replacement recommendations, where appropriate.Termination and transition assistance.The client's right to request replacement of assigned personnel when performance or other legitimate business considerations warrant.Appropriate ownership and/or usage rights for intellectual property, system configurations, technical documentation, and related deliverables.Recommended Qualifications:Education and Experience: Bachelor's degree in Fire Protection Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Facilities Management, Construction Management, or a closely related technical discipline. Minimum of 5–7 years of experience managing, supporting, designing, or overseeing facility infrastructure and fire/life-safety systems. Experience working within a large campus, healthcare, institutional, industrial, commercial, educational, or high-density corporate environment. Demonstrated experience with complex, interconnected fire and life-safety systems. Experience coordinating projects involving multiple stakeholders, vendors, engineering disciplines, and regulatory authorities. Experience supporting system migrations, modernization programs, commissioning, troubleshooting, and lifecycle planning. Demonstrated ability to manage multiple facility projects and priorities simultaneously. Experience managing contractors, service providers, and technical vendors.Professional Certifications Required: A minimum of one of the following certifications or credentials should be held or obtained within an agreed-upon period: NICET Level III or IV certification in Fire Alarm Systems. Professional Engineer (PE) license in Fire Protection Engineering or a closely related discipline.Preferred Manufacturer-specific factory training or programming certification for applicable fire alarm platforms. Certified Fire Protection Specialist (CFPS) certification. OSHA 10-Hour or 30-Hour Construction Safety training. Relevant facilities-management certification. Additional fire alarm, fire protection, emergency communications, commissioning, or life-safety certifications.Technical Skills and Knowledge:Reading and interpreting architectural drawings, electrical schematics, riser diagrams, wiring diagrams, and P&ID documentation.Fire alarm system architecture, network configurations, and signaling methods.Multi-panel and networked fire alarm systems.Fire alarm programming, configuration, testing, troubleshooting, and system migration.Building Automation Systems (BAS) and their interfaces with fire alarm and smoke-control systems.Integration of fire alarm systems with access control, elevators, smoke control, door release, suppression systems, emergency communications, monitoring systems, and other building systems.System commissioning, acceptance testing, inspection, testing, maintenance, and deficiency management.Applicable fire and life-safety codes, standards, and regulatory requirements.Facility infrastructure and building systems.Preventive and corrective maintenance programs.System documentation, configuration management, change control, and lifecycle planning.Technical evaluation of competing technologies, manufacturers, system architectures, and modernization strategies.Vendor and contractor technical oversight.Project planning, scheduling, budgeting, and coordination.Capital planning and infrastructure replacement strategies.Facility emergency response and contingency planning.Vendor and Contractor Management:The Facilities Manager will provide technical oversight of vendors, contractors, manufacturers, engineering firms, and service providers supporting facility infrastructure. Responsibilities may include:Reviewing contractor proposals, scopes of work, technical submittals, and recommendations.Evaluating vendor performance against contractual and operational requirements.Coordinating service activities and minimizing disruption to facility operations.Escalating unresolved technical or performance issues.Reviewing proposed equipment, systems, and technologies for compatibility and lifecycle value.Supporting competitive evaluations for major equipment replacements and capital projects.Ensuring that technical documentation and configuration information are retained and accessible to the organization.Supporting contract development, performance metrics, service-level requirements, and acceptance criteria.Life-Safety System Oversight:The Facilities Manager will provide particular attention to the reliability and operational readiness of critical life-safety systems, including:Fire alarm systems.Emergency communications systems.Fire detection and notification systems.Smoke control systems.