Director of Facilities & Campus Operations (New Orleans)

Job Title: Director of Facilities & Campus Operations

Department: Administration / Operations

Reports To: Dr. Stanton McNeely, President

FLSA Status: Exempt

Location: On-site - University of Holy Cross, 4123 Woodland Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana 70131

Role Overview

The Director of Facilities & Campus Operations provides strategic and hands-on leadership for the safe, reliable, attractive, and efficient operation of the University of Holy Cross campus. The Director leads facilities personnel and external service partners while building a proactive, service-oriented facilities program that anticipates needs, protects institutional assets, and supports the University’s academic mission and Catholic values.

Core Competencies

• Proactive stewardship- Notices emerging needs, acts early, and uses inspections and data to prevent service failures rather than merely responding to them.
• People leadership - Builds trust, develops staff capability, sets clear expectations, and holds the team accountable with fairness and consistency.
• Operational judgment- Balances safety, urgency, cost, campus impact, and long-term asset condition when establishing priorities.
• Service orientation- Communicates respectfully, follows through, and treats facilities work as a direct contributor to the student and employee experience.
• Financial discipline - Makes resource-conscious decisions, manages contracts carefully, and distinguishes immediate repairs from strategic capital needs.
• Mission alignment- Demonstrates respect for the University’s Catholic identity and supports a welcoming, community-centered campus environment.

Core Responsibilities

Facilities Leadership

• Lead, coach, schedule, evaluate, and develop facilities, maintenance, grounds, custodial, and other assigned operations staff.
• Establish clear performance expectations, safety practices, work standards, communication routines, and accountability for staff and contractors.
• Foster a collaborative, service-minded team culture that treats faculty, staff, students, visitors, and vendors with professionalism and respect.
• Assess staffing, skill, coverage, and training needs; participate in recruitment, onboarding, performance management, and succession planning.
• Maintain a regular, visible presence throughout campus and model a proactive, solutions-oriented approach to facilities service.

Proactive Maintenance

• Develop, implement, and continuously improve a preventive and predictive maintenance program for campus buildings, grounds, utility systems, equipment, and life-safety systems.
• Conduct routine campus and building inspections to identify deferred maintenance, safety hazards, operational risks, appearance issues, and repair needs before they become urgent.
• Establish work-order priorities, service-level expectations, tracking practices, and follow-up procedures that improve response time and stakeholder communication.
• Maintain accurate records for maintenance history, warranties, inspections, equipment inventories, asset condition, and planned replacements.
• Use a computerized maintenance management system or similar tools to track work, analyze trends, plan labor and materials, and report on outcomes.

Operations and Assets

• Direct the maintenance, repair, and operational oversight of campus buildings, building systems, grounds, walkways, parking areas, furnishings, and related equipment.
• Oversee HVAC, electrical, plumbing, roofing, building envelope, fire/life-safety, access, and other critical systems through internal staff and qualified contractors.
• Coordinate seasonal, weather-related, and special-event preparation, including readiness for classes, campus gatherings, public events, and holidays.
• Partner with campus leaders to support space utilization, furniture needs, office and classroom moves, minor renovations, and operational logistics.
• Maintain attractive, safe, accessible, and welcoming campus conditions that reflect institutional standards and community pride.

Budget, Vendors, and Projects

• Prepare and manage the annual facilities operating budget, including labor, supplies, utilities, maintenance contracts, equipment, and contingency needs.
• Develop multi-year forecasts for deferred maintenance, equipment replacement, capital renewal, and campus improvement priorities.
• Source, evaluate, negotiate, and manage vendors and service contracts; ensure work is competitively procured when appropriate, properly documented, completed to standard, and within budget.
• Develop scopes of work, specifications, bid materials, and cost estimates in collaboration with Finance, Procurement, and external technical resources.
• Lead or coordinate small to mid-sized renovation, repair, renewal, and capital projects from planning through closeout.
• Monitor contractor performance, site safety, workmanship, schedule, insurance, warranties, and final documentation.

Safety, Compliance, and Resilience

• Maintain compliance with applicable building, fire, environmental, occupational safety, accessibility, and public-health requirements.
• Oversee routine testing, inspection, recordkeeping, and corrective action for applicable life-safety systems and facilities-related compliance obligations.
• Partner with University leadership, security, risk management, and emergency-response stakeholders to maintain and improve emergency preparedness, business continuity, and incident-response plans.
• Establish facilities readiness plans for hurricanes, severe weather, flooding, utility disruptions, and other events relevant to the New Orleans area.
• Promote safe work practices, including appropriate training, personal protective equipment, contractor safety expectations, and incident reporting.
• Identify energy-conservation, water-efficiency, waste-reduction, and sustainability opportunities that reduce operating cost and strengthen campus stewardship.
• Comparable facilities roles assign accountability for life-safety systems, regulatory compliance, emergency planning, environmental practices, energy management, and continuity planning.[5]

Campus Partnership

• Serve as the primary facilities liaison to academic departments, student-facing offices, events, administrative departments, and senior leadership.
• Communicate facilities priorities, planned disruptions, project status, emergency updates, and service expectations clearly and promptly.
• Translate technical issues into practical recommendations that enable leadership to make informed operational and financial decisions.
• Develop key performance indicators and regular reports covering work-order performance, preventive-maintenance completion, asset condition, budget performance, project status, and customer service.
• Perform other related duties consistent with the needs of a small, mission-driven university.

Ideal Candidate Attributes

• Bachelor’s degree in facilities management, construction management, engineering, business, operations, or a related field; relevant combination of education, technical training, and progressively responsible experience may be considered.
• Five to eight years of progressively responsible facilities, building operations, maintenance, construction, or campus operations experience.
• At least three years of direct people-management experience, including supervision of maintenance, custodial, grounds, operations, or skilled-trades personnel.
• Demonstrated experience managing preventive maintenance, work orders, vendors, contracts, budgets, and operational projects.
• Working knowledge of building systems, including HVAC, plumbing, electrical, fire/life-safety, building envelope, and grounds operations.
• Demonstrated ability to inspect facilities, identify risks and deficiencies, prioritize work, and make sound operational decisions.
• Strong written, verbal, interpersonal, organizational, and customer-service skills.
• Ability to respond to after-hours emergencies and support weather or other campus emergency operations as needed.
• Experience in education, healthcare, hospitality, or another multi-building, customer-facing environment.
• Familiarity with CMMS, building automation systems, energy management systems, and Microsoft Office or comparable business tools.
• Experience with Louisiana building, fire, safety, accessibility, and environmental requirements.
• Relevant professional credential, such as Certified Facility Manager, Facilities Management Professional, Project Management Professional, or trade licensure/certification.