Executive Director of Facilities

The Executive Director (ED) of Facilities and Campus Operations provides strategic and operational leadership, supporting more than 2.1 million sq feet across Harvard Medical School (HMS) and 110K sq feet at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine. Reporting to the Chief Campus Planning and Facilities Officer (CCPFO), the ED serves as a member of the senior leadership team and leads the planning, operation, maintenance, renewal, and stewardship of the schools’ physical infrastructure.

The ED oversees ~4 direct reports and 21 staff, and the work of 150+ vendors, contractors, consultants, and service providers. Responsible for safe, reliable, efficient, and sustainable facilities operations that support HMS teaching, research, clinical, administrative, and community missions.

• Oversee operation, maintenance, repair, and stewardship of buildings, utilities, grounds, custodial and housekeeping services, landscaping, snow removal, engineering systems, and infrastructure

• Establish operational priorities, service standards, procedures, and performance expectations promoting safe, reliable, and efficient services

• Monitor building, infrastructure, and system condition and performance; identify and prioritize operational, maintenance, renewal, and urgent infrastructure needs based on failure risk, life-safety impact, and system redundancy

• Coordinate responses to facility issues and disruptions, balancing safety, continuity, priorities, and resources

• Identify and implement opportunities to improve operational effectiveness, service quality, maintenance, and service delivery

• Develop short- and long-range facilities plans aligned with HMS and HSDM missions

• Assess conditions and recommend capital renewal, deferred maintenance, system upgrades, and other investments; sequence priorities against available budgets

• Maintain understanding of critical infrastructure conditions and redundancies to inform renewal decisions

• Lead facilities energy management, including procurement, utility optimization, conservation, and efficiency; sustainability programs related to greenhouse gas reduction, recycling, transportation, and operations

• Oversee emergency preparedness, disaster response, life-safety systems, and continuity planning

• Ensure compliance with safety standards, building, regulatory, and institutional requirements; monitor risks, implement corrective actions and continuous improvement

• Oversee relationships with vendors, contractors, consultants, and service providers, including performance, quality, costs, and compliance

• Negotiate, administer, and evaluate contracts and service agreements; establish performance, quality assurance, invoice review, and issue-resolution

• Develop and manage operating and capital budgets with the CCPFO and institutional partners; analyze expenditures, forecasts, costs, and performance to support resource allocation and financial stewardship

• Lead facilities management software, technology platforms, reporting tools, and operational systems; use data, KPIs, and dashboards for planning and decision-making

• Lead and direct Facilities, establishing goals, priorities, policies, procedures, and expectations; supervise, develop, mentor, and evaluate direct reports and staff

• Allocate resources; foster a collaborative, accountable, service-oriented environment

• Champion continuous improvement through innovation, industry benchmarking, and evaluation of processes, systems, and services to drive efficiency, quality, and value

• Serve as primary facilities liaison; maintain relationships with MATEP, leadership, faculty, administrators, staff, tenants, committees, affiliates, vendors, contractors, government agencies, and external partners

• Engage faculty and leadership to understand and incorporate needs into planning and decisions; communicate priorities, project status, issues, and resource considerations

• Represent Facilities in institutional committees, meetings, planning activities, and cross-functional initiatives; address complex operational and stakeholder matters

As part of your application, we recommend including a cover letter that will help us better understand your qualifications and background. This can provide valuable insight into your experience and interest in the role.