Assistant Vice President For Operations And Engineering

POSITION SUMMARY:

Reporting to the Vice President for Finance and Administration, the Assistant Vice President for Operations and Engineering (AVP) will play a pivotal role as a strategic thinker and doer in the shaping of our campus infrastructure and operating systems for the future. The AVP directs all facilities, capital programs and site support functions throughout the College campus including utilities, campus distribution systems, building systems and controls, security systems, site amenities, grounds and laboratory support. The AVP is comfortable with the exploration of innovative methods and sustainable solutions that may include the use of technologies such as artificial intelligence and fault detection systems to measure, monitor and optimize our physical campus assets, minimize our energy consumption and even optimize the use of physical spaces. The AVP is collaborative, inclusive and opportunistic in involving faculty and student engineering talent where practical in their work.

The AVP leads all efforts associated with stewardship of the College's campus infrastructure and is instrumental in the development of asset-criticality-driven processes for the maintenance and operations of our campus assets. The AVP is a data driven leader, overseeing building performance, building condition, financial stewardship and progress reporting metrics to ensure that the campus is maintained at a high level of proficiency.

The College has recently launched a major strategic initiative, College as a Living Lab, intended to incorporate new and upcoming major capital initiatives, with transformative academic programming. This effort will result in the development of a master plan and fundraising program, the goal of which will be to transform the present campus into one of the first carbon-neutral, predictively maintained campuses in the country. The AVP will be a key leader and architect in this effort, working with students, faculty, staff and external partners to determine sustainable programming, building maintenance and operations technologies and capital investments supporting the operations of the campus of the future.

This is an in-person/on-campus position based in Needham, MA. The Director is the primary respondent to situations/emergencies that arise during holidays, weekends, or evenings, including being "on-call" after normal business hours.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provides comprehensive and strategic leadership, direction and guidance to facilities, capital programs and site support functions throughout the Olin College campus.

• Advises and supports the Vice President for Finance and Administration in assessing, developing and advancing institutional strategic initiatives and programmatic priorities, that achieve organizational excellence and support enterprise risk management.

• Leads the planning, and execution of Facilities, Emergency Management and Public Safety strategies that support the core mission and the community of the College.

• Develops and implements facilities maintenance systems and programs using asset-based-management and asset criticality principles that enable data driven predictive and preventive maintenance strategies.

• Oversees and regularly reports operating performance, energy consumption, maintenance standards and financial metrics to the VPFA and, as directed to various College constituents.

• Manages all facilities and campus services personnel, including contracted personnel advocating for career development and growth of team members.

• Responsible for the establishment and maintenance of a capital renewal budget and plan that demonstrates continued, measurable progress toward carbon neutrality goals, that optimizes the operability and utility of our campus mechanical systems, and that achieves a high-quality campus aesthetic.

• Establishes and maintains effective working relationships with corporate and governmental partners and assists the President's leadership in the development of fundraising goals and opportunities.

• Oversees a $7 million annual operating and a $5 million annual capital budget.

• Develops a comprehensive and living record of deferred maintenance issues and strategies to address corresponding needs and risks.

• Creates accurate project specifications, fluent in the reading and interpretation of technical drawings for building systems,

• Supports the Director of Campus Operations as a college liaison to regulatory agencies, the Facilities Committee of the Board of Trustees, Town of Needham officials and other key external constituents.

EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree in facilities, engineering or related field required.

• Master's degree in business administration or a related field preferred.

• 10 years of progressively responsible related experience including 5 years of supervisory experience.

• Extensive leadership in engineering and capital programing roles.

• Demonstrated track record in successful and transformative strategic planning and execution.

• Strong financial management skills, including experience developing and validating business cases and ROI.

• Experience in external relations and communications.

• Demonstrated experience managing operational and project budgets.

• Outstanding communication and leadership skills.

• Experience managing complex vendor contracts and relationships.

• Demonstrated understanding of and commitment to values of equity, access, and belonging.