Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Building Wellness Manager

🎯 Role Definition

The Building Wellness Manager is a cross-functional leader responsible for designing, implementing, and continuously improving healthy building programs that optimize occupant health, comfort, productivity, and environmental performance. This role blends technical knowledge of HVAC, indoor air quality (IAQ), and building systems with program management, stakeholder engagement, and compliance expertise to deliver evidence-based wellness strategies aligned with organizational goals and building certifications (WELL, LEED, Fitwel, etc.).

Key SEO phrases: Building Wellness Manager, WELL Building Standard, indoor air quality, healthy buildings, occupant experience, sustainability, facilities management.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Facilities Coordinator / Facilities Manager
Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) Specialist
Sustainability Coordinator / Sustainability Analyst

Advancement To:

Director of Building Performance & Wellness
Head of Corporate Real Estate / Workplace Experience
Senior Sustainability or EHS Leader

Lateral Moves:

Workplace Experience Manager
Energy & Sustainability Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Lead the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of a comprehensive building wellness strategy that integrates indoor air quality (IAQ), thermal comfort, lighting quality, acoustic environment, water quality, and occupant behavioral programs to support health, productivity, and retention.
Manage the program roadmap for WELL Building Standard, LEED, Fitwel, or equivalent healthy building certifications: prepare documentation, coordinate consultants, track milestones, and ensure timely certification or recertification across multiple assets.
Develop and execute IAQ monitoring programs including selection and deployment of sensors, establishing baseline metrics, conducting trend analysis, and reporting on key indicators such as CO2, PM2.5, VOCs, temperature, humidity, and ventilation rates.
Partner with facilities, HVAC/mechanical contractors, and building automation teams to optimize ventilation, filtration, and system operational schedules to meet wellness targets while balancing energy use and operational budgets.
Design, manage, and evaluate occupant-facing wellness initiatives (e.g., healthy vending, active design, ergonomic assessments, daylighting strategies, biophilic interventions) and measure program impact on satisfaction and health outcomes.
Create and maintain building health policies and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for cleaning protocols, maintenance, infection control, emergency response, and vendor management aligned with CDC/WHO guidance and industry best practice.
Oversee capital and operational project planning related to wellness upgrades (e.g., filtration upgrades, UV-C systems, operable windows, sensor networks), preparing scopes, cost estimates, ROI analysis, and project timelines.
Conduct regular walkthroughs, audits, and risk assessments to identify wellness-related deficiencies and coordinate corrective actions with engineering, EHS, and third-party vendors.
Coordinate occupant communication strategies, educational campaigns, and training sessions on healthy building practices, IAQ results, and wellness amenities to drive engagement and adoption.
Lead incident response for building health concerns (e.g., elevated pollutant events, water intrusion, mold, HVAC failures) including root-cause analysis, containment, remediation oversight, and stakeholder notifications.
Maintain and manage vendor relationships for testing, remediation, air quality assessment, and wellness program delivery; negotiate contracts, SLAs, and performance KPIs.
Establish and report on wellness metrics and KPIs (e.g., IAQ index, occupant satisfaction scores, remediation response time, certification status) to senior leadership and real estate stakeholders using dashboards and executive summaries.
Integrate wellness objectives into real estate transactions, lease negotiations, new build/retrofit design reviews, and tenant improvement specifications to ensure health-first decision making.
Develop budget forecasts for wellness initiatives and capital improvements, manage spend delivery, and analyze cost-benefit for health-based investments and interventions.
Work with HR, workplace experience, and well-being teams to align physical building strategies with broader employee health programs (e.g., mental health resources, flexible work policies, active commuting support).
Lead cross-disciplinary project teams (design, engineering, sustainability, procurement) through concept, design, installation, testing, and commissioning to deliver wellness-focused outcomes.
Maintain current knowledge of building science, IAQ technologies, and evolving guidance (WHO, ASHRAE, CDC) and translate technical advances into pragmatic building policies and upgrades.
Perform occupant surveys, focus groups, and qualitative research to understand needs, prioritize interventions, and validate program effectiveness against user experience objectives.
Ensure regulatory compliance related to indoor environmental quality, water safety (Legionella prevention), hazardous materials, and occupational health requirements across the portfolio.
Prepare risk-based recommendations and business cases to senior leadership for strategic investments in health-driven building improvements and long-term resiliency planning.
Collaborate with data teams to integrate building sensors, BAS (building automation systems), and facilities management software for automated alerts, trend analysis, and predictive maintenance tied to wellness outcomes.
Supervise, mentor, and build capable teams or third-party partners to scale wellness program delivery across multiple properties and regions.

Secondary Functions

Support cross-functional pilots and R&D projects testing new healthy building technologies, materials, and behavioral interventions.
Provide subject matter expertise for marketing and communications on sustainability and wellness narratives for stakeholders, tenants, and prospective occupants.
Assist in procurement and specification writing for wellness-related equipment, filter media, and sensor hardware ensuring interoperability and data security.
Contribute to enterprise-level policy development for hybrid work, space utilization, and occupancy thresholds tied to health monitoring data.
Participate in industry working groups, standards committees, and peer networks to share best practices and benchmark performance.
Manage periodic vendor performance reviews, compliance audits, and quality assurance checks for cleaning, maintenance, and remediation service providers.
Develop training curriculum and onboarding modules for facilities and workplace staff focused on wellness-friendly operations and occupant support protocols.
Support sustainability reporting and disclosure (e.g., corporate ESG, GRESB) by providing building wellness metrics and narratives.
Advise on tenant fit-out reviews and provide pre-occupancy wellness checks and handover documentation.
Facilitate research partnerships with universities or technology providers to validate interventions and improve evidence-based decision making.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) monitoring and interpretation — sensors, CO2, PM2.5, VOCs, IAQ indices.
HVAC systems knowledge — ventilation strategies, filtration (MERV, HEPA), system balancing, demand control ventilation.
Building certifications and standards — WELL AP/Well Building Standard, LEED AP, Fitwel, BREEAM.
Water safety and Legionella management — risk assessments, mitigation plans, cooling tower and domestic water system controls.
Data analysis and visualization — time-series analytics, dashboarding (Power BI, Tableau), sensor data processing.
Building automation & BAS integration — commissioning, setpoint optimization, fault detection and diagnostics (FDD).
Project and capital program management — scopes, budgets, procurement, contractor oversight.
Health & safety regulations and compliance — OSHA, local codes, CDC/WHO guidance application for building operations.
Environmental testing and remediation oversight — mold, asbestos, VOC sampling protocols and vendor selection.
Contract negotiation and vendor management — SLAs, KPIs, performance-based contracting for wellness services.
Energy and sustainability fundamentals — to balance wellness improvements with energy efficiency and decarbonization objectives.

Soft Skills

Cross-functional leadership and stakeholder management — influence engineering, real estate, HR, and executive teams.
Clear, persuasive communication — translate technical IAQ and building science into accessible executive summaries and occupant messaging.
Analytical problem solving and root-cause analysis — systematic approach to diagnosing events and failures.
Project prioritization and time management — manage concurrent projects and urgent remediation work.
Change management and program adoption — drive behavior change and sustained engagement among building occupants.
Negotiation and conflict resolution — handle vendor disputes and tenant escalations professionally.
Attention to detail and documentation discipline — maintain accurate records for certification, compliance, and audits.
Coaching and team development — mentor facilities and wellness staff to build internal capability.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science, Mechanical Engineering, Public Health, Architecture, Facilities Management, Occupational Health, or related technical field.

Preferred Education:

Master’s degree in Environmental Health, Mechanical Engineering, Public Health, Sustainability, or MBA with facilities/real estate focus.
Professional certifications: WELL AP, LEED AP, Certified Facility Manager (CFM), Building Operator Certification (BOC), or similar.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Environmental Health / Public Health
Mechanical / Building Services Engineering
Architecture / Interior Environmental Design
Sustainability / Environmental Science
Facilities Management / Real Estate

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

5–10+ years in facilities management, building operations, environmental health, sustainability, or related roles with demonstrated experience in indoor environmental quality and wellness program execution.

Preferred:

7+ years managing multi-site building wellness, IAQ programs, or large-scale facilities projects.
Demonstrated track record obtaining WELL/LEED/Fitwel certifications and delivering measurable occupant health improvements.