Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Director of Building Operations

🎯 Role Definition

The Director of Building Operations leads all technical, operational, and service aspects of a building portfolio or campus. This role is accountable for driving safe, efficient, and cost-effective operation of mechanical, electrical, plumbing, life-safety and building automation systems; managing preventive and corrective maintenance programs; overseeing capital and renovation projects; directing vendor/contractor performance; ensuring compliance with codes and regulatory requirements; and delivering excellent tenant/customer experience. The Director translates corporate strategy into operational plans, manages budgets and metrics, and builds high-performing teams to optimize asset performance, energy use, and lifecycle costs.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Senior Facilities Manager or Regional Facilities Manager
Building Systems Engineer / Chief Engineer
Property Manager or Asset Manager with technical operations experience

Advancement To:

Vice President / Head of Global Facilities or Real Estate Operations
Senior Director of Property Services or Corporate Services
Chief Operating Officer (for smaller portfolios) or Head of Workplace Services

Lateral Moves:

Director of Property Management
Director of Asset Management / Portfolio Operations
Director of Sustainability & Energy

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Develop and execute a multi-year building operations strategy to maintain safe, reliable, code-compliant facilities while driving continuous improvement in uptime, service delivery, customer satisfaction, and total cost of ownership.
Direct and optimize preventive and predictive maintenance programs across HVAC, plumbing, electrical, fire/life-safety, vertical transportation, and building automation systems to extend equipment life and reduce unplanned downtime.
Lead budgeting and financial management responsibilities including preparation and management of operating and capital budgets, cost forecasting, variance analysis, and procurement oversight to ensure cost-effective operations.
Manage end-to-end capital project delivery for major systems upgrades, renovations and tenant improvement projects, including scoping, vendor selection, contract negotiation, project scheduling, quality assurance, and closeout.
Oversee vendor and contractor management: RFP development, contract negotiation, service-level agreements (SLAs), performance monitoring, and enforcement of safety, quality and compliance standards.
Implement and maintain facility management systems (CMMS), Building Management Systems (BMS/ BAS), and computerized maintenance workflows to track work orders, asset histories, spare parts inventories, and KPI dashboards.
Establish and track operational KPIs (e.g., mean time between failures, response time SLA compliance, energy use intensity, preventive maintenance completion rate) and produce regular performance reports for executive stakeholders.
Ensure full regulatory and code compliance across jurisdictions, including building codes, fire codes, OSHA, EPA, local health and safety regulations and industry standards (NFPA, ASHRAE), and prepare for and manage inspections and audits.
Drive energy management and sustainability initiatives such as commissioning, retro-commissioning, lighting upgrades, HVAC optimization, and tenant engagement programs to reduce energy consumption and meet corporate ESG goals.
Build, lead and mentor multidisciplinary facilities teams including engineers, technicians, custodial staff and subcontractors; define roles, training plans, succession plans and performance management processes.
Develop and enforce emergency preparedness, disaster recovery and business continuity plans for the physical environment, including evacuation procedures, contingency power, flood mitigation and crisis communications.
Serve as the primary operational liaison with tenants, property managers and corporate stakeholders to resolve escalations, manage change orders, and deliver exceptional occupant experience.
Oversee inventory management and procurement strategy for spare parts, tools and critical assets to minimize downtime and optimize capital inventory levels.
Maintain and enhance asset lifecycle management processes—capital replacement planning, condition assessments, and long-term forecasting—to inform reinvestment strategies and budget planning.
Lead the evaluation and deployment of smart building technologies (IoT sensors, analytics, automated controls) to improve operational visibility, fault detection, and predictive maintenance capability.
Ensure rigorous safety culture through training, incident investigation, root-cause analysis, corrective actions, and safety performance measurement to drive toward zero incidents.
Coordinate cross-functional planning with real estate, security, janitorial, IT and workplace teams to align facility operations with occupancy planning, workplace experience and technical infrastructure needs.
Manage complex lease obligations and tenant improvement commitments related to building systems, performance standards and warranty enforcement.
Negotiate and manage utility agreements, submeters, and demand response programs while partnering with finance to identify rebate and incentive opportunities.
Own environmental health programs including indoor air quality, hazardous materials management (e.g., asbestos, lead), wastewater and recycling programs in coordination with environmental specialists.
Prepare and present executive-level briefings, capital requests and board reporting that clearly connect operational investments to risk mitigation, lifecycle cost savings and business outcomes.
Drive continuous process improvement initiatives using data-driven methodologies (e.g., Lean, Six Sigma principles) to increase operational efficiency and reduce costs.
Manage relationships with municipal authorities, fire departments, insurance providers and external auditors to resolve compliance matters and minimize operational risk.
Oversee tenant billing and cost allocation processes for operating expenses, utilities and service charge reconciliations where applicable.
Champion diversity, equity and inclusion within the facilities team and ensure hiring, promotion and vendor selection practices align with corporate D&I goals.

Secondary Functions

Support strategic real estate planning by providing facilities input for site selection, workplace strategy, and portfolio consolidation analyses.
Participate in corporate sustainability forums and help set measurable carbon reduction roadmaps for the built environment.
Advise IT and cybersecurity teams on operational technology (OT) security for building automation and critical facility controls.
Collaborate with HR and workplace experience teams on occupancy ramp-up/ramp-down playbooks, flexible workspace setups, and return-to-office programs.
Lead pilot programs to evaluate innovative service delivery models such as managed services, shared services, or centralized vendor panels.
Facilitate cross-training programs and certification incentives (e.g., CFM, FMP, HVAC certifications) to upskill operations staff.
Contribute to M&A and divestiture due diligence by assessing building condition, deferred maintenance liabilities and capital needs.
Participate in community and municipal sustainability initiatives to promote corporate citizenship and positive external relations.
Serve as an internal consultant to business units on energy conservation and cost avoidance measures.
Provide mentorship and networking for facilities professionals across the enterprise to elevate operational standards and career development.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Building Systems Expertise: Deep knowledge of HVAC, chiller plants, boilers, VAV systems, electrical distribution, plumbing, elevators, fire protection and building automation systems (BAS/BMS).
Preventive and Predictive Maintenance: Design and optimization of PM programs and use of predictive analytics for fault detection and reliability-centered maintenance.
Facilities Technology: Practical experience implementing and managing CMMS (e.g., FM:Systems, Archibus, Maintenance Connection), BAS platforms (e.g., Honeywell, Siemens, Johnson Controls) and IoT sensor integrations.
Project & Capital Management: Proven ability to scope, budget, schedule and deliver capital projects and tenant improvements with strong contract administration skills.
Regulatory & Code Compliance: Knowledge of local building codes, NFPA, OSHA, ADA, EPA requirements and ability to manage inspections, permits and corrective actions.
Energy & Sustainability Management: Experience with energy management systems, utility benchmarking (e.g., ENERGY STAR, EUI), commissioning and rebate/incentive programs.
Financial Acumen: Budgeting, forecasting, cost control, life-cycle cost analysis, and vendor rate negotiation to optimize operational and capital spend.
Vendor & Contract Management: RFP development, SLA creation, performance metrics, and dispute resolution with service providers and subcontractors.
Safety and Risk Management: Incident investigation, root cause analysis, corrective action planning, and implementation of safety management systems.
Data Analysis & Reporting: KPI development, dashboarding, trend analysis and presentation of operations metrics to leadership for decision-making.

Soft Skills

Strategic Leadership: Ability to translate high-level strategy into executable operational plans and build buy-in across stakeholder groups.
Communication: Clear, concise communication with executives, tenants, contractors and frontline staff; strong presentation skills.
People Management: Coaching, performance management, workforce planning and team-building capabilities.
Problem Solving: Structured root-cause analysis and pragmatic decision-making under operational pressure.
Negotiation: Skilled negotiator with experience resolving vendor and tenant disputes and achieving favorable contract terms.
Customer Focus: Commitment to service delivery, tenant satisfaction and user-centric facilities operations.
Change Management: Experience leading organizational and process change initiatives with minimal disruption to operations.
Time & Priority Management: Ability to manage multiple concurrent projects and operational emergencies effectively.
Collaboration: Cross-functional partnership skills, working with real estate, IT, HR, finance and security teams.
Adaptability: Comfortable operating in dynamic environments with evolving regulations, technologies and occupancy models.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical/Electrical Engineering, Facilities Management, Construction Management, Business Administration, or related technical field.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree with specialization in Engineering, Real Estate, Facilities Management, or an MBA.
Professional certifications such as Certified Facility Manager (CFM), Facilities Management Professional (FMP), LEED AP, PMP or similar are highly desirable.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Mechanical, Electrical or Industrial Engineering
Facilities Management / Building Systems
Construction Management / Architecture
Business Administration / Operations Management

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 8–15+ years of progressive facilities, building systems, project delivery or property operations experience with at least 5 years in a leadership role overseeing multi-site or complex building portfolios.

Preferred:

Experience managing portfolios of commercial office, mixed-use, retail, healthcare or higher education facilities.
Demonstrated track record managing capital projects in the $100K–$10M+ range, vendor consolidation programs, energy reduction initiatives and large-scale emergency response.
Prior experience with enterprise-grade CMMS/BMS implementation, sustainability program delivery, and cross-jurisdictional compliance management.