Director, Building Services Department

About the role

The Building Services Department has an outstanding opportunity for a Director of Building Services to join their team. Reporting to the Associate Vice President of Operations, the Director of Building Services is responsible for leading the operational, fiscal, strategic planning, and personnel activities of Custodial Services and UW Recycling in UW Facilities. Supervising a staff of more than 300 FTE and an annual budget exceeding $28 million support custodial cleaning services across the Seattle campus.

Primary Duties And Responsibilities

• Organizational Leadership & Employee Engagement (50%)

• Provide overall strategic, operational, and administrative leadership for the Building Services Department, ensuring alignment with institutional priorities, long-term goals, and service excellence standards.
• Develop, implement, and continuously refine department-wide goals, policies, procedures, and standards that support effective operations.
• Provide executive leadership for personnel administration across the Department, including labor relations, performance management, job classification and description development, recruitment strategy, training and development programs, employee recognition, and resolution of complex personnel issues, in collaboration with union representatives and HR partners.
• Provide functional and administrative supervision over 8 direct reports and 18 managers/supervisors, and general oversight of approximately 300 full-time and part-time employees, ensuring effective leadership, accountability, and organizational performance.

• Service Operations & Resource Management (25%)

• Prepare and monitor an operating budget totaling $56 million per biennium, and initiate requests for budget revisions.
• Establish, communicate, and continuously evaluate service expectations for University departments (clients) regarding cleaning standards, service levels, and operational requirements to ensure consistency, transparency, and high-quality outcomes.
• Continuously coordinate product and equipment tests, working closely with manufacturers and staying current on advances within the cleaning industry.

• Safety & Regulatory Compliance (15%)

• Direct, evaluate, and continuously improve work processes to ensure full compliance with safety regulations, promote a culture of safety, and mitigate operational risks across all service areas.
• Develop and direct initiatives and activities to effect proactive regulatory compliance, environmental stewardship, and sustainability to achieve the long-term protection and preservation of the environment, the University’s capital assets, and the safety and quality of the workplace.

• Sustainability & Campus Partnerships (10%)

• Partner with UW Sustainability and directly support the campus’s landfill reduction goals by ensuring the successful implementation of waste reduction programs and effective recycling and solid waste management on the UW Seattle campus.

Core Competencies

• Demonstrate personal integrity and trustworthiness.
• Manage stressful situations and changing priorities effectively.
• Anticipate, recognize and resolve problems.
• Be responsible and accountable.
• Maintain a positive, optimistic, and success-oriented attitude.
• Exercise professionalism, which includes being tactful and courteous.
• Exhibit a professional work ethic.
• Continuously promote a safe work environment.

Required Qualifications

To be considered for this opportunity your application must demonstrate you meet both the minimum qualifications and additional qualifications listed below. Equivalent education and/or experience may substitute for all minimum qualifications except where there are legal requirements, such as a license, certification, and/or registration.

• Bachelor’s degree and ten years of progressively responsible management experience including personnel supervision, fiscal management, and training experience in human relations and sensitivity to multi-ethnic groups.
• Experience managing custodial and building services in a large-scale operation, preferably two years.
• Possession of a valid Washington State driver’s license.

Preferred Qualifications

• Certification in International Sanitary Supply Association (ISSA) and/or Indoor Environmental Healthcare and Hospitality Association (IEHA).
• Certification in APPA: Leadership in Educational Facilities (formerly the Association of Physical Plant Administrators).

Working Conditions

Must be able to work in a non-smoking environment. Regular and predictable attendance is required.