Director of Facility Services and Campus Stewardship

POSITION SUMMARY:

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, the Director of Facilities Operations and Campus Stewardship has single-point accountability for day-to-day operations, performance, long-term stewardship of the College’s physical plant; campus operations; campus grounds; maintenance and repair services; public safety; environmental health and safety (EH&S) for general campus spaces; special events support; and capital renewal and asset management.. The Director oversees stewardship of campus assets through the direct ownership and enforcement of policies, standards, and data-informed practices that ensure a safe, well-maintained, high-performing, and mission-aligned environment for learning, living, and working.

The Director’s role in campus and spatial planning is grounded in what is operationally and programmatically feasible from a facilities, infrastructure, and maintenance perspective, while also identifying opportunistic improvements and better ways to utilize space. This position provides authoritative facilities guidance to ensure that programmatic aspirations can be supported safely, sustainably, and within available resources.

The Director brings a collaborative, diplomatic leadership approach that fosters productive engagement across the community while maintaining clear decision rights and accountability. Although the Director partners with faculty, staff, and students where appropriate to support campus initiatives, they retain full responsibility for maintenance outcomes, asset condition, preventative maintenance standards and facilities performance.

The Director will bring a strong sustainability mindset and experience—actively identifying opportunities to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon impact, and incorporate sustainable practices into maintenance programming, capital planning, and operational decision-making. As future campus transformation efforts arise, the Director will play a key role in evaluating and shaping such initiatives through both a sustainability and operational lens.

Because the College currently outsources significant portions of facilities services, the Director will oversee the associated contractors while objectively evaluating the full range of operating models available to the College. This includes assessing whether continued outsourcing of repair and maintenance services best serves the institution, or whether alternative approaches—such as a revised third‑party contract, partial insourcing, or a hybrid model—would provide greater accountability, responsiveness, transparency, and alignment with the College’s needs. The Director will make data‑informed recommendations and, as approved, implement changes to the operating model to ensure facilities services are reliable, responsive, and mission‑aligned. The Director consistently exercises discretion and independent judgment in staff leadership, vendor and contractor oversight, budgeting, and operational quality assurance to ensure the College’s strategic goals are supported by reliable infrastructure and effective long-term facilities planning.

contact:

William Colehower

Interim Director of Campus Facilities and Operations

wcolehower@olin.edu