Director of Portfolio Innovation and Industry Engagement
Apply NowCompany: Northwestern University
Location: Evanston, IL 60201
Description:
Department: Facilities Mgmt EV
Salary/Grade: EXS/15
Job Summary:
Reporting to the Assistant Vice President of Capital Facilities Planning, the Director of Portfolio Innovation and Industry Engagement is broadly responsible for designing, driving, and delivering on strategic initiatives that improve project delivery, support operations, and optimize real estate holdings and investments at Northwestern University.
Northwestern Facilities plays a key role in supporting and inspiring the Northwestern community. It is critical that Facilities leaders think creatively to ensure a safe, sustainable, and resilient campus environment. The successful candidate will be a change-agent, collaborating with industry leaders and campus partners to inform data-driven, portfolio strategies forward.
This position is intentionally located within Facilities Planning - at the intersection need identification, project definition, and resource allocation - and will be a key campus partner and ambassador for driving excellence. The role will collaborate with facilities peers and campus stakeholders to ensure projects are defined and advanced with a high degree of aesthetic appeal while realizing our strategic goals of reducing maintenance, lowering energy demand, and elevating durability.
This position will be charged with championing project strategies that prioritize societal benefit and the total cost of ownership, best positioning Northwestern Facilities as a trusted business partner to the University community and caretaker of a legacy.
The role will support the department's mission and values by exhibiting the following: respect, integrity, collaboration, innovation, accountability, civility, and inclusivity. The incumbent will strive to provide excellent service when performing job responsibilities and will adhere to safety rules and promote safe work practices.
*Note: Not all aspects of the job are covered by this job description.
Target hiring range for this position will be between $175,000 to $215,000 annually. Offered salary will be determined by the applicant's education, experience, knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data .
Specific Responsibilities:
Portfolio Support & Services
At Northwestern, we are proud to provide meaningful, competitive, high-quality health care plans, retirement benefits, tuition discounts and more! Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/index.html to learn more.
Work-Life and Wellness:
Northwestern offers comprehensive programs and services to help you and your family navigate life's challenges and opportunities and adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles.
We support flexible work arrangements where possible and programs to help you locate and pay for quality, affordable childcare and senior/adult care. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/work-life/index.html to learn more.
Professional Growth & Development:
Northwestern supports employee career development in all circumstances whether your workspace is on campus or at home. If you're interested in developing your professional potential or continuing your formal education, we offer a variety of tools and resources. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/learning/index.html to learn more.
Northwestern strongly recommends COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters for people who can obtain them as a critical tool for minimizing severe illness. More information can be found on the COVID-19 and Campus Updates webpage.
The Northwestern campus sits on the traditional homelands of the people of the Council of Three Fires, the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Odawa as well as the Menominee, Miami and Ho-Chunk nations. We acknowledge and honor the original people of the land upon which Northwestern University stands, and the Native people who remain on this land today.
Northwestern University is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer of all protected classes, including veterans and individuals with disabilities. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply. Click for information on EEO is the Law.
#LI-RM1
Salary/Grade: EXS/15
Job Summary:
Reporting to the Assistant Vice President of Capital Facilities Planning, the Director of Portfolio Innovation and Industry Engagement is broadly responsible for designing, driving, and delivering on strategic initiatives that improve project delivery, support operations, and optimize real estate holdings and investments at Northwestern University.
Northwestern Facilities plays a key role in supporting and inspiring the Northwestern community. It is critical that Facilities leaders think creatively to ensure a safe, sustainable, and resilient campus environment. The successful candidate will be a change-agent, collaborating with industry leaders and campus partners to inform data-driven, portfolio strategies forward.
This position is intentionally located within Facilities Planning - at the intersection need identification, project definition, and resource allocation - and will be a key campus partner and ambassador for driving excellence. The role will collaborate with facilities peers and campus stakeholders to ensure projects are defined and advanced with a high degree of aesthetic appeal while realizing our strategic goals of reducing maintenance, lowering energy demand, and elevating durability.
This position will be charged with championing project strategies that prioritize societal benefit and the total cost of ownership, best positioning Northwestern Facilities as a trusted business partner to the University community and caretaker of a legacy.
The role will support the department's mission and values by exhibiting the following: respect, integrity, collaboration, innovation, accountability, civility, and inclusivity. The incumbent will strive to provide excellent service when performing job responsibilities and will adhere to safety rules and promote safe work practices.
*Note: Not all aspects of the job are covered by this job description.
Target hiring range for this position will be between $175,000 to $215,000 annually. Offered salary will be determined by the applicant's education, experience, knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data .
Specific Responsibilities:
Portfolio Support & Services
- Design Excellence, Guidelines and Standardization
- Develop and adopt design principles that incorporate Northwestern's strategic goals into Northwestern's physical environment.
- Ensure projects are comprehensively reviewed at major stages for adherence to functional requirements, environmental sustainability, contextual appropriateness, maintainability, durability, and constructability.
- Develop and engage in consultant engagement processes to bring the best of architecture and engineering talent to Northwestern's campus.
- Support project development and ensure alignment with campus standards through project implementation and operations.
- Enhance coordination and streamline processes between pre-development/concept phases and design and construction groups.
- Oversee and standardize processes for design reviews (technical and management-level) to ensure consistency and quality across projects.
- Facilities Information Services & Reporting (Space, Maps, Archives)
- Drive decisions with best-in-class data and reporting to support the highest and best use of campus resources.
- Manage collection, dissemination, and reporting of space information, including the management of space information (Facilities Connect, Tririga), AutoCAD drawing inventory, and facilities information drawing archives.
- Explore and implement new technologies to improve efficiency and support campus operations and planning, such as GIS, BIM, and workplace occupancy sensors and software.
- Real Estate Management
- Direct real estate asset management activities providing guidance on real property matters and strategic real estate asset management and development efforts.
- Manage lease portfolio and staff overseeing acquisitions, sales, and leasing of owned and leased real property assets (including gifts of real estate).
- Prepare annual operating and capital budget for off-campus, leased and owned properties, including real estate property taxes and leasehold PINs.
- Prepare market/site feasibility and evaluation packages.
- Develop and maintain centralized lease database and documents.
- Partner with the Director of Facilities Planning & Foundational Infrastructure to inform long-range development plans that best leverage campus real estate and assets.
- Maintain expertise in real estate ownership and financial matters through keeping abreast of current and future trends that may impact the university.
- Analyzes the real estate market to identify investment opportunities; recommend the acquisition and/or disposition of real properties in accordance with established plans, policies, and directives.
- Assists AVP in the planning and forecasting capital investment needs in support of campus-wide resource planning processes and multi-year capital facilities plans.
- Develop conceptual cash flow and portfolio investment needs.
- Collaborate with campus partners on informing the multi-year financial plans.
- Develop total cost of ownership cost models and explore opportunities for adoption at a campus level during project approval process.
- Analyze and recommend income-producing strategies for real property assets, to include project financing, marketing strategies, development structure, and target tenants.
- Industry Liaison
- Establish and cultivate contacts with principles and senior technical officials within the real estate, design, sustainability, and construction industries, campus partners, and local municipal officials.
- Develop and facilitate an industry advisory group to share concepts, methods, best practices, innovations related to campus facilities.
- Create a forum to allow prospective firms to learn more about Northwestern's priorities, upcoming work, and opportunities for future collaboration.
- Build new and expand existing programs and partnerships within Northwestern that foster and encourage experimentation and interaction within our built environment.
- Effective Communications: Develops effective tools, communications, reports, workgroups, and presentations that drive results.
- Consensus Building: Build positive working relationships between all interested parties; key focus on how you achieve positive outcomes.
- Leading People: Leads and develops team of professionals allocates appropriate resources, prioritizes projects, and assigns staff for each project.
- Business Acumen: Manage people and finances strategically while staying abreast of campus policies and best practices.
- Performs related duties as required or assigned.
- Bachelor's degree in architecture, engineering, urban planning, or real estate.
- Minimum of 10 years of experience leading master plans, facility, space and/or real estate planning.
- Minimum 10 years of directly related professional experience with progressively greater responsibility working in a major institutional setting, or with major institutional clients.
- Experience selecting design professional in the fields of planning, design, and construction.
- Expert knowledge of real estate principles and practices, methods and procedures used in competitive real estate transactions, including value analysis and sources, selection techniques, applicable rules, regulations, laws, policies, guidelines, and practices.
- Expert knowledge of and skills in business transactions in a complex legal and policy environment.
- Expert organizational, presentation and negotiation skills.
- Expert written, verbal and interpersonal communication skills, including expert ability to deal with broad and diverse constituencies with expert customer service orientation and skills.
- Expert listening and political acumen skills, and problem recognition, avoidance and resolution skills.
- Expert project management skills to effectively manage highly complex projects and critical components of projects with a significant impact on the organization.
- Expert skill in building, maintaining, and nurturing strong professional relationships to achieve short- and long-range program implementation goals.
- Expert skill in advising and consulting with all levels of management, capital planning, budgeting, and construction professionals.
- Excellent interpersonal verbal and written communication skills and habits
- Detail oriented and highly organized.
- Able to carry forward multiple projects, simultaneously.
- Thorough knowledge of and comfort working in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and Outlook software platforms
- Knowledge of Autodesk AutoCAD, Autodesk Revit and ESRI ArcGIS software platforms and principles.
- Successful completion of a Masters degree.
- Experience in higher education real estate and knowledge of Evanston and Chicago real estate markets.
- Illinois Relator's License.
- Ability to effectively build relationships with stakeholders and negotiate with the university's best interest.
- Previous experience managing and directing contracted consultants/vendors preferred.
At Northwestern, we are proud to provide meaningful, competitive, high-quality health care plans, retirement benefits, tuition discounts and more! Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/index.html to learn more.
Work-Life and Wellness:
Northwestern offers comprehensive programs and services to help you and your family navigate life's challenges and opportunities and adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles.
We support flexible work arrangements where possible and programs to help you locate and pay for quality, affordable childcare and senior/adult care. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/work-life/index.html to learn more.
Professional Growth & Development:
Northwestern supports employee career development in all circumstances whether your workspace is on campus or at home. If you're interested in developing your professional potential or continuing your formal education, we offer a variety of tools and resources. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/learning/index.html to learn more.
Northwestern strongly recommends COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters for people who can obtain them as a critical tool for minimizing severe illness. More information can be found on the COVID-19 and Campus Updates webpage.
The Northwestern campus sits on the traditional homelands of the people of the Council of Three Fires, the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Odawa as well as the Menominee, Miami and Ho-Chunk nations. We acknowledge and honor the original people of the land upon which Northwestern University stands, and the Native people who remain on this land today.
Northwestern University is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer of all protected classes, including veterans and individuals with disabilities. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply. Click for information on EEO is the Law.
#LI-RM1