Director of Facilities

About the School

Georgetown Day School opened its doors in 1945 as the first integrated school in a segregated city. Governed by a Board of Trustees elected by the parent body and administered by an appointed Head of School, it was founded by seven families who wanted to create a school committed not only to academic excellence and educational innovation but also to a value system emphasizing appreciation and respect for others. Believing that diversity was the ground out of which all deep and rich learning occurs, they established a school where all children would be welcome, celebrated, and challenged to be their best selves.

Today, the School's philosophy, programs, and position in the national educational landscape strongly reflect its roots. Having grown from 12 children in 1945 to 1075 students in PK-12 today, GDS is recognized as one of Washington, D.C.’s and the nation’s most dynamic educational institutions.

Since the school’s founding, GDS has called eight different locations home. In the fall of 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, the Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools were all joined on one extraordinary campus.

About the Position

Georgetown Day School (GDS), a dynamic educational institution in Washington, DC, is seeking a Director of Facilities. This pivotal role demands a seasoned professional with substantial experience in commercial facilities management and the ability to lead a high-performing and diverse team of maintenance and custodial professionals. The ideal candidate will bring a deep understanding of industry best practices in this field, ensuring the optimal functioning and sustainability of our school’s physical and operational infrastructure.

Reports to: Director of Operations and Innovation

Location: On-campus (Georgetown Day School, Washington, DC)

Start Date: Immediate

Type of Opportunity: Full-time, salaried, exempt with benefits.

Key Responsibilities:

• Physical Plant Management: Oversee the maintenance and improvement of the school's physical plant, which includes buildings, roofs, windows, and other structural elements.
  
  

• Campus Maintenance: Manage the upkeep of the campus, encompassing two soccer fields, a large playground, driveways, a full commercial kitchen serving 700 meals per day, two parking lots, and landscaping to ensure a safe, welcoming, and highly functional environment for students, faculty, and staff.
  
  

• Management of Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP) Systems: Ensure the efficient operation of MEP systems, focusing on heating, cooling, water management, and air handling.
  
  

• Administrative Leadership: Direct a team of 5 maintenance professionals, handling day-to-day administrative tasks, team management, purchasing, and maintaining numerous vendor relationships (including trash services, city utilities, and preventative maintenance).
  
  

• Vendor and Contracted Services Management: Liaise with numerous vendors and contractors to ensure that outsourced work is done efficiently, on schedule, and meets all regulatory and compliance requirements.
  
  

• Strategic Planning: Collaborate with the Director of Operations and Innovation and Chief Financial Officer to develop and implement a long-term vision for progressive, future-facing facilities management. This includes enhancing operational efficiencies, adhering to best practices, and effective risk management.
  
  

• Reporting and Communicating: Provide informative and scheduled updates to the campus community and school leadership to illustrate campus performance, preventative and unscheduled maintenance work, and work with team leaders on campus to ensure smooth and interconnected campus operations.

Qualifications:

• Extensive experience in commercial facilities management.

• Demonstrated knowledge of best practices in the field.

• Strong leadership skills with experience in team management whose members represent a range of ages, experiences, abilities, backgrounds and ethnicities.

• Proven ability to manage a diverse range of administrative and operational tasks.

• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, particularly in working with senior management to align facilities management with the school's mission and goals.

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, construction management, or related discipline.

• Five to ten years of comparable supervisory/management role in construction, maintenance/repair: working knowledge of at least three trades is required (maintenance, plumbing, electrical, HVAC systems, carpentry, construction).

• Must have knowledge and expertise in EPA, ADA, and OSHA codes and regulations and the ability to interpret and implement relevant procedures. Must also have skills to train others in these areas.

• Strong supervisory, organization, technical, and analytical skills.

• Excellent verbal communication and listening skills with high attention to clarity and detail with ability to explain complex information/fact patterns in understandable terms to all levels of personnel.

• Proven success in developing and balancing an annual budget.

• Ability to give direction, provide follow-up, give feedback, and ensure accountability on tasks done.

• Experience with blueprints and building specifications.

• Knowledge of, and prior training involving, federal, state, and local occupational hazard identification, prevention and control.

• Asbestos Awareness and Safety Training (school will provide training if needed).

• Valid Driver’s License, ideally a Commercial Driver’s License

• The candidate will be required to pass a national background check with fingerprints if offered employment.

• Spanish language ability is desirable.

Physical Qualifications:

• Manual coordination including finger dexterity, eye/hand/foot coordination, and to be able to distinguish between colors, climb, balance, stoop, kneel, crawl, reach, in addition to the ability to handle, feel, have depth perception, and hear.
• Must be able to lift, lower, carry, push, and pull objects up to 50 lbs., unassisted.
• May be subject to extreme heat and cold temperatures.
• Will be subjected to motor and/or machine noise.
• Ability to work in a variety of environments, including indoors, outdoors, on roofs or elevated areas.

Americans with Disability Specifications

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools or controls; reach with hands and arms; climb stairs; balance; stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl; talk or hear; taste or smell. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

Work Environment:

Work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is exposed to weather conditions prevalent at the time.

The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

To Apply

Qualified candidates should submit a cover letter, resume, and list of three references using our online application system through ADP/Workforce Now: http://www.gds.org/Recruiting. To find out more about the school, candidates should visit our website at www.gds.org.

As an inclusive school devoted to preparing our students to live, work, and lead in an increasingly globalized and multicultural society, GDS is particularly interested in professionals with demonstrated interest and experience in working in such a school setting and is driven by the core charge of working to enhance and bring joy to every student’s individual learning experience in equitable and meaningful ways.