Sr. Director, Global Facilities

Overview

Waters Corporation is seeking a Senior Director, Global Facilities, to shape and advance the company’s global facilities strategy. This role is critical to enabling safe, efficient, and scalable facilities operations during a pivotal period of growth and M&A integration. The Senior Director, Global Facilities provides strategic leadership and oversight for Waters’ global facilities portfolio, comprising approximately 140 sites and 6 million square feet across manufacturing plants, research laboratories, offices, and distribution centers. This role is accountable for facilities operations including engineering, compliance, and capital project delivery, and leads both internal teams and outsourced integrated facilities management partners. The position ensures facilities infrastructure supports safe, reliable and compliant operations aligned with business growth and product quality requirements.

 

Responsibilities

 Global Facilities Strategy and Portfolio Stewardship

• Develop and execute a global facilities strategy supporting a 6.0 million square foot portfolio across multiple regions and business units.
• Establish global standards for facilities maintenance, engineering, asset lifecycle management, and service delivery models.
• Align facilities planning with enterprise real estate strategy and long-range capacity planning

Facilities Operations & Reliability

• Provide oversight of facilities operations across manufacturing, laboratory, and commercial sites globally
• Ensure high reliability of critical infrastructure including mechanical systems, process support systems, and building automation systems
• Drive performance improvements across geographically distributed portfolio spanning millions of square feet or regulated and non-regulated spaces.

Integrated Facilities Management (IFM) Leadership

• Own the global strategy and governance for outsourced IFM providers.
• Ensure consistent service delivery, KPI performance, and cost optimization across all regions and sites
• Manage the operating model balancing internal expertise with outsourced service delivery

Global Facilities Capital Projects

• Lead the planning and execution of the global facilities capital programs supporting infrastructure upgrades, expansions, and technical modernization across global portfolio
• Establish and govern standardized project delivery framework, including stage gate processes, capital prioritization, and portfolio risk management.
• Ensure all capital projects are delivered on time, within approved budgets, and in compliance with regulatory and quality requirements.
• Oversee project performance metrics including schedule adherence, cost variance, order management, and contractor performance.

Financial & Vendor Management

• Own the global facilities operating and capital budgets supporting global portfolio
• Drive cost efficiency initiatives while maintaining service levels and compliance obligations.
• Lead vendor strategy, contract negotiations, and performance reviews across a large, outsourced workforce.

Organizational Leadership

• Lead a global organization of regional facilities leaders and capital project managers responsible for the company’s full facilities footprint
• Provide leadership and technical direction across diverse facility types including GMP manufacturing, R&D laboratories, and corporate offices.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required
• 15+ years of experience desired in facilities, engineering, or technical operations leadership experience within life sciences, pharmaceutical, or medical device environments
• Proven leadership managing a global facilities portfolio (preferably 5M+ SF), including both internal teams and outsourced service providers.
• Demonstrated accountability for capital project planning, execution, and lifecycle management, with consistent on-time, on-budget delivery
• Experience in managing Integrated Facilities Management (IFM) contracts and vendor governance across multiple regions
• Exposure to regulatory compliance, audit readiness, and safety programs in highly regulated industries
• Track record of leading organizational change, implementing global standards, and improving operational performance
• Deep technical knowledge of critical utilities, building systems, HVAC, clean utilities, laboratory and manufacturing facilities infrastructure
• Financial acumen in OPEX, CAPEX, and multi-year capital planning
• Familiarity with project management methodologies, stage-gate governance, and p