Regional Director of Real Estate Operations

Company Description

Uncommon Schools is a nonprofit network of high-performing, public charter schools providing an outstanding K-12 education in historically under-resourced communities. We have proudly built schools that reflect our student population, with more than 60% of our teachers and staff across our network identifying as a person of color. Uncommon currently manages 53 schools serving 20,000 students in five cities: Boston, Camden, New York City, Newark, and Rochester. We are proud that Uncommon graduates persist in and graduate from college at five times the rate of their peers nationally. We achieve this by offering strong academic, co-curricular, and social-emotional learning that prepares students for success in college and beyond.

Job Description

Uncommon’s Home Office Real Estate Team (REF) is responsible for the leasing, acquiring, developing, renovating, and maintaining high-quality facilities for Uncommon’s schools across all its regions.

The Regional Director of Real Estate Operations (RD REO) will serve as the primary contact between New Jersey school operations and REF, helping to develop and then implement a strategic plan for the upgrade and maintenance of Uncommon’s New Jersey facilities. Working closely with REF, school Regional Superintendents of Operations (RSOs) and Directors of Operations (DOOs), the Home Office Finance team, and external professionals, the RD REO will monitor all facets of the team’s and schools’ facility and capital upgrade budgets, ensuring that communications between schools and REF are clear, timely, comprehensive, and effective; and that our buildings well serve our students and staff. This position will report directly to the Chief Real Estate Officer.

The RD REO will lead and manage a team of four Facility Managers (FMs) and four General Maintenance Workers (GMWs) in Newark and Camden, NJ, and oversee the project management, administrative, technical, and supervisory work related to the operation of school facilities in New Jersey. While the FM and GMW team’s overall responsibility is to monitor and respond to daily facility needs, the RD REO will also – in conjunction with REF – develop and monitor a short, medium, and long-term plan for effective maintenance and upgrade of our facilities to best serve our students and staff. The RD REO will own the regional facilities budgets working in collaboration with FMs and schools, and will maintain monthly budget trackers, and will attend all building council meetings to surface and help resolve facilities issues region-wide.

The RD REO must demonstrate successful experience in general facility management; leadership and mentorship of more junior staff; contract negotiation, fiscal management and compliance; excellent project management skills, monitoring, and reporting; and superior communication skills. 

Core Duties and Responsibilities

Strategic Planning and Management (30%)

• In coordination with the chief real estate officer and REF, develop a strategic plan to address short, mid, and long term issues at our NJ facilities, and craft an approach to implementing and monitoring that plan to reach successful conclusion.
• Lead a facilities team in the development and execution of an ongoing facilities management and preventive maintenance program, ensuring appropriate expertise and resources are in place to meet building requirements; respond to requests in a courteous, timely, and highly effective manner.
• Develop an effective approach to use of the online CMMS ticketing system (SchoolDude) and monitor and implement that approach to improve effectiveness. 

Management of School Facilities Managers (30%)

• Manage facilities team (8-10 people or more); establish and enforce communication chain of command
• Ensure timely response to general maintenance requests and emergency situations

Financial & Annual Planning (20%)

• With FMs develop annual facilities budgets for all schools.
• Develop and manage a 3-5 year facility budget in collaboration with REF, Finance, the facilities team, and school staff
• Monitor school budgets throughout the year, identifying resource savings and improved effectiveness where possible
• When necessary, oversee and assist facilities team to obtain and level vendor bids
• Hold facilities team and outside vendors accountable to ensure the strategic plan is implemented and managed as intended 
• Partner closely with other senior leaders throughout the organization to achieve desired outcomes

School Partnership (15%)

• Establish and foster effective relationships with school leaders
• Serve as main point of contact for school leaders and RSOs for all escalated real estate and facilities issues for New Jersey based school