Executive Director of Facilities and Capital Planning

at  Providence School District

The Providence Public School District (PPSD) serves approximately 22,000 students attending our 35 schools. PPSD employs more than 3,200 professionals who work in and provide support to our schools, which include 19 elementary schools, 6 middle schools, 10 high schools and 2 public district charter schools. Of our employees, approximately 2,000 are educators, and more than 600 others directly support students and families in our schools.
Our schools are diverse learning communities. Approximately 68% of our students are Latinx, 15% Black, 7% White, 4% Asian, 5.5% Multi-racial and 1% Native American. Approximately 40% of students are multilingual learners, and about 16% of students receive special education services. Approximately 55% of students come from homes where English is not the primary language spoken. Combined, our students and families speak more than 55 different languages and hail from 91 countries of origin.
The Executive Director of Facilities and Capital Planning (hereinafter Director) will report to the Chief of Operations and will interact at a significant level with a wide range of staff across PPSD, the City of Providence Department of Public Property, the Rhode Island Department of Education, the Rhode Island Governor’s Office, as well as with other public agencies. The Director will be responsible for supporting the advancement of district capital planning, new school construction, and major school renovation projects, ensuring capital budgeting through final project execution are completed efficiently and with the interests of Providence’s students foremost in mind.
The individual in this role will also be responsible for managing the district’s maintenance and custodial budget, ensuring contracted maintenance and custodial activities meet standards of high-quality and are appropriately delivered. We are looking for a seasoned facilities leader to meet the ambitious goals set forth by the district.
This role is an exciting opportunity to serve as a leader within a diverse and dynamic team committed to the audacious task of transforming public education in Providence Public Schools. By any measure, and over many years, the Providence Public School District (PPSD) has failed to deliver on its most fundamental obligation: fair and equitable access to a rigorous education for all children. The time for change is now and the district is in the process of a game-changing transformation led by a newly appointed State Turnaround Superintendent, in coordination with the Rhode Island Department of Education and with the support of the larger Providence community.
Since the beginning of the state intervention, expectations for what is possible with district facilities has changed dramatically. While just a short while ago the district’s capital plan was focused on small, band-aid fixes, it is now a comprehensive, multi-year plan focused on getting 100% of students in new or like new schools by 2030.

EDUCATION TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE:

Meets the requirements of being a Certified Educational Facilities Manager:

• Has been certified an educational facilities manager through an industry accepted certification offered at a regionally accredited institution of higher education or an approved postsecondary institution located within or outside Rhode Island; or
• Has a college degree in a field related to facilities management

Minimum of 10 years of supervisory experience in construction, facilities management, or related fields.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS STANDARDS:

Knowledge, Skills, and Mindsets Required

• A deep belief in the capacity of all students to achieve at high levels
• The demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with a diverse set of partners and stakeholders to drive transformative change within and outside of an organization
• Ability to exercise good judgment and focus on detail as required by the job
• Proven ability to motivate staff/contractors to produce projects on time and within budget
• Excellent interpersonal skills, exhibiting an ability to effectively communicate with multiple stakeholders across a complex ecosystem, including school leaders administrators, colleagues, parents, contractors, and other Providence stakeholders
• Excellent presentation skills, coupled with experience presenting to senior management, board-level staff, and/or elected officials
• Available outside business hours, as needed, for meetings and project-specific tasks

Technical Qualifications

• Ideal candidates will ideally have a minimum of 10 years of supervisory experience in construction, facilities management, or related fields. Knowledge of capital budgeting, contract practices, procurement, and construction regulations.
• Familiarity with state environmental regulations related to school buildings.
• Meets the requirements of being a Certified Educational Facilities Manager:
• Has been certified an educational facilities manager through an industry accepted certification offered at a regionally accredited institution of higher education or an approved postsecondary institution located within or outside Rhode Island; or
• Has a college degree in a field related to facilities management.

The Executive Director will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:

Serve as Lead and In-House Expert on District Facilities

• Serve as the district’s lead responsible for developing a vision for the district’s facilities aligned to the Superintendent’s educational vision for the district;
• Evaluate the governance and management of facilities as needed to ensure the educational vision of the district is the primary priority of capital planning;
• Ensure that the district’s facilities are appropriately managed and coordinated in conjunction with the city.

Lead District Capital and Long-Term Facilities Planning

• Serve as the district’s primary lead and expert on facilities, maintenance, and oversight of the development and execution of the city-led capital planning process;
• Develop space planning scenarios/configurations, as new projects roll out requiring different uses of school space and as the district’s needs for swing space continue to evolve;
• Work collaboratively with district academic leaders to ensure that the district’s capital plan supports broader district academic goals
• Assist in regular assessments of the district footprint, together with demographers where appropriate, to inform decisions about facilities.
• Drive community engagement efforts to ensure that the Providence school community is informed of and provides meaningful input into the district’s capital plan.

Oversee District-Occupied Facilities

• On an ongoing basis, conduct site visits and otherwise evaluate the quality and condition of all district-occupied facilities;
• On an ongoing basis, develop remediation and/or improvement plans for issues flagged during evaluation of district-occupied facilities;
• On an ongoing basis, ensure accountability over school managers who occupy district-occupied facilities and do not comply with maintenance expectations and or other facility use expectations;
• Maintain relationships with relevant contractors;
• Assemble and maintain school building maintenance schedules, in partnership with the city;
• Visit school buildings to assess facility needs and monitor ongoing projects.

Manage District’s Maintenance and Custodial Services

• Ensure the district’s maintenance and custodial budget is appropriately allocated, and project manage the provision of any contracted maintenance or custodial services;
• Ensure maintenance and custodial contracts deliver on intended contractual outcomes and provide a high-quality, clean learning environment;
• Lead the negotiation and development of new contracted services as necessary.

Management Of Facilities Intergovernmental Relations

• Partner/coordinate with the state School Building Authority and the City of Providence’s Department of Public Property regarding school construction-related activities, as described above;
• Coordinate with external partners, including City Hall and community based organizations, to align efforts citywide;
• Strengthen systems for managing all of the above.