WHAT DOES A FACILITIES OPERATIONS MANAGER DO?
Updated: Jun 12, 2025 - The Facilities Operations Manager ensures quality induction and effective on-the-job training, managing team probation, attendance, and performance while setting and reviewing targets to align with organizational goals. Leads and motivates teams, providing direction to achieve facility plans, conducting regular security checks, and addressing safety protocols. Oversees exam setups, contractor supervision, and maintenance audits, ensuring compliance with safety standards and Trust procedures.
A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Facilities Operations Manager
1. Facilities Operations Manager Duties
- Leadership: Oversees 27 direct and indirect reports providing custodial, housekeeping, property management, mail/shipping/receiving/warehousing, employee transportation, switchboard, food service/catering/vending, records management, and asset disposal services and programs throughout Maine campuses and provides guidance and assistance as needed to other JAX campuses.
- Team Development: Leads, coaches and develops an effective team through staff development, performance management, compensation management, and succession planning.
- Budget Management: Management and responsibility for $3.4M annual operating budget through 7 direct reports.
- Facility Services: Responsible for Custodial and Housekeeping services in office, laboratory, and common areas on the 800,000 ft2 Bar Harbor and 300,000 ft2 Ellsworth campuses.
- Contract Management: Management of outsourced food service contracts on all JAX campuses, providing cost-effective dining service and catering options for nearly 3,000 employees from coast to coast.
- Program Oversight: Management and oversight of award-winning public transportation commuter bus program serving Maine employees, along with Cape Air commuter flight services between Maine and Connecticut campuses.
- Logistics: Oversees Bar Harbor warehousing, shipping, and receiving operations, assuring timely delivery of incoming and outgoing products while assuring compliance with DOT, NHTSA, FHWA, and other related state and federal transportation regulations.
- Property Management: Manages mixture of insourced and outsourced property management functions for 50 residential dwelling units, 4 dormitory style houses, and a 30-bed seasonal conference center.
2. Facilities Operations Manager Details
- Operational Management: Manage the teams of site and cleaning staff, ensuring that the day-to-day operations of the site are carried out and providing cover for absence.
- Record Keeping: Maintain and keep accurate records of all site allocated and master keys.
- Team Coordination: Organise and monitor the work of the Site and Cleaning Teams, ensuring that good use is made of out-of-hours working.
- Performance Standards: Set high expectations of output and conduct, instilling a proactive ethos within the teams.
- Staff Management: Responsible for the day-to-day personnel management of the cleaning staff and for monitoring and reporting on cleaning standards across the Academy.
- Budget Planning: Consult with the Head of Resources to identify the number of cleaning staff required to maintain a clean academy environment within the set annual budget.
- Schedule Preparation: Prepare cleaning schedules and schedules for more specific needs such as a deep clean timetable, fully utilising quieter periods and ensuring provision for special events (e.g., parents evenings, lettings, and functions).
- Policy Adherence: Adhere to Trust policies and procedures and ensure the teams are familiar with Trust procedures in relation to Health and Safety, operation of equipment, manual handling, and COSHH.
- Quality Control: Perform regular cleaning audits to monitor standards of cleanliness and, with the Head of Resources, implement ways to improve and meet the changing needs of the Academy, ensuring specifications are met and customer expectations are positively managed.
- Inventory Management: Monitor stocks of cleaning equipment and materials and place orders on a timely basis, having regard to the cleaning budget.
- Equipment Maintenance: Ensure that all site and cleaning equipment is safely maintained, appropriately serviced, and stored.
- Facility Inspection: Be responsible for a regular schedule of inspections throughout the buildings and action plans for modifications and improvements.
3. Facilities Operations Manager Responsibilities
- Training Provision: Provide quality induction and on-the-job training to members of the teams.
- Performance Management: Manage Site and Cleaning Teams probation, attendance, and performance management processes, addressing any staffing issues at an informal level prior to escalation, setting individual targets, and conducting regular reviews to ensure these targets are met.
- Leadership: Provide leadership and direction to the teams, enabling, inspiring, motivating, and supporting them to achieve the Trust facility plans.
- Security Oversight: Undertake regular security checks and identify security risks.
- Safety Monitoring: Monitored fire safety equipment, ordering replacements or refills.
- Alarm Operation: Operate and respond to alarm systems.
- Emergency Response: Act as a registered key holder, responding to alarm call-outs.
- Stakeholder Liaison: Liaise with police, security, and surveillance contractors.
- Event Preparation: Ensure exam and event setups are completed.
- Contractor Supervision: Supervise contractors as appropriate regarding access to site, monitor and log the progress of the work, and ensure that work is carried out to the required standard and in line with Trust procedures.
- Safety Management: Creating, monitoring, and communicating safe systems of work across site and cleaning teams.
- Audit and Compliance: Undertake safety and maintenance standard audits of the premises and ensure safe systems of work and risk assessments are in place for all site and cleaning activities.
4. Facilities Operations Manager Accountabilities
- Negotiation: In consultation with the appropriate person, negotiate prices for work to be carried out in the academy to ensure the best value.
- System Maintenance: Ensure the regular checking of those systems that require such checks: electrical testing, alarms, heating systems, fire safety systems, security alarms, PE equipment, etc.
- Coordination: Liaise with Central Trust staff to schedule checks or arrange for local checks with external contractors.
- Utility Management: Ensure the continuing availability of utilities, site services, and equipment.
- Resource Monitoring: Implement and monitor records of energy and water usage, act if usage varies, and ensure recording of monthly meter readings for utilities.
- Emergency Management: Provide emergency access to the site.
- Safety Culture: Actively promote and embed a health and safety culture across the Estates Team that creates a safe, secure, clean, and warm stimulating education environment.
- Maintenance Planning: Implement and monitor a preventative planned maintenance and decoration program.
- Facility Upkeep: Manage, organise and carry out various maintenance duties to ensure the general upkeep and maintenance of the premises is satisfactory.
- System Operation: Operated and maintained heating plant and lighting systems.
- Electrical Safety: Carry out or oversee and monitor the electrical testing of portable electrical appliances and maintain appropriate records.
- Record Keeping: Maintain and monitor records of Health and Safety checks and ensure that testing is carried out and recorded in line with Trust and statutory procedures.
- Safety Inspections: Regularly inspect and record health and safety walks, including asbestos monitoring.
5. Facilities Operations Manager Functions
- Facilities Management: Implementation and management of NT HQ Facilities (NT Factory, proving ground, training facility, office) and residence.
- Maintenance Scheduling: Generate and implement planned preventative maintenance schedules for the factory, office, and residence.
- Audit Management: Complete monthly site audits, organize maintenance arising from audit.
- Financial Planning: Provide input into operational, capital, and project forecasts.
- Contractor Management: Contractor engagement and management.
- Regulatory Compliance: Compliance, security, and safety.
- Maintenance Coordination: Organise reactive maintenance.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Liaise with internal stakeholders to ensure facilities meet business requirements.
- Strategic Development: Develop and report on strategic scope, plans, and forecasts for proposed capital works.
- Resource Management: Establish and manage a pool of shared vehicles, plant, and equipment.