Facilities Management Grounds Director

The Opportunity

Cornell University seeks a collaborative and strategic leader to serve as its Facilities Management Grounds Director. This is an exceptional opportunity to lead the stewardship performance and long-term sustainability of one of the nations most beautiful and recognizable university campuses. Spanning more than 900 acres Cornells Ithaca campus is renowned for its iconic landscapes breathtaking gorges and waterfalls extensive trail network and distinctive exterior environments that support a vibrant academic research residential and visitor community.

The Grounds Director will provide strategic leadership for the universitys grounds operations setting the vision priorities and service delivery strategies that ensure Cornells outdoor environment remains safe sustainable resilient and welcoming. This role is instrumental in advancing the universitys commitment to environmental stewardship operational excellence regulatory compliance and exceptional campus experiences for the Cornell community.

The Director will translate institutional priorities into comprehensive operational strategies across a diverse portfolio that includes landscape management snow and ice operations site construction services campus pavement systems and the stewardship of Cornells renowned gorge trail pedestrian pathways. By balancing day-to-day operational excellence with long-term planning the Director will help preserve and enhance the universitys physical environment while supporting Cornells academic research and public engagement mission.

As a member of the Facilities Management leadership team the Director will partner closely with leaders across Campus Stewardship Asset Management Capital Projects Environmental Health and Safety and other university stakeholders to ensure a coordinated data-informed approach to managing Cornells built and natural environment. This leader will contribute to enterprise-wide planning efforts by aligning operational practices with asset management principles lifecycle planning capital investment strategies and data governance standards to support the long-term performance and maintainability of campus assets.

The Director will lead and inspire a diverse organization of approximately 50 employees including professional and union staff fostering a culture grounded in collaboration accountability continuous improvement and safety. Through thoughtful workforce planning employee development and resource stewardship the Director will empower teams to deliver high-quality services while maintaining operational agility in a dynamic and evolving environment.

The successful candidate will bring exceptional leadership operational and relationship-building skills along with the ability to think strategically while remaining engaged in the day-to-day realities of a complex organization. They will be an innovative problem solver who is comfortable navigating competing priorities identifying opportunities for improvement and making informed decisions that balance operational needs with long-term institutional objectives.

This is a unique opportunity for a leader who is passionate about creating and maintaining exceptional campus environments while advancing sustainability operational excellence and service innovation. Through strategic leadership and strong partnerships the Grounds Director will make a lasting impact on Cornells physical campus and contribute to the continued success of one of the worlds leading research institutions.

This is a full-time (40 hours/week) endowed position based in Ithaca NY and fully on-site.

About Facilities Management

Facilities Management (FM) provides maintenance grounds and custodial services to the entire campus. As a key steward of the Universitys facilities FM is responsible for facility assessments skilled trades general construction building care grounds recycling asbestos and the management of planned corrective and preventive maintenance.

What We Need

We are seeking a team member who demonstrates strong leadership skills excels at building strong relationships is creative in motivating and engaging staff exercises sound judgement in complex situations and effectively communicates key issues and recommendations to leadership. Additionally you will have:

• A Bachelors degree in landscape management horticulture agronomy natural resources forestry construction management landscape architecture civil engineering or a related field.
• 7 -10 years of progressively responsible leadership experience in grounds landscape or facilities operations within a large complex organization including oversight of operations staff and budgets or equivalent combination.
• Demonstrated experience leading multi-functional teams including professional and union and/or represented staff with accountability for workforce planning operational performance and organizational effectiveness.
• Proven ability to develop and implement operational strategies aligned with organizational priorities including safety environmental stewardship regulatory compliance and service delivery outcomes.
• Experience managing budgets and resources with the ability to balance operational needs long-term planning and fiscal responsibility.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to effectively engage and influence a wide range of stakeholders from frontline staff to senior leadership and external partners.
• Demonstrated ability to operate effectively in a dynamic environment including during high-pressure situations such as campus emergencies or critical operations.
• Proficiency with standard business and operational software tools.
• Valid drivers license required.
• Proven experience connecting inclusion belonging and wellbeing practices to business goals.

If you possess these experiences and skills this may be the role for you! There are a few other qualifications we would view as incredibly helpful in this role to include:

• Advanced degree in a related field (e.g. landscape architecture environmental management business administration public administration or engineering).
• Professional certifications relevant to the field (e.g. Certified Arborist Landscape Industry Certified Manager Professional Engineer LEED accreditation or similar).
• Experience in higher education or similarly complex decentralized environments.
• Experience integrating operations with asset management capital planning or campus stewardship functions.
• Demonstrated experience advancing sustainability initiatives including landscape sustainability waste reduction or environmental compliance programs.
• Experience influencing capital project outcomes including design review constructability and long-term maintainability.
• Experience leading organizational change continuous improvement initiatives or implementation of new systems processes or standards.
• Experience leveraging data metrics or enterprise systems (e.g. EAM/CMMS platforms) to inform planning prioritization and performance management.

A cover letter and resume are required for consideration for this position. Your cover letter should describe your interest in the position and explain how your experience and professional goals align with the roles objectives and opportunities for mutual success.

Rewards and Benefits

• This position is based in Ithaca New York and is fully on-site.
• Cornell receives national recognition as an award-winning workplace for our health wellbeing sustainability and diversity initiatives.
• Our benefits programs include comprehensive health care options generous retirement contributions access to wellness programs and employee discounts with local and national retail brands. We invite you to follow this link to get more information about our benefits: Understand Your Benefits Working at Cornell.
• Our leave provisions include health and personal leave three weeks of vacation and 13 holidays: Martin Luther King Jr. Day Memorial Day Juneteenth Independence Day Labor Day Thanksgiving and the day after and an end of the year winter break from December 25-January 1. To offer greater flexibility for observing faiths and traditions we also offer two additional floating holidays. Learn more about our generous leave provisions: Holiday and Accrued Time Off Working at Cornell
• Cornells impressive educational benefits include tuition-free Extramural Study and Employee Degree Program tuition aid for external education and Cornell Childrens Tuition Assistance Program. Learn more about our extensive educational benefits: Education Benefits Working at Cornell
• Follow this link to learn more about the Total Rewards of Working at Cornell: Total Rewards Working at Cornell.

Visa Sponsorship is not available for this position.

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Non-Union Positions

Noted pay ranges reflect the potential pay opportunity for each job profile. The hiring rate of pay for the successful candidate will be determined considering the following criteria:

• Prior relevant work or industry experience

• Education level to the extent education is relevant to the position

• Unique applicable skills

• Academic Discipline

To learn more about Cornells non-union staff job titles and pay ranges see Career Navigator.

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The hiring rate of pay for the successful candidate will be determined in accordance with the rates in the respective collective bargaining agreement. To learn more about Cornells union wages see Union Pay Rates.

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