University Space Official

Job Description

Reporting to the Vice President for Facilities, the University Space Official is responsible for managing the space resources of Virginia Tech’s campuses in Blacksburg, Roanoke, and the greater Washington, D.C., metro area and the university’s research facilities located throughout the commonwealth. This role will help ensure the efficient, equitable, and strategic use of space across campus to support academic, research, administrative, and support functions.

This is a highly visible role that interacts with top-level administration of the university and delivers strategic, operational, and tactical support for the benefit of all university constituents. The role is expected to foster a culture of collaboration, trust, and shared accountability among many university stakeholders, ensuring that space management decisions are inclusive and transparent, supporting the university's strategic goals. By creating a solution-oriented program, the University Space Official bridges aggregate institutional needs in an effort to enable strategic, data-driven decisions that optimize university resources.

The University Space Official will lead the Office of Space Management, oversee the development and maintenance of the university’s space standards, and support institutional decision-making by providing data-driven recommendations aligned with Virginia Tech’s strategic goals.

The role must ensure compliance with university policies and procedures, divisional procedures, and federal and state regulations and guidelines. Additionally, the role will provide and define the support required for the Vice President for the oversight of all university policies relevant to their responsibility. This role requires a strong commitment to data integrity, collaboration, and adherence to institutional policy. It will provide direct oversight of special projects, the development of strategic presentations, unit reporting, and may be required to represent the university in meetings.

Required Qualifications

• Degree in facilities management, architecture, urban planning, or a related field AND/OR equivalent experience.

• Demonstrated, progressive experience in space management, facilities planning, or a related discipline.

• Strong understanding of institutional space policies and best practices.

• Ability to analyze complex space data and provide actionable recommendations for institutional space planning.

• Experience researching and preparing technically complex executive level documents, position papers, reports, proposals, and presentations on a variety of strategic topics.

• Demonstrated commitment to data-driven decision making and the use of key performance indicators in the execution (development, analysis, corrective action, communication, and pursuit and provision of feedback) of tactical, operational, and strategic responsibilities.

• Exceptional communication skills, interpersonal skills, diplomacy, and the ability to effectively interact and build trusted relationships with many internal and external constituencies.

• Demonstrated commitment to exceptionally responsive, consistent, and transparent program delivery to all campus constituents. Champions a responsive workforce that embraces a culture of continuous improvement, self-assessment, and accountability in a dynamic environment. Deploys, accepts, and acts on all mechanisms of customer feedback to achieve results and effect change.

• Demonstrated ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks and projects; excellent organizational, leadership, and delegation skills; and ability to work collaboratively. Must have strong problem solving and conflict resolution skills to manage complex tasks and/or those that require balancing competing interests.

• Strong analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, with ability to see patterns, be a fast thinker, and make decisions with strong attention to accuracy, detail, and local context.

• Demonstrated patience, reliability, composure, and stability under pressure as well as a strong personal ethics commitment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in facilities management, architecture,…