Facilities Manager

Company Description

By working at Harvard University, you join a vibrant community that advances Harvard's world-changing mission in meaningful ways, inspires innovation and collaboration, and builds skills and expertise. We are dedicated to creating a diverse and welcoming environment where everyone can thrive.

Harvard University's Central Administration (CADM) is a 5,000‑plus employee organization that supports the university's overall excellence by understanding and serving the needs of its schools, students, faculty, staff, alumni, and surrounding communities. Through dynamic and collaborative partnerships, CADM provides high‑quality and efficient services to the schools to help them achieve their goals.

The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University is the oldest public arboretum in North America and one of the world's leading centers for the study of plants. Founded in 1872 and designed by America's first landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted, and the Arboretum's first director, Charles Sprague Sargent, the 281‑acre Arboretum is a historic landmark and one of the best‑preserved of Olmsted's landscapes.

A unique blend of beloved public landscape and respected research institution, the Arboretum provides and supports world‑class research, horticulture, and education programs that foster the understanding, appreciation, and preservation of woody plants. Along with a horticultural library and herbarium encompassing some 1.5 million dried plant specimens, the Arboretum comprises one of the largest and best‑documented woody plant collections in the world, with roughly 16,000 accessioned plants.

Reporting to the Head of Operations, the Facilities Manager is responsible for the management and maintenance of the built infrastructure and physical plant of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University—North America’s oldest public garden. These facilities are central to organizational operations, and house critical assets essential to advancing the mission of the Arboretum as a world‑class research institution and beloved public park in the City of Boston.

Key facilities comprise just over 100,000 square feet and include the historic Hunnewell Building and maintenance garage, Weld Hill Research Building, Dana Greenhouse, 1090 Centre Street farmhouse, 163 Walter Street residence, and the Mobile Visitor Center. Associated building systems include mechanical, plumbing, electrical, structural, envelope, elevators, life safety, security, environmental monitoring, waste, and stormwater. The Facilities Manager also supports the oversight of select infrastructure across the Arboretum’s properties—such as utilities, sheds, storage units, and fueling equipment—and occasional upkeep of signage, fencing, bridges, benches, and gates.

This is an essential personnel position
, requiring in‑person response during emergencies and outside normal operating hours. This is a full‑time, on‑site position based in Boston, MA (Jamaica Plain and Roslindale), with a workday typically starting between 6 am‑8 am.

• Supervise two non‑exempt staff and manage custodial contracts/staff.

• Inspect buildings, manage digital records, and develop preventive maintenance plans using staff and contractors.
• Perform hands‑on building repair and maintenance tasks, ensuring timely and efficient resolutions to facility issues.
• Manage and coordinate with staff and contractors for larger projects to maintain operational efficiency.
• Oversee service contracts, ensure ADA and code compliance, manage waste/hazardous materials, and support sustainability efforts.

• Assist in planning and supervising facilities projects and minor capital improvements.
• Contribute to budgeting, proposals, and evaluating service needs.
• Manage donor bench fabrication and inventory.

• Oversee a variety of Building Management Systems and ensure regulatory and safety compliance.
• Maintain emergency plans, address incidents, and supervise wood shop operations and training.