Dartmouth College

ZRG has been engaged to recruit a Director, Capital Projects for Dartmouth College.

The Director of Capital Projects has pivotal responsibility for the planning, execution, and management of Dartmouth’s capital program. The Director of Capital Projects provides strategic, operational, and technical leadership for the planning, design, and execution of both major & minor capital project initiatives across the institution. This role oversees the full lifecycle of capital development, from early feasibility and budgeting through design, construction, commissioning, and turnover, ensuring that projects advance institutional priorities, meet academic and research needs, and uphold standards for quality, sustainability, and fiscal stewardship.

The Director, Capital Projects serves as a key liaison among Campus Services leadership, faculty, administration, external consultants, and regulatory agencies. Serves as a thought leader with seasoned capital project delivery acumen and experience, with a thorough understanding of project delivery in institutional campus settings at all stages.

The position is also responsible for ensuring the successful delivery of capital projects assigned to direct reports, including planning, estimating, budget control, permitting, construction, scheduling, reporting, and problem solving. Besides capital projects, projects include both improvements and renovations to administrative, research, academic, residential, and athletic facilities to support the associated programs.

Dartmouth’s Campus Services Division is responsible for planning, design, construction and operation of Dartmouth’s buildings, campus landscape, and infrastructure. Dartmouth’s facilities include over 5 million square feet of space in 165 buildings. These facilities serve over 6,900 students and 5,000 faculty and staff in a variety of academic, research, administrative, athletic, and residential spaces.

• Capability to steward the development and execution of components within the multi-year capital plan, aligning facilities investments with academic, research, student life, and operational priorities.
• Ability to counsel leadership on capital project feasibility, cost implications, risk, and long-term campus infrastructure needs.
• Strategic principal and facilitator of the start‑up of key capital project initiatives and programs of varying scales.

• Oversees capital project initiatives of varying scales.
• Develop proposals to substantiate program priorities and resulting impact on Dartmouth’s buildings, infrastructure, and capital/operating budgets. Assembles annual capital budget submission packages for projects within area of responsibility.
• Establishes estimating and cost control procedures to ensure efficient utilization of institutional funds.
• Works with Campus Services Financial Office to ensure appropriate fiscal, procurement, and resource administration within area of responsibility.
• Ensures assigned projects follow Dartmouth’s signature authority policy.
• Collaborate with the other leaders in Project Management and Campus Services to develop and apply project delivery methods to assure best value results. Contributes to project planning and programming in conjunction with other Campus Services team members.
• Evaluates and tracks performance parameters. Supports reporting to administrative, faculty and trustee committees on status of prospective and active capital projects. Ensures capital program database is kept up to date while maintaining the 5-year capital plan.
• Works with latitude and resourcefulness under the general guidance of the AVP of Project Management. Takes initiative in anticipating technical issues and problems…