Manager-Chilled Water Plant Operations

Job Description - MANAGER-CHILLED WATER PLANT OPERATIONS (T232938)

MANAGER-CHILLED WATER PLANT OPERATIONS - ( T232938 )

Description

The posting is intended to describe the general content and requirements of this position and is not intended to be an exhaustive statement of duties.

The “Manager – Chilled Water Plant Operations” is a key leadership role responsible for the safe, reliable, and efficient 24/7/365 operation of the University’s three Central Utilities chilled water plants and the campus‑wide chilled water distribution system, which jointly provide mission‑critical chilled water service to all campus buildings and hospital facilities. The Manager sets and drives a culture of safety and operational and reliability performance targets—including OEE, MTTR, MTBF, PM completion rate, staffing levels, and Skills Index—while leading a skilled workforce in executing best‑practice plant operations, maintenance, SOP/EOP governance, asset and cost management, and continuous improvement.

The role ensures regulatory compliance, system resiliency, and seamless service delivery to support academic, research, and healthcare operations.

• Lead all aspects of 24/7 chilled water generation and distribution operations, including centrifugal/screw chillers, cooling towers, pumps/VFDs, heat exchangers, controls/BAS/SCADA, and campus/hospital water treatment programs.
• Ensure capacity, stability, and responsiveness to seasonal and peak demands.
• Direct daily rounds, trend reviews, and set‑point optimization to meet campus and hospital loads.
• Manages the operation and maintenance of the Enterprise Chill Water Central System plants and related chill water distribution and return systems throughout the campus. Manages the operation and maintenance of multiple De-centralized Chill Water Central System plants and related chill water distribution and return systems throughout the campus.
• Directs water treatment vendor and oversees campus-wide water treatment program for chilled water systems.
• Oversee safety and maintenance practices in distribution vaults and other confined spaces (permits, atmospheric testing, ventilation, rescue readiness).
• Maintain seasonal readiness procedures (cooling‑season prep, freeze protection for towers/piping, weather‑event response for chilled water reliability).

• Establish annual performance targets (OEE, MTTR, MTBF, PM completion, kW/ton, cycles of concentration) and lead reliability programs (CBM/PM, failure elimination, energy/water optimization).
• Chair Root Cause Analysis (RCA) for chilled water system failures; ensure corrective actions are implemented, verified, and embedded in SOPs/PMs.
• Maintain a reliability dashboard cadence: monthly KPI reports, quarterly performance reviews, and annual health system summaries.

• Keep approved organization positions filled.
• Lead recruiting, onboarding, training, coaching, performance management, and retention across multiple shifts.
• Establish Skills Index targets for Operators, Mechanics, Repairers, and Supervisors; maintain documented training pathways and certification plans (e.g., EPA 608, OSHA 30, BOC).

• Develop, maintain, and audit SOPs, EOPs, LOTO procedures, PM strategies, and PM routes (vibration analysis, IR thermography, water chemistry).
• Enforce 5S workplace organization standards within plants, cooling tower areas, and distribution vaults.
• Drive CMMS governance KPIs: PM Library Coverage %, Failure Code Adoption %, Work Order Closure Quality Score, Asset Data Completeness Index; conduct quarterly audits and updates.

• Promote a safety culture and compliance with OSHA, EPA/ADEM, NFPA, ASHRAE, and University EH&S standards.
• Conduct hazard assessments, incident reviews, and program audits.
• Ensure cooling‑tower hygiene and water‑treatment compliance including legionella risk management and inspection readiness.
• Govern safe work practices: LOTO, confined space, hot work, chemical handling, fall protection,…