How to land a San Diego job in facilities management

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Facility management oversees various responsibilities in the running of large facilities, and often involves managing several buildings over large campuses.  Facility manager positions are typically found in:

• City and county government
• Hospitals
• Casinos
• Schools & universities
• Hotels
• Prisons
• Large corporations (e.g. Qualcomm, Sempra Energy, San Diego Zoo)

Your responsibilities will largely depend on the facility and the employer’s organizational chart.  You may be asked to facilitate real estate property management, forecast upgrades needed for the next five to 10 years and maintain a budget.  You’ll need to know something about HVAC systems, electrical, plumbing, fire protection and boiler operations.  You’ll probably be required to understand energy management and also identify ways to use resources more efficiently to create healthy work spaces that increase productivity.  Your job will also most likely require you to identify practical energy management solutions, recycling, and waste management too. 

Many facility managers secure their positions by starting at a technical level (i.e. general facility repairs and maintenance) and working their way up to a facility management position.  Bob Lennon, a former administrative director of facilities for a 142-bed hospital in Encinitas, started his career as a landscaper at the Mission Bay Hospital in 1981.

 ”I worked my way up to a supervisor position and then became a director of plant operations.”  The challenge with the working-your-way-to-the-top scenario is you’ll most likely be quite good with some system functions, but find yourself lacking in others.  Lennon admits, “HVAC was a mystery to me; I also lacked electrical experience.”

Bill Trenfel, current director of facilities operations at the same Encinitas hospital, agrees with Lennon and adds to that, “A technician almost never gets training in project management, finance or planning.  These are important functions for a facilities manager and something that can’t be overlooked.”

If you aspire to a career in facility management, complementing your most basic knowledge and skills will make you much more attractive to a potential employer. To that end, the International Facilities Management Association (IFMA) offers a certificate in facilities management. IFMA is the world’s largest and most widely recognized international association for professional facility managers. Its members manage more than 37 billion square feet of property world-wide. 

A facilities management professional certificate can typically be obtained with approximately 25 course credits and costs less than $3,000.  UC San Diego Extension offers a Facilities Management certificate that fulfills all of the educational requirements of IFMA. Additionally, UCSD and Grainger (a products and services provider for facilities) offer six $1,600 scholarships. 

To find job opportunities in facilities management, search for titles that include similar duties:

• Plant operations
• Field operations
• Building manager
• Facility manager
• Chief engineer
• Facility support services

Lennon and Trenfel both agree that communication and people skills are the most important qualities to a successful career in facilities management.  “Being able to communicate with your front line and the executive staff are critical in this type of work,” says Lennon.

 ”You also have to have the ability to maintain a level head and problem solve when everyone else appears to be in a panic.”  Trenfel agrees, “Projects often come at your fast.  The funding is approved and you’re given four weeks to plan, negotiate and execute.  You must be able to deal with the challenge this type of turn-around can create.” 

Donna Moore writes for SDNN.

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This entry was posted on Monday, October 19th, 2009 at 2:48 pm and is filed under Job & Careers . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.