Associate Vice-President Real Estate Strategy and Facilities Operations

A career opportunity with College-wide impact for a strategically minded and tactically skilled executive who is adept at matching educational programs and building needs, and prepared to drive practical, innovative solutions to complex situations and make evidence-based decisions aligned to Centennial’s strategy, mandate, vision, and future direction.

About Centennial College

At Centennial College, our focus has always been on preparing graduates to enter the workforce, while teaching them to be leaders. As a result, we’ve worked to build lasting partnerships with local communities, while preparing our graduates to succeed globally. Along with offering industry-recognized full- and part-time programs at four Toronto campuses, we do extensive work teaching international students, and are enabling more Canadian learners to have an international adventure.

We believe a Centennial education is an education without borders. Over the past 50 years, we’ve transformed ourselves from a local community college to a worldly institution, with a presence in countries like China, India, South Korea and Brazil. We’re now prepared for the next set of challenges: to be more innovative and entrepreneurial, to further exploit the benefits of technology, to creatively engage our employees, to build more bridges with communities and employers, and to see our graduates do meaningful work and have meaningful lives.

Diversity, equity and inclusion are fundamental to our mission to educate students. We are committed to education that places strong emphasis on global citizenship, social justice and equity. We live this through the strength and richness that diversity brings to our workforce and welcome contributors from equity groups, including: Visible Minorities, Persons with Disabilities, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer persons.

We also recognize that Centennial is situated on the Treaty Lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and pay tribute to their legacy as well as that of all First Peoples that have been and remain present here in Toronto. We recognize that First Peoples come from sovereign Nations and that part of understanding our responsibilities of residing on this territory are understanding the true history, circumstances and legacy of the Treaties signed here (such as the Toronto Purchase, Robinson-Huron Treaty and Williams Treaties) and including pre-contact Treaties and Agreements between sovereign Nations and that all peoples in this area are therefore Treaty people with obligations and responsibilities to all our relations.

About the Role

As Associate Vice-President (AVP) Real Estate Strategy and Facilities Operations, you will champion key areas for Centennial College, including Strategy and Master Planning, Facilities Management & Emergency and Public Safety, and Ancillary Services. You will develop, implement and evaluate long-term strategic plans in the areas of real estate, capital projects and facilities management to support the College's Master Space Plan and overall strategic/business plans.

In response to the anticipated need for new or improved facilities to meet the academic and service needs of the College, you will oversee the research, evaluation and identification of potential real estate opportunities and new ventures aligned with Centennial’s strategic and business plans.

Your capacity for innovative thinking and execution will be evident as you rethink space use and, in close partnership with the VP People and Equity, create an agile working environment and, particular to this portfolio, “agile buildings” to enable individuals and teams to work in the most appropriate setting for the task in hand. This will include rethinking the Master Space Plan in alignment with new post-COVID program priorities and new ways of using space, as well as developing and implementing a

comprehensive, focused plan to build strategic relationships and partnerships to secure funding and other support for College development projects.

One of your priorities in overseeing facility new builds, renewal and management at all campuses will be to seek green credential status, via sustainability and energy management initiatives, while overseeing development of college-wide safety and security programs, considering new and cutting-edge approaches to ancillary service models for students and facilitating a leading, fiscally responsible security and emergency management practice aligned to a robust business continuity plan.

As an AVP at Centennial College, you’ll be actively responsible for contributing to and championing the Centennial culture of social justice, equity, inclusivity and decolonization, participating in agile and collaborative ways of working across the portfolio and College as a whole.

This key mandate calls for a professional with demonstrated experience in developing and executing real estate strategies in support of an organization’s business plan. This will have included planning and policy/procedure development for real estate acquisition, capital project co-development projects, interpreting architectural designs and drawings, and construction specifications, and dealing with real estate development business practices, zoning and permit processes.

Having successfully managed large, complex projects (over $25 million), on budget, and on time, you have expertise in the design, implementation, administration and evaluation of programs in a wide variety of areas such as: physical facilities and properties; physical accessibility; preventative and deferred maintenance of buildings, equipment and grounds; environmental issues, including hazardous wastes; and security plans and processes.

Given the scope of this mandate, you will also have demonstrated experience in interpreting laws and regulations, providing advice on building codes, fire codes, safety regulations, and other government regulations relating to College buildings, grounds and services, hazardous materials, energy conservation and safety issues, and ensuring changes are made to comply with regulatory changes, as appropriate.

With a master’s degree in Management, Business, Finance, Engineering, Architecture, Construction or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience, and 11 years of progressive, collaborative management experience and leadership/direction of a large staff, including organizing, prioritizing and scheduling work assignments in a unionized environment, you are poised for success.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification is considered an asset.

You are well versed in matrix and horizontal leadership, with substantial experience in building and empowering inter/intra relationships in achieving outcome-based solutions, and are prepared to build partnerships and effectively influence within your portfolio and across the College community, relevant Councils, and governing bodies. You are also experienced in building a culture of accountability, and driving institutional effectiveness (e.g. analysis, communications, alignment and leadership development).

As Centennial’s new AVP Real Estate Strategy and Facilities Operations, you will be intellectually agile and emotionally intelligent in approaching challenges within internal and external environments, innovative in creating solutions to leverage opportunities for the benefit of your portfolio and the College, and able to skilfully balance multiple priorities in a fast-paced, rapidly changing work environment. Above all, you have the respect and experience to lead through the lens of social inclusion, internationalization, decolonization and equitable practices that foster progressive stakeholder discussions and relationships, as well as culturally relevant programs and competencies.

December 3rd, 2021

To apply for this high-impact executive mandate in post-secondary education, submit your application to Phelps, at careers@phelpsgroup.ca, specifying the job title in the subject line of your e-mail.

Application deadline:

PHELPS GROUP

401 Bay Street, Suite 1400, Toronto, ON M5H 2Y4
Phone: 416 364 6229