Assistant Director, Commissioning and Systems Turnover - Facilities Services - Tufts University

Tufts Operations Division is responsible for approximately 5.7 million square feet of space across four campuses (Somerville/Medford, Grafton, Boston, and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts).  Operations drives collaboration across the University and within its communities to elevate innovation and strategic investment in creating, connecting, protecting, nourishing, and sustaining each of its campuses in ways that enable students, faculty, and staff to do their best work.  Transformative experiences in teaching, research, and clinical practices are further facilitated through stewardship, strategic planning and other critical services offered by a variety of departments within Operations.

The Department of Facilities Services is one of these departments focusing on the safe, reliable, and efficient operations of buildings, utility systems, and grounds. Facilities provides a broad range of services to support each campus including capital renewal planning, construction advisory and support, engineering, utility operations, maintenance planning, repairs, and maintenance.  The campus energy systems consist of 13.8kV, 4160V, 480V and 208V electrical systems, low voltage systems, various commercial and industrial automation systems, high- and low-pressure steam, process steam, hot water, and chilled water. Each campus has different utility configurations served by a variety of boilers, chillers, substations, power generation, renewables, battery storage, and heat recovery equipment. Distribution systems are commonly direct buried conduit and piping that is owned and operated by the University. The University’s decarbonization, energy conservation, and cost control programs also take into account building envelope modernization and optimization.

Due to the volume of renovations, lab recertifications, and decarbonization projects; Engineering and Utilities is enhancing its Commissioning Program as it focuses on continuous improvement targeting safety, reliability, efficiency, construction turnover programs.  Quality assurance and quality control enhancements will be geared towards planning, design, construction, testing, acceptance, and monitoring based commissioning processes. As the organization gains proficiency in these processes and programs, other priorities will be assigned to align with changes to the University’s vision, mission, and strategic objectives.

Tufts University is searching for an Assistant Director of Commissioning and Turnover to oversee and administer MEP/FP and building envelope systems commissioning, air and water system testing, balancing, process measurement strategy, and continuous performance verification programs. This role will be reporting to the Director of Engineering and Utilities. The Engineering and Utilities department is a hybrid team headquartered in Medford, MA.

Facilitating the transition from construction to operations is an essential function of this role requiring a highly collaborative individual that focuses on commissioning program consistency and partnering with stakeholders that are responsible for project delivery. Candidates will be measured on their knowledge of industry best practices and their ability to effectively integrate stakeholder needs into deliverables that support project lifecycle goals.  Candidate cover letters should specifically demonstrate examples of complex problem-solving skills and proven experience in developing practical acceptance criteria for design, design-build, construction, and turnover to Operations.

Candidates must be able to demonstrate their ability to concentrate on large amounts of information and their ability to manage multiple assignments. The Assistant Director role will serve in various capacities as program manager, technical lead, project manager, lab recertification planner, training administrator, systems failure investigator, and other related performance management functions. The Assistant Director must have strong time management skills to effectively prioritize remote and onsite work.  The breadth of scope for this role intentionally spans across many departments to help absorb the variety of existing conditions, organizational structures, and stakeholders needed to develop meaningful relationships, processes, and procedures. This role will be joining a team of trusted advisors who remain flexible during times of crisis, providing each campus with reasonable options to expedite resolution.  While infrequent, night and weekend support may be required to help resolve unplanned project needs and emergencies. When onsite, work may require entering and navigating building envelope systems and spaces housing mechanical/electrical systems. This includes conducting inspections in both small/confined and high elevations including roofs. Some lifting of hatches may be required. This role will require the use of a variety of software applications, defining budgets and scopes for quality inspectors and Commissioning Authorities, managing consultant’s scopes, and working with installing contractors that are made available to help organize each campus’s needs.

Basic Requirements:

• Knowledge and experience typically acquired through the completion of a Bachelor’s degree in engineering field of study
• A minimum of 10 years of experience in MEP Engineering, Construction, and/or Commissioning
• Experience from comparable technical positions & industry will be considered including the power, process, healthcare, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, and/or utilities.
• A recognized professional certification, registration, or applicable military experience may also be considered to help augment degree and/or experience expectations.
• Must be proficient in comprehending and marking up large design and construction document sets with practical comments and recommendations.
• Technical knowledge of mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection and controls systems design and construction phase testing
• Experience with construction and/or owner project management software: ie: Autodesk BIM 360, Autodesk Construction Cloud, Procore, EBuilder
• Strong written and verbal communication skills: ability to synthesize and effectively communicate complicated concepts to general audiences.
• Strong interpersonal skills to foster effective working relationships at all levels.
• Strong organizational skills with a specific focus on the organization of documentation
• Working knowledge of applicable local, state, and federal/national statutes and guidelines
• Ability to attend to detail and work in a time-conscious and time-effective manner.
• Valid Driver’s License
• Microsoft Outlook, Office, PowerPoint, Excel

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with lab commissioning and/or re-verification of biosafety level 2 and 3 labs, Vivarium’s, and other types of mission critical, research, and animal facilities.
• Experience with commissioning toxic gas monitoring systems
• Experience with commissioning building automation and alarms management systems
• Technical knowledge of building envelope design, construction and/or testing
• Experience with IBM Maximo or other work order management systems preferred but not required.
• Extent of experience with navigating commercial and industrial automation systems, data historians, HMI’s, and trending tools. Ie. JCI Metasys, SE Structureware, Rockwell Factory Talk
• Measurement & Verification Certification or working knowledge of the International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP). Credentials to obtain certification after 10-14 months of service required.
• Certification(s) in Building Commissioning, Energy Management, Energy Auditing
• Experience with developing Cx, M&V, Lab Verification standards.
• Experience with performing facility condition assessments.
• Experience with commissioning software CxAlloy, BlueRithm, Facility Grid
• Participating member in one or more of the following organizations: AABC Commissioning Group, Building Commissioning Association, NEBB, Energy Management Association, Association of Energy Engineers, Cx Energy, ASME, ASHRAE, Bacnet International, International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories

Work Schedule Requirements:

This position is hybrid. Flexibility in work schedule required due to campus related emergencies, events occurring nights and weekends and special events such as matriculation and commencement.