Senior Lead, Building Systems

University of Ottawa

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Job Type:

Employee

Duration in Months (for fixed-term jobs):

N/A

Job Family:

Facilities Planning and Logistics

# of Open Positions:

1

Faculty/Service - Department:

Elevators and Lifts

Campus:

141 Louis-Pasteur

Union Affiliation:

SSUO

Date Posted:

juin 26, 2025

Applications must be received BEFORE:

juillet 07, 2025

Hours per week:

35

Salary Grade:

SSUO Grade 11

Salary Range:

$90 987,00 - $114 932,00

About the faculty/service: Facilities

Facilities services are characterized by a dynamic and creative growing team where the winds of change are blowing, offering people like you opportunities to use your leadership and innovation skills to contribute to the achievement of their inspiring mission: to deliver best in class research infrastructure, reshape campus life and student experience, and provide a sustainable environment for students, researchers, teachers and community.

uOttawa’s facilities encompass three main sites that are comprised of over 600,000 square meters of building space (over 6.4 million square feet), 42.5 hectares of grounds, 125 buildings and 4,500 beds in 11 residences. There are over 150 employees in Facilities, including Project Managers, Energy and Commissioning Specialists, Mechanical and Electrical Engineers, Architects, and space Planners. The facilities capital and operating expenditures are in the range of $100M for the University’s $2.0 billion assets under management. The 20-year Capital spending plan envisions $4.0 billion of new investment highlighted by uOttawa launch of project Top Shelf, a $300 million capital investment to build a new facility for the Faculty of Health Sciences at uOttawa’s River Campus, as well as a tower at the Roger Guidon campus to house uOttawa’s new Advanced Medical Research Center (AMRC).

Position purpose:

Reporting to the Associate Director, the Senior Lead manages the execution of major annual maintenance contracts of key buildings systems and collaborates with the Associate Director, Building Systems and his teams in the regulatory compliance of these systems. Directs contractors in maintaining an operational and safe working environment. Enforces safe shutdown requirements of research equipment and sites with Facilities and faculties.

Evaluates problems and recommends solutions or improvements on building systems to ensure the continual operation of complex building systems and structures, sophisticated equipment, and to minimize repercussions on personnel, buildings and equipment in dynamic situations.

In this role, your responsibilities will include:

  • Assesses the physical environment and building systems of multiple buildings which are integral to proper operation of complex scientific equipment and the delivery of academic functions. Evaluates the conditions and deficiencies and follows up on subsequent remedial activities to address noted deficiencies.
  • Institutes corrective measures to repair deficiencies of building systems in research laboratories, teaching spaces, common areas, and administration spaces. Follows up on these corrective measures to ensure quality of remediation and timeliness of response.
  • Assesses the day-to-day operational needs as required with regards to the complex and integrated physical environment and sophisticated scientific equipment and supporting infrastructure.
  • Works directly with Facilities and faculties personnel and contractors on a variety of facility issues to ensure a safe, expedient, and proper response to maintenance needs and equipment shutdown requirements.
  • Plans operations to mitigate and/or decrease down time for infrastructural services and building systems on complex and multidisciplinary research equipment. These services and systems may include vertical transportation, lifting devices, mechanical, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, emergency systems, building envelopes or structures, architectural finishes and lighting. Limits downtime and accidents related to sophisticated equipment and environments through planning and consultation with Facilities Management.
  • Provides expertise and insight, including developing technical specs for RFPs, with regards to new equipment purchases, maintenance services, laboratory renovations and design elements in new space environments. Assists the Associate Director, Building Systems in larger scale projects to ensure cost effective systems and optimal use of space.
  • Directs queries and work requests to services that support the University various building operations including Facilities - Operations, Protection Services, Information Technology Services, Office of Risks Management and Health and Safety.
  • Works closely with the Health and Safety Representatives to ensure compliance with existing legislation and industry safety norms and acts as on-site Facilities representative to ensure that the workplace and physical environment are well maintained. Provides information to the health and safety team as it relates to equipment, relocations and processes within the University buildings.
  • Assesses building systems signage requirements in each building, including life safety, electrical single and riser diagrams, roof anchorage drawings and certificates, mechanical room drawings to ensure compliance with University policies and industries best practices and guidelines.
  • Attends various meetings and discussions as directed by the Associate Director, Building Systems to ensure Facilities representation and concerns are delivered.

What you will bring:

  • College diploma in building or architectural technology program
  • Minimum of five (5) years’ experience in building management practices especially related to a scientific research and teaching environment
  • Strong knowledge base in building systems (HVAC, controls, service distribution, fumehoods, mechanical and electrical systems) or building envelope and state-of-the-art practices in building design as integrated with complex scientific equipment in a research-intensive institution.
  • Direct familiarity with construction, electrical and mechanical trades with a strong knowledge base of technical and architectural drawings especially as it pertains to biological, physical and chemical laboratories.
  • Strong knowledge of federal and provincial legislation related to workplace health and safety, WHMIS, environmental legislation, Fire and Building codes, Canadian Safety Authority Standards, University policies and other related legislation on working with and in hazardous environments.
  • Good communication, organizational and interpersonal skills. Ability to prioritize tasks to ensure continuity of services affecting research and teaching activities.
  • Ability to function at a high level of expertise under time constraints and deliver concise instructions as required in difficult conditions.
  • An excellent knowledge of the University’s internal organization would be an asset and the ability to negotiate and balance the requirements of a wide variety of groups and interests.
  • Bilingualism (English, French), both written and spoken.

#Li-MP1

Key Competencies at uOttawa:

Here are the required competencies for all or our employees at uOttawa:

Planning: Organize in time a series of actions or events in order to realize an objective or a project. Plan and organize own work and priorities in regular daily activities.

Initiative: Demonstrate creativity and initiative to suggest improvements and encourage positive results. Is proactive and self-starting. Show availability and willingness to go above and beyond whenever it is possible.

Client Service Orientation: Help or serve others to meet their needs. This implies anticipating and identifying the needs of internal and external clients and finding solutions on how to meet them.

Teamwork and Cooperation: Cooperate and work well with other members of the team to reach common goal(s). Accept and give constructive feedback. Able to adjust own behaviour to reach the goals of the team.

The University of Ottawa embraces diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We are passionate about our people and committed to employment equity. We foster a culture of respect, teamwork and inclusion, where collaboration, innovation, and creativity fuel our quest for research and teaching excellence. While all qualified persons are invited to apply, we welcome applications from qualified Indigenous persons, racialized persons, persons with disabilities, women and LGBTQIA2S+ persons. The University is committed to creating and maintaining an accessible, barrier-free work environment. The University is also committed to working with applicants with disabilities requesting accommodation during the recruitment, assessment and selection processes. Applicants with disabilities may contact hrtalentmanagement@uottawa.ca to communicate the accommodation need. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

Note: if this is a union position: The hiring process will be governed by the current collective agreement related to the union affiliation noted above; you can click here to find out more.

If this is a front-line position with responsibilities to interact with students, selected candidates must be rated at the Low Advanced proficiency level or higher for both oral comprehension and reading comprehension in their second official language. The rating is determined by a proficiency test designed by the Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute.

Prior to May 1, 2022, the University required all students, faculty, staff, and visitors (including contractors) to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 as defined in Policy 129 – Covid-19 Vaccination. This policy was suspended effective May 1, 2022 but may be reinstated at any point in the future depending on public health guidelines and the recommendations of experts.

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