Director of Operations, Tangen Hall, Venture Lab, Wharton School

Director of Operations, Tangen Hall, Venture Lab, Wharton School

University Overview

The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn's distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning. As an employer Penn has been ranked nationally on many occasions with the most recent award from Forbes who named Penn one of America's Best Employers By State in 2021.

Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia. The University is situated on a beautiful urban campus, with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, Philadelphia is the perfect place to call home for work and play.

The University offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.

COVID-19 vaccination is a requirement for all positions at the University of Pennsylvania. New hires are expected to be fully vaccinated before beginning work at the University. For more information about Penn's vaccine requirements and the use of Penn Open Pass, visit the Penn COVID-19 Response website for the latest information.

Posted Job Title
Director of Operations, Tangen Hall, Venture Lab, Wharton School

Job Profile Title
Director C

Job Description Summary
The Director manages Tangen Hall, the student entrepreneurship building with its 68,000 sq ft of innovation and collaboration spaces, on behalf of the Venture Lab organization (e.g., former Penn Wharton Entrepreneurship, the Sol. C. Snider Center, and the Weiss Tech Hub). This includes leading all aspects of Tangen Hall, from planning through day-to-day operations and performance measurement, to achieve Venture Lab's priority goals of making Tangen a "student entrepreneurship first" hub of entrepreneurial learning and activity and of increasing Penn-wide student engagement with the broader startup ecosystem.

This position is contingent on funding.

Job Description

In alignment with Venture Lab's mission and strategy, the Director supports the program team's delivery of co-curricular entrepreneurship programs in Tangen and lab-based programs in the 9 innovation spaces (e.g., fabrication studios, retail lab, food innovation lab, digital design studio, and digital media lab). This includes facilities access, event scheduling, and onsite support for Venture Lab's workshops, events, and other educational activities across Venture Lab's floors 1-4 and 7. This further includes extending Tangen facility access and support to other University departments and student groups that want to use the 7th floor event spaces to advance Penn student/alumni entrepreneurship and innovation.

From a building-wide management perspective, the Director is responsible for updating existing building policies and communicating, operationalizing, and enforcing them. The Director must further oversee building maintenance and warranties, housekeeping, technology support services, building access, security, and front desk services in the lobby and on the 3rd floor. The position will work to implement or improve access and scheduling systems and facility usage metrics. The Director must further support the needs of other building tenants including their access to the building, public spaces, and the 7th floor event spaces: the Integrated Product Design (IPD) program, the Jay H. Baker Retailing Center, the Harris Family Alternative Investments Program, the Stevens Center for Innovation in Finance, and Wharton Computing and Information Technology (WCIT).

Financially, the Director manages Tangen's $1M operations budget and a $200K capital improvement budget in compliance with Penn and Wharton financial requirements.

Organizationally, the Director supervises the work of two full-time staff members and manages front desk staffing to align with building needs. The Director further provides oversight and quality review of services rendered by building operations support personnel from Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) and their vendors. The Director is part of the Venture Lab team and collaborates closely with Wharton Operations, who is Venture Lab's partner in stewarding the building for the University. This position reports to the Executive Director of Venture Lab with a dotted line reporting to the Executive Director of Wharton Operations. To manage the building facilities and upkeep and plan infrastructure improvements, the Director must also liaise with Penn Facilities and Real Estate Services (FRES) and Penn Public Safety to ensure compliance with University best practices and Federal, state, and local laws and standards.

This position is considered "essential personnel" for the University, must work onsite at Tangen Hall Monday through Friday except for Penn-designated holidays, requires some evening/weekend work, and has 24/7/365 on-call responsibilities.

The Director must hold a Bachelor's Degree and 7+ years of progressively responsible experience in facilities management and/or higher education is required. Further, the Director must possess:
* Experience with information technology management; facility operations; higher education administration.
* Strong written and oral communication skills.
* Demonstrated ability to interact comfortably with various constituent groups, senior leadership, students, and alumni and ensure a high level of customer satisfaction.
* Solid administrative skills including the ability to establish objectives, identify key performance indicators, set performance standards, and organize a successful approach to facility utilization at Wharton.
* Demonstrated ability to mediate disputes, expect the unexpected, and lead during times of uncertainty, all while ensuring that the campus mission is being executed to the highest Wharton standards.
* Demonstrated ability to work independently and resolve issues/emergencies.
* Demonstrated aptitude with fabrication tools and machinery and ability to complete all safety and user training for lab spaces (Preferred but not required).
* Ability to hold a flexible schedule that includes evening/weekend work and 24/7/365 on-call responsibilities.

Job Location - City, State
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Department / School
Wharton School

Pay Range
$74,476.00 - $117,086.00

Affirmative Action Statement
Penn adheres to a policy that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected class.

Special Requirements
Background check required after a conditional job offer is made. Consideration of the background check will be tailored to the requirements of the job.

University Benefits
  • Health, Life, and Flexible Spending Accounts: Penn offers comprehensive medical, prescription, behavioral health, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits to protect you and your family's health and welfare. You can also use flexible spending accounts to pay for eligible health care and dependent care expenses with pre-tax dollars.
  • Tuition: Take advantage of Penn's exceptional tuition benefits. You, your spouse, and your dependent children can get tuition assistance here at Penn. Your dependent children are also eligible for tuition assistance at other institutions.
  • Retirement: Penn offers generous retirement plans to help you save for your future. Penn's Basic, Matching, and Supplemental retirement plans allow you to save for retirement on a pre-tax or Roth basis. Choose from a wide variety of investment options through TIAA and Vanguard.
  • Time Away from Work: Penn provides you with a substantial amount of time away from work during the course of the year. This allows you to relax, take vacations, attend to personal affairs, recover from illness or injury, spend time with family-whatever your personal needs may be.
  • Long-Term Care Insurance: In partnership with Genworth Financial, Penn offers faculty and staff (and your eligible family members) long-term care insurance to help you cover some of the costs of long-term care services received at home, in the community or in a nursing facility. If you apply when you're newly hired, you won't have to provide proof of good health or be subject to underwriting requirements. Eligible family members must always provide proof of good health and are subject to underwriting.
  • Wellness and Work-life Resources: Penn is committed to supporting our faculty and staff as they balance the competing demands of work and personal life. That's why we offer a wide variety of programs and resources to help you care for your health, your family, and your work-life balance.
  • Professional and Personal Development: Penn provides an array of resources to help you advance yourself personally and professionally.
  • University Resources: As a member of the Penn community, you have access to a wide range of University resources as well as cultural and recreational activities. Take advantage of the University's libraries and athletic facilities, or visit our arboretum and art galleries. There's always something going on at Penn, whether it's a new exhibit at the Penn Museum, the latest music or theater presentation at the Annenberg Center, or the Penn Relays at Franklin Field to name just a few examples. As a member of the Penn community, you're right in the middle of the excitement-and you and your family can enjoy many of these activities for free.
  • Discounts and Special Services: From arts and entertainment to transportation and mortgages, you'll find great deals for University faculty and staff. Not only do Penn arts and cultural centers and museums offer free and discounted admission and memberships to faculty and staff. You can also enjoy substantial savings on other goods and services such as new cars from Ford and General Motors, cellular phone service plans, movie tickets, and admission to theme parks.
  • Flexible Work Hours: Flexible work options offer creative approaches for completing work while promoting balance between work and personal commitments. These approaches involve use of non-traditional work hours, locations, and/or job structures.
  • Penn Home Ownership Services: Penn offers a forgivable loan for eligible employees interested in buying a home or currently residing in West Philadelphia, which can be used for closing costs or home improvements.
  • Adoption Assistance: Penn will reimburse eligible employees on qualified expenses in connection with the legal adoption of an eligible child, such as travel or court fees, for up to two adoptions in your household.



To learn more, please visit: https://www.hr.upenn.edu/PennHR/benefits-pay

To apply, visit https://wd1.myworkdaysite.com/en-US/recruiting/upenn/careers-at-penn/job/Tangen-Hall/Director-of-Operations--Tangen-Hall--Venture-Lab--Wharton-School_JR00043784

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