Flatirons Campus Laboratory Facilities Research Operations Director

Flatirons Campus Laboratory Facilities Research Operations DirectorCO - BoulderRegular40NREL’s 305-acre Flatirons Campus is the nation’s premier wind energy, water power, and grid integration research facility. Nestled south of Boulder, Colorado, and north of NREL’s main South Table Mountain campus, Flatirons sits adjacent to the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge and countless acres of open space and parks with stunning views of the Flatirons rock formations.

• Creates a collaborative environment to advance short- and long-range operational goals and cultivates a fully integrated, trusting and collaborative environment between research, Environment, Safety, Health and Quality (EHS&Q), and Site Operations
• Serves as an S&T integration point for maintenance, engineering, projects, ESH&Q, and other resources required to best support the research mission and maintain the FC facilities.
• Ensures Safe Conduct of Research through implementation of the safety envelope.
• Provides creative solutions to balance a diverse group of stakeholder needs, enabling compliance, safety, and research productivity.
• Leads planning for capital equipment, infrastructure and space, design and development of new laboratories at FC.
• Working collaboratively with NREL Laboratory Operations as well as MTES leadership and staff
• Maintains safe and environmentally responsible operations across FC.
• Ensure all work within the assigned facilities is planned, evaluated, approved, authorized, and released in accordance with and NREL’s Integrated Safety Management and Safe Conduct of Work programs and within the safety envelope of the facility.
• Maintains work planning and control processes within FC that are compliant with NREL policies and procedures.
• The primary responsibility for this position is to ensure safe, efficient, secure, and productive operations of all research laboratories and facilities at FC.
• Ensure FC facilities, equipment and documentation are research ready.
• The FC Research Operations Center Director is also responsible for instilling a safety culture in a productive R&D environment for all FC staff.
• Project management of maintenance and FC facility expansion projects.
• Actively participates in the Laboratory Research Operations Council, the Research Operations Director Council to support the development and implementation of operational policies, procedures, and practices.
• Responsible for integrated safety management, maintenance of the safety envelope for all FC buildings, work planning and control
• Develop strategic plan and integrated schedule for the FC facilities and capabilities including future planning, capability expansion, upgrade projects, and space optimization at FC.
• Support and advance diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives
• Responsible for operations, management, and oversight of the FC facilities and laboratories.
• Own the safety envelope of the assigned facilities including ensuring there is an up to date Hazard Analysis Review (HAR) document in place and managing the items relied on for safety (IROFS) identified in the HAR to maintain research readiness.
• Collaborate with research and mission support staff to develop process improvements that may be applied at FC.
• In collaboration with the MTES Senior Research Operations Director, center directors, researchers, business partners, assists with Directorate annual planning and execution for operational support of research, programmatic, and business development goals.

• Research and operations infrastructure development at FC, including capability readiness, laboratory utilization and readiness, and the facility safety envelope and focus.
• Supporting line management in understanding laboratory safety baselines, risk management, and configuration management.
• Working across the specific needs of the Flatirons campus to ensure that management reporting, safety, information flow, and business processes are on track for success.
• Coordinating capital equipment and facility modification funding requests.
• Daily operations oversight in collaboration with the MTES leadership.
• Supporting management and optimization of laboratory space utilization.
• Responsible for working with MTES Senior Operations Director to develop long-term strategic plans for future upgrades and additions to FC facilities to support long term research objectives.

Bachelor’s Degree and 10-years’ experience in technically related research discipline; Or, Master’s Degree and 9-years’ experience in technically related research discipline; Or, PhD and 7-years’ experience in technically related research discipline. At least 6 years of management, budget, administrative, program strategy development and implementation experience required

• Must meet educational requirements prior to employment start date.

• Record of progressively more complex assignments and applications, including management or technical leadership experience in an R&D environment.
• Demonstrated success leading and directing personnel with diverse skills, work styles, and values
• Considerable skill in codesigning, interpreting, articulating, and implementing organizational policies and procedures.
• Demonstrated ability to manage, empower, and motivate technical staff.
• Builds effective teams, creates strong morale, and shares wins and successes.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Demonstrated ability to plan and manage budgets and people.
• Demonstrated success in supporting research operations for a complex R&D organization with interorganizational and industry-driven partnerships.
• Strong interpersonal, communication, organizational, and presentation skills, including conveying hard truths in an empathetic way.

• Significant technical expertise in technologies of interest to the directorate.
• Demonstrated ability to plan and manage budgets and people.
• Knowledge of DOE and other government programs, in particular the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Demonstrated ability to manage, empower, and motivate technical staff.
• Knowledge of laboratory operations and DOE policies and procedures.
• Knowledge and application of Integrated Safety Management, Integrated Work Management, and other industrial hygiene and safety procedures.
• Demonstrated success in supporting research operations for a complex R&D organization.
• Strong interpersonal, communication, organizational, and presentation skills, including conveying hard truths in an empathetic way.
• Record of progressively more complex assignments and applications, including management or technical leadership experience in an R&D environment.
• Comprehensive experience in establishing an independent maturity level safety culture that demonstrates skillful rigor in work planning and control, change management, risk management, integrated safety management, safety audits, quality management, QRA, FMEA, safety checklists, incident response reviews, after action reviews, electrical safety, learning optimization, waste management, handling and storage, and related efforts.
• Working knowledge of science and technologies for renewable energy and energy efficiency.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively lead and direct personnel with diverse skills, work styles and values, both directly and through subordinate management.
• Solves variety of multi-dimensional problems in absence of guidelines or precedents.

Job Profile: Center Director / Annual Salary Range: $160,900 - $289,600Benefits include medical, dental, and vision insurance; short*- and long-term disability insurance; pension benefits*; 403(b) Employee Savings Plan with employer match*; life and accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance; personal time off (PTO) and sick leave; paid holidays; and tuition reimbursement*. NREL employees may be eligible for, but are not guaranteed, performance-, merit-, and achievement- based awards that include a monetary component. Some positions may be eligible for relocation expense reimbursement. Limited-term positions are not eligible for long-term disability or tuition reimbursement.

• Based on eligibility rules