Site & Civil Project Director

Job Summary:

University Research Park (URP), a nonprofit affiliate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is currently searching for a talented professional to join its team in the newly created position of Site & Civil Project Director.

The Site & Civil Project Director will work both independently and as part of URP's broader team to assess the real estate development potential of sites, plan and prepare sites for development, and support real estate development activities. This position is expected to focus on planning, engineering, landscape architecture, and entitlement portions of real estate development with less emphasis on financing, market feasibility, or vertical design/construction. This work is expected to support both University Research Park's science, technology, and research-focused real estate development work as well as supporting a broader array of projects URP undertakes in conjunction with the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In short, we are seeking an expert in "horizontal" development to complement current team members with expertise in "vertical" development.

This role will lead projects such as:
- Overseeing site planning, site design, landscape design, infrastructure design, and green infrastructure in context of new and renovation projects
- Understanding, interpreting, advising and serving as a liaison on technical regulatory, code, engineering, entitlement, or other site/facilities issues
- Hiring consultants, engineers, appraisers, or architects and overseeing projects to perform due diligence, assess site infrastructure or utilities, review zoning/entitlements, conceptualize potential projects, or determine a site's highest and best use
- Coordinating with the University of Wisconsin, State of Wisconsin, and local government to design and construct infrastructure including roads, storm water, and/or utilities
- Preparing sites for development by overseeing civil engineering projects such as demolition, grading, infrastructure, etc.
- Leading campus, site, or district planning efforts to identify long-term site facilities requirements
- Supporting the creation of real estate analyses, strategies, marketing efforts to enlist stakeholder support, attract anchor users, or attract development partners
- Leading long-range physical planning, site engineering, and landscape architectural initiatives in conjunction with other team members and consultants at URP's various locations and/or in conjunction with UW-Madison
- Representing URP with governmental staff or approval bodies including the State of Wisconsin, UW-Madison/System, and/or municipal governments on entitlement, regulatory, or other issues
- Participating as a team member on joint URP & UW-Madison staff work groups on real estate planning and development work
- Helping develop capital budgets for infrastructure, landscape, storm water/green infrastructure, and place-making improvements
- Coordinating with other URP staff/legal counsel on site related issues such as legal descriptions, land divisions, restrictive covenants, and city approvals
- Working on real estate development tasks as assigned

Examples of early projects to be undertaken include:
- Working with the State of Wisconsin, UW-Madison, UW-System, and URP leadership to design and construct infrastructure at URP 2
- Working with URP's team to advance infill redevelopment already underway in our "Element District" near Element Labs
- Working with UW-Madison to assess and prepare existing sites for redevelopment to a higher and better use for either UW-Madison or private use
- Working with UW-Madison to support master-planning on campus-owned land
- Working with URP team members to advance plans for new lab/office building projects

Responsibilities:

Manages high-priority, large project(s) or multiple projects simultaneously from start to finish, impacting the institution at-large or multiple institutions.

• 15% Creates a project plan, monitors progress and performance against the project plan, and identifies, resolves, or escalates risks and issues
• 30% Manages the activities of outside contractors to ensure they are integrated into the project and that the organization receives satisfactory standards of service
• 10% Facilitates the estimation of project costs, resources, and time required to complete the assigned phase of a project and monitors activities, negotiates for resources, and assigns tasks to ensure these targets are met. Follows established change control processes if targets can no longer be met
• 10% Prepares regular reports to communicate the status of the project within and beyond the project team
• 15% Sets priorities, allocates tasks, and collaborates with project staff to meet project targets and milestones
• 5% Serves as University Research Park point-of-contact for key external vendors including surveyors, civil/storm water engineering firms, planners, environmental consultants, utility companies
• 5% Works with City of Madison staff (and other governmental bodies) to advance plats, Certified Survey Maps, zoning, entitlements, and approvals for public infrastructure
• 5% Orders and reviews due diligence items such as title reports, surveys/maps, environmental reports, and initiates work to prepare sites for development or redevelopment by addressing issues such as easements, encroachments, environmental concerns, etc
• 5% Coordinates capital improvement budgets and projects including grading, fill, excavation, infrastructure, storm water, landscape, or other land improvements with other URP functional areas including property management and finance/accounting

Institutional Statement on Diversity:

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

For more information on diversity and inclusion on campus, please visit: Diversity and Inclusion

Education:

Preferred
Bachelor's Degree

Qualifications:

Strong candidates will likely have at least five years of experience providing professional services in a field such as civil engineering, urban planning, or comparable expertise developed through real estate or facility development. Candidates will have experience managing projects or demonstrate a readiness to work more independently.

Applicants will be expected to be comfortable navigating challenges in the following areas with deep expertise in at least some areas:

1. Civil engineering/storm water/surveying
2. Urban/site planning
3. Entitlement processes and land divisions
4. Real estate development
5. State of Wisconsin/DOA/Building Commission processes
6. City of Madison storm water standards and relevant DNR regulations (related to wetlands, contaminated sites, etc.)
7. Easements, encroachments, and privilege in streets
8. Public and private utilities

In addition, URP is seeking candidates who can collaborate and communicate as strong team members while also working independently to drive and manage specific projects and tasks in the areas above.

Work Type:

Full Time: 100%

It is anticipated this position requires work be performed in-person, onsite, at a designated campus work location.

Appointment Type, Duration:

Ongoing/Renewable