Grants/Contracts Specialist - Higher Ed. jobs in Jacksonville, FL

Overview 

Higher Ground Education is bringing on a Regional Facilities Coordinator (South/Southeast) to help shape and manage our facilities support model for schools. This is a critical role on our team, and we’re looking for a systems-oriented individual who is both a clear-communicator and strong project manager. If you’re excited about working in an entrepreneurial environment and providing top-tier service to school leaders, this role is for you.  

Responsibilities 

The Facilities Coordinator will support a portfolio of schools within our Montessori schools network. This role will involve the day-to-day management of all facilities needs within that portfolio.  This is a primarily remote role, with a strong preference for candidates based in FL, especially Southeast Florida, or Atlanta, GA, area. There is up to 50% expectation of your time on travel to the schools in the region which spans currently between Alabama, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina.  Key responsibilities are as follows.  

• Requests Prioritization & Management. Requests from schools can come in through a few channels depending on the urgency of the need. The Regional Facilities Coordinator will be the owner of these needs ensuring that all requests are prioritized accordingly and handled quickly and professionally. Furthermore, we expect proper documentation of processes to improve for future related issues. 

• Preventative Maintenance. As licensed childcare centers and private schools, our campuses go through quite a bit of wear and tear. We need a proactive and cost-conscious person to plan preventative maintenance. 

• Customer Service & Critical Thinking. We are seeking a person with strong customer-service experience.  This person will be the first line of defense for our schools.  We expect this person to creatively collaborate with school leaders to provide the best possible solution for any given facilities issue.  

• Vendor & Contract Management.  The Regional Facilities Coordinator will source and manage relationships with local vendors and national account managers in areas such as, but not limited to HVAC, janitorial, pest control, landscaping, and general repairs. In conjunction, this person will need to source and manage the contracts with local vendors and independent contractors.  

• Compliance Management.  The Regional Facilities Coordinator will work closely with our Regional Operations Lead and Central teams to ensure that our facilities are in compliance with the jurisdictions and regulations associated with operating a licensed childcare center and private school. We need a detail-oriented and sensitive person to navigate the relationships with regulatory personnel of the associated governing bodies and to ensure a healthy, safe and presentable environment for our schools.  

Skills 

We’d love to talk to you if you have… 

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college/university 
• 3-5 years of professional experience in a facilities role 
• Excellent communication and follow-through skills  
• A passion for Montessori education 

• Technical computer skills 
• Organized mindset and execution 
• Budgeting and financial analysis experience 

We’d really love to talk to you if you have… 

• Experience in school-based operations or facilities 

• Strong excel or data visualization skills 
• Experiencing managing a ticketing system 
• Experience working with third party vendors  
• Bilingual abilities are a plus (Spanish) 
• Proficient repair and maintenance skills 

About us 

At Higher Ground, we're driven by a deep desire to bring about widespread change in education today. Since our founding, we have opened over 120 beautiful schools across the U.S. serving students from birth through high school. Now we’re virtual and going global. We offer: 

• Remote work  
• A competitive salary (55-65K) 
• Health, dental, and vision insurance  

• • Paid time off and paid holidays  
  • 100% tuition discount for two children at any school within our network (Guidepost & Academy of Thought and Industry)  
  • A network of supportive peers and mentors who regularly share best practices  
  • Career growth and promotion opportunities