Director of Faciltiies

Job Description:

POSITION SUMMARY: 

The Director of Facilities is responsible for leading the strategic direction, operational performance, maintenance, safety, and overall facility management for all restaurant locations and Restaurant Support Center (RSC) facilities.

This role leads enterprise-wide facilities operations, capital planning, preventative maintenance programs, vendor management, compliance initiatives, and facility-related project execution.

The Director of Facilities partners cross-functionally to ensure all facilities consistently support operational excellence, brand standards, team member safety, and long-term company growth.  This role is responsible for establishing scalable facilities programs, developing long-term asset lifecycle strategies, optimizing cost of ownership, driving continuous improvement initiatives, and ensuring facilities strategies align with broader organizational priorities and restaurant performance objectives. 

The ideal candidate is a strategic and hands-on leader with deep technical expertise in multi-unit restaurant facilities management, strong financial and operational acumen, and the ability to build high-performing teams, scalable systems, and service-driven operational standards.

This is a hybrid position based at the Portillo’s Restaurant Support Center in Oakbrook, Illinois with on-site presence required Monday through Thursday when not in the restaurants.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES:

Enable our Purpose to create lifelong memories by igniting the senses with unrivaled food and experiences:

Family: Work together to make everyone feel at home, and we step up when someone needs help

Greatness: We’re obsessed with being the best and work hard to continuously improve.  Our greatness is rooted in Quality, Service, Attitude and Cleanliness

Energy: We move with urgency and passion, while maintaining attention to detail

Fun: We entertain our guests, we connect authentically, and we make each other smile

Strategic Leadership & Facilities Operations

• Develop and execute long-term facilities management strategies aligned with company growth objectives and operational priorities
• Lead all facilities operations across restaurants and corporate support facilities
• Develop KPIs, executive dashboards, and analytics-driven reporting to support facilities performance, operational decision-making, and capital planning
• Establish enterprise facilities standards, service expectations, and operational priorities that support business continuity, asset protection, and restaurant performance
• Establish and continuously optimize scalable preventative maintenance programs that improve equipment reliability, reduce downtime, extend asset life, and support operational continuity
• Develop enterprise asset lifecycle strategies and repair versus replace methodologies to support long-term operational efficiency and asset reliability
• Build rolling multi-year capital plans aligned with restaurant growth, asset health, and operational priorities
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives across facilities systems, service delivery processes, and operational standards
• Lead optimization of facilities management system to improve preventative maintenance execution, reporting visibility, and operational responsiveness
• Oversee facilities policies, procedures, training programs, and compliance standards
• Lead facilities-related emergency response coordination, escalation processes, and operational risk mitigation efforts
• Collaborate with executive leadership to ensure facilities strategies support broader business goals and organizational priorities
• Lead major facility projects, renovations, capital improvements, and expansion initiatives

Financial & Vendor Management

• Develop and manage annual facilities operating and capital budgets, including forecasting and long-range planning
• Analyze financial performance and identify opportunities for cost optimization, efficiency improvements, resource allocation, and total cost of ownership optimization
• Lead vendor sourcing, RFP processes, contract negotiations, and service-level management
• Build and maintain strategic relationships with external service providers, contractors, and consultants
• Ensure vendor performance meets established quality, responsiveness, and cost expectations
• Establish and monitor vendor service level expectations, response metrics, and performance accountability standards

Facilities Maintenance & Technical Oversight

• Oversee maintenance operations for building systems including:
  • HVAC
  • Refrigeration
  • Electrical
  • Plumbing
  • Kitchen equipment
  • Soda and CO₂ systems
  • General building infrastructure
• Establish and monitor facilities standards that support operational excellence, safety compliance, cleanliness, and brand consistency across all locations

• Provide facilities leadership for warranty reviews

• Establish performance metrics and reporting tools to measure facilities effectiveness and service performance

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop regional facilities managers and facilities professionals while building organizational capability, succession pipelines, and leadership bench strength
• Build a high-performing, service-oriented culture focused on accountability, responsiveness, and continuous improvement
• Provide coaching, performance feedback, and succession planning to support long-term team development
• Foster strong cross-functional relationships across Operations, Construction, Real Estate, IT, Finance, Supply Chain, Legal, HR, and other business functions
• Other duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS:

Work Experience and Qualifications

• 8–10+ years of progressive facilities management experience, including at least 5 years in a senior leadership role
• Multi-unit restaurant or related industry experience strongly preferred
• Proven experience managing large-scale facilities operations and capital projects in a fast-paced environment

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Strong technical knowledge of commercial building systems and restaurant equipment
• Experience with preventative maintenance programs and facilities management systems
• Advanced budgeting, forecasting, and financial management skills
• Strong contract negotiation and vendor management experience
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and influence decision-making across multiple business functions
• Excellent communication, organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and facilities management systems (ServiceChannel highly preferred)

Travel Requirement

Travel across restaurant locations required, approximately 50%.

DISCLAIMER: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by incumbents assigned to this job.  This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all the responsibilities, duties and skills required.  The incumbent may be expected to perform other duties as assigned. This job may be reviewed as duties and responsibilities change with business necessity.