Director of Real Estate Transition & Activation

vcuhealth; Richmond (VA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

VCU Health in Richmond, VA seeks a Director of Transitional & Activation Planning to lead strategic and operational efforts for planning, activation, and stabilization of new and renovated facilities across the health system.

You will coordinate clinical, regulatory, and construction readiness, align stakeholders across Real Estate, IT, compliance, and executive leadership, and drive system-wide activation initiatives with measurable outcomes.

Qualifications

• Requires 5+ years of healthcare facility transition and activation experience or related fields.
• Ability to communicate clearly across diverse audiences and mentor emerging leaders.

Responsibilities

• Directs enterprise-wide transition and activation planning for new facilities, expansions, renovations, and relocations to ensure operational readiness and safe patient care activation.
• Develops standardized frameworks and tools for Operational Readiness, Activation Readiness, and Building Readiness across the health system.
• Leads activation governance structures and multidisciplinary work groups with clear decision authority and escalation paths.
• Oversees development of the integrated Project Master Activation Schedule, coordinating turnover, IT readiness, training, regulatory approvals, and go-live milestones.
• Coordinates with Design & Construction PM and clinical/operational stakeholders to align building completion with readiness.
• Maintains activation tools like checklists, RACI matrices, milestone plans, and issue trackers.
• Oversees occupancy planning, staffing readiness, and dual-operations planning to ensure uninterrupted patient care.
• Directs regulatory and accreditation readiness activities with compliance and clinical leadership.
• Documents post-activation stabilization and lessons learned for continuous improvement.
• Supports diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across the health system.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Effective communication

Mentoring

Cross-functional collaboration

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's Degree (related field)

Master's Degree (preferred)

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

MS Project

Job description

The Director of Transitional & Activation Planning provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for the planning, activation, and stabilization of new and renovated healthcare facilities across the health system. This role ensures that clinical, operational, regulatory, and building readiness activities are fully integrated with design and construction delivery to support safe, compliant, and effective patient care on day one. Operating at a system level, the Director leads multidisciplinary teams through complex transition and activation efforts in an academic medical center environment, aligning stakeholders across Real Estate Services, clinical operations, facilities, IT, compliance, and executive leadership.

Essential Job Statement

• Directs enterprise-wide transition and activation planning for new facilities, expansions, renovations, and relocations to ensure operational readiness, regulatory compliance, and safe patient care activation.
• Develops standardized frameworks, policies, tools, and methodologies for Operational Readiness, Activation Readiness, and Building Readiness across the health system.
• Leads activation governance structures, including steering committees and multidisciplinary work groups, establishing clear decision authority, accountability, and escalation pathways.
• Oversees development and execution of the integrated Project Master Activation Schedule, coordinating construction turnover, equipment installation, IT readiness, training, regulatory approvals, and departmental go-live milestones.
• Provides strategic coordination between Design & Construction Project Management and clinical/operational stakeholders to align building completion with operational and clinical readiness.
• Establishes and maintains standardized activation tools, including activation checklists, RACI matrices, milestone plans, assumptions logs, and operational readiness issue tracking systems.
• Oversees department-level occupancy planning, workflow validation, staffing readiness, and dual-operations planning to support uninterrupted patient care during transitions.
• Directs regulatory and accreditation readiness activities in collaboration with compliance, safety, and clinical leadership, supporting licensure, permitting, life-safety readiness, and survey preparedness.
• Documents post-activation stabilization outcomes through final transition reports capturing lessons learned, unresolved operational items, budget considerations, and system improvement recommendations.
• Ensure responsibility and visible commitment of diversity equity and inclusion programs/initiatives through collaboration and implementation of initiatives across the health.

Patient Population: N/A

Employment Qualifications

• Required Education: Bachelor's Degree in Business, Healthcare Administration, Nursing, Construction Management, Architecture, Public Administration, Biomedical Engineering, Project Management or related field
• Preferred Education: Master's Degree in Business, Healthcare Administration, Nursing, Construction Management, Architecture, Public Administration, Biomedical Engineering, Project Management or related field
• Licensing/ Certification Required: N/A
• Licensing/ Certification Preferred: PMP, CAPM

Minimum Qualifications

• Years and Type of Required Experience: 5+ years of experience in healthcare facility transition and activation, medical equipment planning, or clinical background, architecture, or construction project management
• Other Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Required: Communicates clearly and consistently across diverse audiences. Thinks and acts beyond individual projects to advance system-wide readiness capabilities. Mentors emerging leaders in transition, activation, and operational readiness disciplines. Models collaborative behaviors consistent with academic medical center values. Communicates complex issues with clarity, confidence, and credibility. Builds internal capability and reduces reliance on external activation consultants over time. Integrates clinical, operational, and facility planning into cohesive activation strategies. Demonstrates deep understanding of healthcare operations, clinical workflows, and regulatory environments. Proactively identifies schedule conflicts, risks, and resource constraints. Drives accountability for milestone achievement across multidisciplinary teams. Facilitates complex decision-making in high-pressure, time-sensitive environments. Leads without direct authority, influencing clinical, operational, and technical leaders.
• Other Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Preferred: Proficient in working in Excel, Power point, MS Project. Proficient in reading drawings, specifications and equipment data sheets

Working Conditions

Periods of high stress and fluctuating workloads may occur.

Physical Requirements

Physical Demands: Lifting/ Carrying (0-50 lbs.), Push/ Pull (50-100 lbs.), Stoop, Kneel, Squat, Climbing, Balance, Bending

Work Position: