Senior Manager, Campus Life

Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI); Ashburn, Northern (VA, KY); On-site; USD 124,000 - 155,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive pay

Excellent health benefits

Total rewards

Job summary

HHMI's Janelia Research Campus in Ashburn, Virginia seeks a hands-on Campus Life leader to direct housing, shuttle service, resident events, and art/furniture programs. You’ll partner with Facilities and outside vendors, overseeing 340+ residential units and a small team, and you will be on the Campus Operations leadership team.

You will build processes, manage the budget, analyze occupancy and service levels, and step in personally on complex resident situations to keep everyday life effortless

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree is required, master's preferred and 5+ years of operations or hospitality management.
• Experience running on-site campus/residential operations with budget responsibility.
• Ability to lead a small team, develop staff, and handle vendor relationships.

Responsibilities

• Direct day-to-day housing operations for 340+ units, including reservations, occupancy, and payroll deductions.
• Oversee resident services, move-ins/outs, tours, and community events.
• Lead, coach, and grow a small Campus Life team; manage workload and cross-training.
• Oversee shuttle service between Janelia and Arlington; manage vendors and contracts.
• Coordinate furniture, artwork, and vendor activities; monitor procurement and inventory.
• Budget planning and financial oversight; forecast housing, transport, events, and furniture spend.
• Deliver occupancy and financial reporting to senior leadership and benchmark against peers.

Skills

Hands-on

Team leadership

Vendor negotiation

Communication

Budgeting

Education

Bachelor's degree (master's preferred)

Tools

Lease management systems

AI tools experience

Job description

Primary work address: 19700 Helix Drive, Ashburn, VA, 20147

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Janelia Research Campus is a pioneering research center in Ashburn, Virginia, where scientists pursue fundamental questions in the life sciences.

Our integrated teams of biologists, computational scientists, and tool-builders innovate research practices and technologies to solve biology’s deepest mysteries.

HHMI launched Janelia in 2006, establishing an intellectually enriching environment for scientists to do creative, collaborative, hands‑on work.

We share our methods, results, and tools with the scientific community.

Summary of Role

This is a role for someone who wants to run a physical, people‑facing operation personally, not manage it from a dashboard. You lead by being visible on campus, known by residents and colleagues, and trusted by a small team to make good calls without needing everything spelled out. Janelia Research Campus recruits some of the best scientific talent in the world.

Housing and transportation are often the first things a new resident experiences. Campus Life makes that experience effortless, remarkable, and personal, and as Janelia grows, this team's work becomes more visible, not less.

You will direct Campus Life operations across housing, shuttle service, resident and community events, and the art and furniture that shape how campus feels.

You will partner across Facilities, Campus Operations, and outside vendors to keep services running smoothly, and you will step in personally when a resident situation gets complicated.

You will also sit on the Campus Operations leadership team, bringing operational insight and analysis to strategic decisions, and represent Campus Life in cross-campus planning.

What You Will Actually Do

• Housing operations. Direct day-to-day operations for 340+ residential units: reservations, resident agreements, occupancy, and payroll deductions, and the systems that keep it all running accurately. You partner with the cross-functional teams housing depends on, and you step in personally on complex or sensitive resident situations.
• Resident services and community. Oversee move‑ins, move‑outs, key management, housing tours, and resident communications. Guide your team's planning of events, from family favorites to campus‑wide gatherings that make Janelia feel like a community, not just a workplace.
• Team leadership. Lead, coach, and grow a small team. Distribute work thoughtfully, set clear expectations, remove obstacles, and invest in cross-training so the team has real depth.
• Transportation. Oversee the daily shuttle service between Janelia and Arlington: contract oversight, vendor relations, billing, and rider issue resolution. Keep service levels ahead of ridership as it evolves.
• Furniture, artwork, and vendor coordination. Oversee purchasing, vendor administration, and furniture logistics, including procurement, installation, inventory, and donations. Monitor the campus’s existing art program, including the permanent collection, temporary displays, and sculptures. Partner closely with Facilities and apply sound aesthetic judgment that stays true to Janelia's look and feel.
• Budget planning and financial oversight. Build and manage the Campus Life budget, forecasting for housing, transportation, events, and furniture spend. Track actuals against plan, flag variances early, and make the case for resourcing.
• Analysis and reporting. Deliver occupancy, financial, and operational reporting to senior leadership, including the annual housing market survey. Analyze housing trends, service levels, and program performance, benchmark against peer institutions, and turn findings into recommendations.

What We Are Looking For

Hands‑on by choice. You would rather walk the property and know the residents than run the operation from a dashboard. Big picture and small details, at once. You can hold budget and staffing strategy in one hand and a resident's move‑in date in the other. Trust, quickly. You build credibility fast with people at every level, from a new resident to senior leadership. Steps in without losing the thread. You are comfortable jumping into a task personally when the team needs it, without dropping the longer‑term priorities.

Wants to build a team, not inherit one. You see developing people as part of the job, not a distraction from it.

A negotiator's instinct for vendors. You know a fair shuttle contract or furniture agreement from a weak one, even though Legal drafts the language.

Hard conversations, well done. You can hold a resident or vendor accountable without burning the relationship.

Nice to Have Experience with lease administration, compliance, or property management systems. Comfortable with AI tools: streamlining vendor and purchasing workflows, organizing data, or automating routine tasks. No deep expertise required.

What This Role Is Not

A back‑office role. You produce real financial and occupancy reporting, but the job lives on campus and in front of residents, not behind a screen.

A strategic sourcing or procurement role. You negotiate and manage vendor relationships day to day, but Legal drafts the contracts and broader sourcing decisions sit elsewhere.

An entry point into people management. This is a senior post. You are expected to already know how to build and run a team, not learn it here.

Practical Details

This role is based on Janelia Research Campus in Ashburn, Virginia, on‑site given the nature of the work. You will report to the Chief of Campus Operations. We are looking for a bachelor's degree (a master's is preferred) and 5+ years of operations or hospitality management experience, ideally including residential, property, or housing operations.

Physical Requirements

Remaining in a normal seated or standing position for extended periods of time; reaching and grasping by extending hand(s) or arm(s); dexterity to manipulate objects with fingers, for example using a keyboard; communication skills using the spoken word; ability to see and hear within normal parameters; ability to move about workspace.

The position requires mobility, including the ability to move materials weighing up to several pounds (such as a laptop computer or tablet). Persons with disabilities may be able to perform the essential duties of this position with reasonable accommodation. Requests for reasonable accommodation will be evaluated on an individual basis.

Please Note: This job description sets forth the job’s principal duties, responsibilities, and requirements; it should not be construed as an exhaustive statement, however. Unless they begin with the word “may,” the Essential Duties and Responsibilities described above are “essential functions” of the job, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Compensation and Benefits

Our employees are compensated from a total rewards perspective in many ways for their contributions to our mission, including competitive pay, exceptional health benefits, retirement plans, time off, and a range of recognition and wellness programs. Visit our Benefits at HHMI site to learn more.

Hiring Pay Range $124,236.80 - $155,296.00 Pay Type: Annual The posted range reflects HHMI’s good faith estimate of the anticipated hiring salary range for this role at the time of posting. Actual hiring compensation is determined by a candidate’s qualifications, experience, and internal equity.

HHMI is an Equal Opportunity Employer We use E-Verify to confirm the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires.

Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is an independent, ever‑evolving philanthropy that supports basic biomedical scientists and educators with the potential for transformative impact. We make long‑term investments in people, not just projects, because we believe in the power of individuals to make breakthroughs over time.

Why HHMI

To move science forward we need a diverse collection of talents, expertise, and backgrounds in scientific research and science education, as well as communications, finance, human resources, information technology, investments, law, and operations.

At HHMI, we encourage collaborative and results‑driven working styles and offer an adaptable environment where employees can do their best work.

What makes us strong is the diversity of our perspectives. We work to promote a culture of inclusion in our work environments and across the greater scientific community.

To find more information about us and the steps we're taking to make HHMI a more inclusive organization, visit our About Us page.

Contact us at [e-mail] if you require an accommodation related to completing the job application. All information you provide will be kept confidential and will be used only to the extent required to provide needed reasonable accommodations. Applicants have rights under federal employment laws. For more information about your rights as an applicant, please review these posters: Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Know Your Rights, and Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA).