Penn State Job Catalog

The defined natural career progression within or between job profiles.

Skilled Trades Management

The Skilled Trades Manager provides leadership and operational oversight for building maintenance, ensuring safe, efficient, and high-quality service delivery in a complex, 24/7 facilities environment; supervises assigned crews and coordinates work execution, workforce management, and resource planning; oversees a large, diverse workforce of supervisors, technicians, and support staff; is responsible for aligning daily operations with institutional priorities, regulatory requirements, and asset management strategies.

• Manage a multi-shift, 24/7 building maintenance operation consisting of staff with diverse technical skill levels
• Direct supervisors and technical staff in the assignment and execution of work to ensure productivity, quality, and service standards are met
• Monitor work in progress through field observations and supervisor engagement; evaluate performance and implement corrective actions
• Analyze operational performance, prepare reports, and recommend improvements to enhance efficiency and effectiveness
• Collaborate with supervisors to address workflow, staffing levels, training needs, and overall work performance
• Partner with the Work Control Center to support planning and scheduling processes and ensure effective work execution
• Champion facilities asset management strategies, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and maintenance best practices
• Identify equipment, material, and facility needs; develop funding strategies and oversee procurement
• Plan for lifecycle maintenance and replacement of tools, equipment, and assets
• Ensure safe working conditions across all areas; participate in incident investigations and implement corrective actions
• Support and monitor regulatory compliance programs; address and resolve non-compliance issues in a timely manner
• Administer collective bargaining agreements and University policies; provide guidance to supervisors on employee relations, performance management, and disciplinary actions, in partnership with Human Resources
• Investigate and resolve personnel issues, ensuring consistency and compliance with policies and labor agreements
• Oversee hiring, onboarding, training, evaluation, and development of staff, including temporary and part-time employees
• Develop and implement staff development and succession plans; mentor employees to support career growth and organizational capability
• Develop and manage short- and long-term budgets for assigned operations
• Allocate resources and assign budget responsibilities across subdivisions
• Monitor financial performance through budget reports and analytics; implement corrective actions as needed
• Develop strategies to address changing funding levels and ensure efficient use of resources

Level:

– Manager

Base Description:

– Manages direct reports where primary duty is the management of a working unit.

Level Summary:

– Demonstrates proficient ability in work design, project management, financial planning and development of goals for accomplishing unit assignments. Reviews and guides work to ensure conformity to policy and effective approaches. Evaluates employee performance and recommend development opportunities. Demonstrates ability to coach employees. Presents and communicates key university indicatives and connects it to unit contributions. Provides broad guidelines. Develops, evaluates, enhances, and/or implements quality improvement practices. Recommends innovative solutions.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

– Oversees a team (typically 4 or more; no fewer than 2) full
– time direct reports of individual contributors and/or first level supervisors.

Fiscal Responsibilities:

– Monitors and tracks department/area budget
– May plan, forecast, and/or assist in developing budgets
– May have final signature authority for specific area

Problem Solving:

– Encounters varied and complex problems
– Helps to develop creative and/or novel approaches to resolve problems that are difficult in nature but within limited scope
– Modifies, adapts, or refines guidelines if necessary to resolve issues or problems

Independence of Action:

– Works independently on complex or strategic assignments
– Uses existing practices and advanced working knowledge to determine appropriate work methods for the team
– Reviews completed work of others for conformity to policy, and effectiveness of approach
– Delegates advanced tasks to others

Communication and Collaboration:

– Communicates with both internal and external audiences
– Collaborates closely with team members and various areas across the University
– Prepares written and/or verbal presentations or proposals on complex issues and delivers to a broad variety of audiences
– Communicates key university initiatives and how unit’s work contributes to their achievement
– Presents ideas, concepts and instructions in a clear manner, and uses persuasion and negotiation to build consensus and cooperation
– Establishes and maintains networks to facilitate successful communication among units

• Comp Grade – 13
• Minimum – $91,488.00
• MidPoint – $114,384.00
• Maximum – $137,280.00