Building Manager
A building manager is a professional responsible for overseeing the maintenance and operational aspects of residential and commercial properties. This role involves supervising maintenance staff, coordinating routine services such as cleaning and repairs, and ensuring compliance with safety regulations and building codes. Building managers play a crucial role in maintaining the functionality and appearance of properties, dealing with both routine issues and emergencies as they arise.
The position typically requires a high school diploma or equivalent, along with relevant experience in maintenance or supervisory roles, although individuals from various educational backgrounds can enter the field. Building managers work in diverse environments, including urban and suburban settings, and often engage with residents, employees, and service vendors. Their tasks may involve troubleshooting and managing technological systems within buildings, highlighting the need for effective communication and problem-solving skills.
With a median annual salary of approximately $62,850 and an employment outlook that is faster than average, building management is a promising career choice for those interested in facilities maintenance and administration. This role increasingly requires familiarity with modern technologies related to building systems, making ongoing training and adaptability essential for success in the field.
Building Manager
Snapshot
Career Cluster(s): Business, Management & Administration, Human Services, Marketing, Sales & Service
Interests: Maintenance and construction, working in an emergency situation, leadership, communicating with others
Earnings (Yearly Median): $62,850 per year $30.22 per hour
Employment & Outlook: 5% (Faster than average)
Entry-Level Education High school diploma or equivalent
Related Work Experience Less than five years
On-the-job-Training Short-term on-the-job training
Overview
Sphere of Work. Building managers are responsible for supervising the cosmetic, logistic, and functional upkeep of properties. They are employed in large commercial properties and residential buildings, as well as by private and public properties that comprise multiple structures. In most large urban areas, the title of building manager usually refers to a supervisory figure in a single building or complex; in suburban locales, the term can also encompass ground duties often included in the role of property manager. The role of a building manager requires an array of disparate skills, including maintenance; construction; basic knowledge of electric, heating, cooling, and plumbing systems; emergency preparation; and quality leadership and interpersonal communication.
Work Environment. The work environment for building managers encompasses all facets of a commercial, residential, or industrial structure. Residential spaces, offices, storage, and parking areas, as well as basements and substructures that house building support systems, are in the domain of a building manager’s responsibility. Much of a building manager’s work takes place amid the building’s everyday occupants and sometimes the general public utilizing the space for everyday purposes.
Occupation Interest. Building managers can come from a variety of educational and professional backgrounds. Since building managers often oversee a staff of other specialized maintenance professionals, many arrive at the position with experience in a supervisory role. Building managers can enter the field from such backgrounds as carpentry and light construction, food-service management, hospitality management, or an administrative role in a related field, such as housekeeping or real estate and property maintenance services.
A Day in the Life—Duties and Responsibilities. Building managers act as the point men and women for routine daily operations related to the upkeep of a property. Such tasks include the selection, scheduling, and invoicing of routine maintenance services such as window cleaning, snow removal, restroom and carpet cleaning, and trash removal. Building managers are also responsible for maintaining the appropriate licensure required by the district their building is in, notably certificates for proper elevator function, any relevant food storage or preparation systems, and any other regulations necessary for operations that occur within the complex.
Many of the day-to-day functions of a building manager revolve around ensuring that routine procedures are completed properly on a timely basis. In concert with these responsibilities, building managers must also tend to a variety of miscellaneous problems that can crop up as part of the daily activities of a large commercial or residential building.
In commercial buildings, such functions include assisting other staff members in the coordination, installation, or repair of technological systems such as Internet networks, fire and safety systems, or satellite communications. The responsibilities of residential building managers can include troubleshooting, in which they either personally undertake or outsource solutions to any number of problems that can arise within a living space, from the malfunction of appliances and utilities to damage to walls, floors, ceilings, windows, and doors.
Work Environment
Immediate Physical Environment. Building managers often operate out of office quarters nearby or inside of the building under their oversight. Other work locations may include commercial, administrative, industrial, and residential settings within a building; basement and ancillary locations that house mechanical systems or other infrastructure related to the building; and the roofs of and grounds surrounding the building structures.
Human Environment. Building manager professionals are required to interact with a variety of different people each day, including residents, building employees, maintenance staff, and numerous outside vendors. In addition to being adept at problem-solving, they should also have patience and good conflict-resolution skills.
Technological Environment. Relevant technologies include telephone, email, and Internet. Building managers may also be versed in one or several technologies relevant to commercial or residential structures, from HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) to communications, plumbing, and residential appliances. A building manager’s position increasingly involves new technologies.
Education, Training, and Advancement
High School/Secondary. Preparation for a career as a building manager at the high school level should include basic courses in fundamental mathematics such as algebra and geometry. Exploration of basic physical sciences and chemistry is also beneficial. In addition to standard course work honing communication skills to prepare for the interpersonal nature of the position, exposure to or immersion in one or more foreign-language courses can also be beneficial. The leadership aspect required of all management roles can be fostered in community service–oriented extracurricular activities, as well as in scholastic sports and club participation. Some kind of vocational training or exposure to industrial arts at the high school level is also paramount.
Postsecondary. Collegiate students can enter into a career in building management from numerous fields of study, though postsecondary education is not often a requirement for applicants. Students with associate or bachelor's degrees in fields such as hospitality management, business management, project management, or emergency management are all viable candidates.
Related Occupations
− Property and Real Estate Manager
Bibliography
“Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers.” Occupational Outlook Handbook. Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Department of Labor, 17 Apr. 2024, www.bls.gov/ooh/management/property-real-estate-and-community-association-managers.htm. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024.
“Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2023: 11-9141 Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers.” Occupational Employment Statistics. Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Department of Labor, 3 Apr. 2024, www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes119141.htm. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024.