Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

Vice President, Real Estate and Workplace

Chan Zuckerberg Initiative$297K — $424K *
Real Estate & Construction
11 - 15 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 15+ years in real estate, workplace operations, and facilities management.
  • Experience in dynamic, high-growth organizations.
  • Understanding of real estate financial analysis and commercial leasing.
  • Expertise in workplace functions like asset security and employee health.
  • Proven history of leading customer-focused teams in complex environments.
  • Skills in organizational agility and process simplification.
  • Strong communication and stakeholder management abilities.

Responsibilities

  • Collaborate with executive leadership on real estate and workforce strategies.
  • Lead operations and management of corporate real estate portfolio.
  • Oversee lease negotiations and optimize space utilization.
  • Drive design and experiences that enhance collaboration and productivity.
  • Manage construction projects from inception to delivery.
  • Direct operations for facilities management and physical security.
  • Develop and manage budgets for real estate and workplace functions.
  • Implement sustainability practices and innovative technologies.

Benefits

  • Generous employer match on 401(k) contributions.
  • Paid time off for volunteering at chosen organizations.
  • Funding for family-forming benefits.
  • Relocation support for employees needing assistance.
Full Job Description
The Team

The Operations team is a key partner in enabling Biohub's pioneering work to combine frontier AI with frontier biology to solve disease and Learning Commons' mission to build AI infrastructure that aligns how students learn with the tools that shape their learning experiences.

Operations includes our Central Tech, Finance, Marketing & Communications, People, and Real Estate / Workplace / Events / Facilities / Security (REWFS) teams. Together, these teams create the systems, programs, and experiences that empower our partners and colleagues across Biohub and Learning Commons to drive impact.

This work requires strategic and operational rigor, creativity, and deep collaboration. Whether designing world-class employee experiences, safeguarding data and infrastructure, or shaping how we communicate our impact, Operations plays a critical role in helping deliver meaningful change at scale.
The Opportunity

CZI's Central Operations team is seeking a Vice President, Real Estate and Workplace, to lead the strategy, operations, and evolution of our laboratory environments and workplace ecosystem. This executive leader will be responsible for shaping how employees, guests, and partners experience our physical environments while ensuring our real estate portfolio, facilities operations, and workplace services effectively support our mission and long-term growth.

As the senior leader responsible for Real Estate and Workplace, you will oversee a broad portfolio that includes workplace experience, facilities management, building operations, capital projects, real estate planning and transactions, transportation, parking, workplace services, and vendor management. You will lead a multi-layered organization through growth and change to ensure workplace, facilities, events, and security services support collaboration, scientific work, organizational effectiveness, and employee experience. A significant and growing portion of this portfolio will center on laboratory environments, lab automation infrastructure, and scientific research spaces in partnership with our Biohub teams - areas that will define CZI's next chapter of physical growth.

This role requires a strategic operator who can balance long-term planning with day-to-day execution, navigate ambiguity, build high-performing teams, and partner closely with leaders across the organization to create environments that foster collaboration, innovation, and impact.
What You'll Do
  • Partner with executive leadership across Biohub and Learning Commons to align workplace and real estate strategies with workforce planning, evolving business needs, and future growth.
  • Lead real estate, workspace operations, and regional facilities management strategy for all sites across the organization.
  • Partner with Biohub scientific leadership to plan, build out, and operationalize laboratory and lab automation spaces, ensuring facilities meet the specialized infrastructure, equipment, and safety requirements of cutting-edge biological research.
  • Oversee the corporate real estate portfolio, including lease negotiations, site selection, acquisitions, dispositions, and space utilization optimization.
  • Drive workplace experiences and design that foster collaboration, community, inclusion, and productivity across all locations.
  • Manage corporate construction, capital improvement projects, and buildouts from inception through delivery, ensuring alignment with timeline, quality, and budget.
  • Direct workspace operations, facilities management, physical security, food services, events support, and environment, health, and safety (EHS) programs.
  • Develop and manage the annual operational and capital budget for the real estate and workplace function, prioritizing resource allocation and fiscal responsibility.
  • Implement progressive sustainability practices, corporate social responsibility initiatives, and innovative technologies within our operations and physical infrastructure.
  • Evaluate and support data center and on-premises compute infrastructure needs as CZI's technical footprint evolves alongside its scientific mission.
What You'll Bring
  • 15+ years of progressive leadership experience in corporate real estate, workplace operations, and facilities management, with demonstrated experience in laboratory environments, life sciences facilities, or research organizations strongly preferred,
  • Strong understanding of real estate financial analysis, commercial leasing, transaction management, corporate construction, and building codes/regulations.
  • Deep expertise across workplace functions, including amenities management, asset protection/security, employee health & safety, and high-touch hospitality services; knowledge of lab-specific EH&S requirements and scientific facility operations
  • Demonstrated ability to operate as a strategic business partner and cross-functional integrator, effectively aligning functional resources with broad organizational priorities.
  • Proven track record of building, scaling, and leading highly service-oriented teams within complex environments.
  • Strong operational mindset with a history of improving organizational agility, simplifying processes, and reducing operational friction.
  • Exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence executive leadership and build consensus among diverse operational groups.
Compensation

The Redwood City, CA base pay range for a new hire in this role is $297,000 - $424,600. New hires are typically hired into the lower portion of the range, enabling employee growth in the range over time. Actual placement in range is based on job-related skills and experience, as evaluated throughout the interview process.

This position may be eligible to participate in our discretionary annual performance bonus program. Bonus eligibility and targets are determined in accordance with our total rewards philosophy and may vary by role.
Better Together

As we grow, we're excited to strengthen in-person connections and cultivate a collaborative, team-oriented environment. This role is a hybrid position requiring you to be onsite for at least 60% of the working month, approximately 3 days a week, with specific in-office days determined by the team's manager. The exact schedule will be at the hiring manager's discretion and communicated during the interview process.
Benefits for the Whole You

We're thankful to have an incredible team behind our work. To honor their commitment, we offer a wide range of benefits to support the people who make all we do possible.
  • Provides a generous employer match on employee 401(k) contributions to support planning for the future.
  • Paid time off to volunteer at an organization of your choice.
  • Funding for select family-forming benefits.
  • Relocation support for employees who need assistance moving

If you're interested in a role but your previous experience doesn't perfectly align with each qualification in the job description, we still encourage you to apply as you may be the perfect fit for this or another role.

#LI-Hybrid

About Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) is a philanthropic organization that was founded in 2015 by Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, and his wife Priscilla Chan. The organizationâ??s mission is to â??build a more inclusive, just, and healthy future for everyone.â?? CZI focuses on a range of areas, including education, science, and justice and opportunity. The organization has made a number of high-profile donations and investments, including a $3 billion commitment to medical research and a $250 million investment in a fund that supports affordable housing. CZI is also involved in a number of initiatives aimed at improving education, including a program that provides funding to schools to help them implement personalized learning programs.
Learn more about Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
Size
200 employees
Industry

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