Smart Buildings Program Lead (GSA Public Buildings Service)
The Position:
Censeo is seeking a Program Manager to lead and scale a federal Smart Buildings program that uses building analytics and operational technology (OT) data to improve performance, reliability, and customer experience across a growing portfolio of sites. This role owns the day-to-day program leadership with the GSA Public Building Service, stakeholder engagement, governance, and outcomes delivery—translating platform outputs (e.g., fault detection insights) into measurable operational and financial impact.
You will serve as a primary lead for program execution and client outcomes, coordinating across technical teams (software development, analytics, integration) and operational stakeholders (regional/field teams, facility managers, headquarters leadership). A key near-term priority is supporting the transition from legacy smart building analytics (e.g., “engineers for engineers”) to a modern, user-friendly platform designed to broaden adoption, enable stronger reporting, and integrate additional capabilities like work orders, project planning, and advanced metering.
Key Responsibilities:
Program Leadership & Delivery
- Lead end-to-end program execution for a multi-site Smart Buildings portfolio, ensuring schedule, scope, and outcomes remain on track as the program scales.
- Manage program planning, backlog prioritization, and delivery cadence across releases, pilots, and broad deployment waves (e.g., piloting new sites and scaling through the next year).
- Own program governance routines including weekly/biweekly engagement calls, quarterly business reviews, and ad hoc executive updates.
Platform-to-Outcomes Translation (Value Realization)
- Translate analytics outputs (e.g., fault detection signals, trending anomalies, performance drift) into actionable operational recommendations for facility teams and leadership.
- Define and manage KPIs, objectives, and ROI narratives, demonstrating how smart building insights reduce downtime, improve occupant/tenant satisfaction, and enhance energy performance.
Change Management & Field Enablement
- Lead change management for the transition of business routines to the field, addressing cultural concerns (e.g., perceptions of “big brother” monitoring) by emphasizing partnership, transparency, and value.
- Develop and maintain SOPs, playbooks, training materials, and communications that help field staff use insights confidently and consistently.
- Serve as a trusted advisor and “librarian” of best practices—helping regions and field offices apply a standard approach while respecting local realities.
Stakeholder Management & Executive Engagement
- Build strong working relationships with diverse stakeholders: federal program leadership, regional facility teams, technical developers, analytics partners, and operational SMEs.
- Prepare and deliver briefings and presentations to senior stakeholders (including conference participation and executive-level speaking roles as needed).
- Align priorities across the program ecosystem, balancing technical roadmaps, operational constraints, and leadership expectations for efficiency.
Product/Technical Coordination (Without Needing to Code)
- Partner closely with the development team delivering the next-generation platform to ensure requirements reflect Smart Buildings operational realities.
- Help navigate differences between legacy and modern solutions (e.g., ease of device discovery, visualization, analytics usability, report-building constraints) to ensure user-friendly outcomes.
- Support integration strategy for a unified interface that may include:
- Fault detection and diagnostics
- Work order system integration
- Project management system alignment
- Advanced metering and utility/billing insights
- BI/Tableau-style dashboards usable by everyday end users
Governance, Compliance & Vendor/Partner Management
- Maintain strong program governance, documentation, and compliance alignment (including SLAs, client management expectations, and performance reporting).
- Coordinate across internal and external partners to ensure consistent delivery quality, customer service, and technical performance.
The Ideal Candidate: At Censeo, we are looking for unique candidates whose passion and enthusiasm will help shape Censeo’s client insights and workplace culture. Our staff have a wide range of backgrounds, areas of expertise, personality types, and favorite breakfast foods. Our client and cultural successes are rooted in our team’s innovation, creative problem solving, and collaboration. The unique perspective that you bring and the way you tackle problems are much more important to us than what’s printed on your diploma. Some of the core qualifications for the role include:
Required Qualifications:- Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent experience).
- 10+ years of experience in program/project management, facilities management, building operations, energy management, or smart buildings/PropTech/OT analytics (experience scaling multi-site programs strongly preferred).
- 7 + years of experience supporting federal clients, preferably within the GSA PBS or similar role.
- Demonstrated success leading complex stakeholder environments and influencing without direct authority.
- Experience translating technical outputs into operational decisions and executive-ready insights (KPIs, dashboards, QBRs, ROI cases).
- Strong change management capability—able to guide field teams through new workflows and tools with empathy and clarity.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including executive presentations and facilitation
The Company:Censeo Consulting Group is a top Washington D.C. based management consulting firm dedicated to helping public sector and non-profit clients build operational excellence, deliver better outcomes, and lower cost. We take a personalized approach to strategic consulting to solve our clients’ most complex problems and build operational excellence that transforms their organizations, allowing them to better deliver on their public and social missions.
At Censeo, our award-winning culture means you’ll join a tight-knit community of 75 brilliant and passionate colleagues. We are advocates for a better functioning public sector, and we’re also good friends who know the names of each other’s dogs. Our philosophy is horizontal, not hierarchical, and our open-door policy encourages a culture of entrepreneurship at all levels. We share successes, make decisions together, and foster an environment for those with passion and initiative to lead. Our colleagues bring their own unique personalities to work every day and use them to help shape our growing firm in ways that reach far beyond client projects.
The Location:Censeo Consulting Group is based in Washington D.C., a fantastic city for working professionals. We work in a hybrid setting with flexibility to work from home and work in our office conveniently located in the heart of downtown, just a few blocks away from the White House. And with many of our clients also based in D.C., we have the luxury of leaving for a meeting and being back in the office in time for post-work happy hours, team dinners, and game nights.
The Fine Print:- The salary range for this role is $120,000 - $150,000 depending on experience
- This is an exempt, full-time position
- This role is subject to a hybrid work schedule in Washington, D.C. with the possibility for remote work if approved by the client.
- Essential Physical Functions
- Sitting: Particularly for sustained periods of time
- Light Carrying: Physically transporting items weighing less than 15 pounds from one location to another
Censeo offers a competitive compensation and benefits package, including paid vacation and sick leave, flexible and remote work opportunities, and tuition and training reimbursement. More information on our benefits and perks can be found at https://www.censeoconsulting.com/about/join-us/.
Censeo is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to providing equal opportunity to all applicants and employees in full compliance with all applicable state and federal laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, gender, religion, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other class protected by applicable state or federal law.
Join Our Award-Winning Culture!Our passion wins awards. But don’t just take it from us…
- 2024 Vault #41 Consulting 50 North America
- 2024 Vault #7 Best Consulting Firm for Hours in the Office
- 2023 Vault #9 Best Consulting Firm for Work/Life Balance
- 2023 Vault #23 Best Consulting Firm for Overall Diversity
- 2023 Management Consulted #3 Best Boutique Firms in Washington DC
- 2022 Vault #41 Best Overall Consulting Firm to Work For
- 2020 Vault #21 Best Boutique Consulting Firm
- 2019 Ivy Exec #7 Best Boutique Consulting Firm
- 2018 Consulting Magazine Best Small Firms to Work For
- 2017 Vault #12 Best Boutique Consulting Firm
- 2016 Forbes Best Management Consulting Firms in America
- 2015 Washington Business Journal’s Philanthropy List