Space Planning Manager Job Description

Salary Range

$82,020 - $138,870

Experience

Senior

Work Environment

Campus planning office

What Does a Space Planning Manager Do?

Space planning managers divide up an institution's rooms, floors and buildings and write the standards that decide who gets an office or a lab. The role heads a small team of planners and analysts, most often on a large university or hospital campus. They also referee room disputes between departments.

Other Job Titles for This Work

Workers in this occupation report titles such as Building Maintenance Superintendent, Building Services Supervisor, Facilities Coordinator, Facilities Director, Facilities Engineer, Facilities Maintenance Manager, Facilities Manager, Facilities Operations Manager (Facilities Ops Manager).

Space Planning Manager Duties and Responsibilities

The primary responsibilities of a space planning manager include:

• Lead space planners and analysts who maintain the space inventory and design layouts.
• Set space standards and allocation policies for offices, labs and teaching rooms.
• Review space requests from departments and recommend approvals to senior leadership.
• Run utilization studies and report on underused buildings, rooms and floors.
• Develop long-range space plans that support enrollment, research growth and capital projects.
• Mediate disputes between departments competing for the same rooms and floors.
• Manage budgets for moves, furniture and minor renovations tied to space changes.
• Advise architects and capital planners on program needs for new buildings.
• Oversee the space data used in research overhead studies and state reporting.
• Present space options and costs to deans, vice presidents and planning committees.

Required Skills and Qualifications

To succeed as a space planning manager, you will need the following skills and qualifications:

• Space planning and programming
• Archibus or similar space management systems
• AutoCAD and Revit literacy
• Leading a planning team
• Negotiation between competing departments
• Budget and capital planning
• Presenting to senior leaders
• Bachelor's degree in architecture, interior design or planning

Education and Training

While many managers come up through space planning or architecture, it is a good idea to add budgeting and project management experience to compete for this post. A bachelor's degree is expected. IFMA's Certified Facility Manager credential can help.

Salary and Job Outlook

BLS projects employment of facilities managers, the group that includes this role, to grow about 5 percent from 2025 to 2035, with roughly 14,200 openings a year. Median pay for the group was about $106,700 in May 2025. Space planning managers are a small specialty within that group, and openings cluster at universities, hospitals and large corporate campuses.

Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, Facilities managers.

Space Planning Manager Pay Range

Highest-Paying States for Space Planning Managers

The states with the highest median pay for this occupation are Washington ($139,990), New York ($131,350), Delaware ($129,260), New Jersey ($124,110), Massachusetts ($124,100). Pay is lowest in Oklahoma ($90,390), Arkansas ($89,810), Vermont ($88,710).

What the Work Is Like

O*NET surveys people who work as facilities managers about their daily conditions. Of those surveyed:

• 96% use email every day
• 83% are on the phone every day
• 82% say teamwork is very or extremely important in their job
• 79% work indoors in a climate-controlled space every day
• 73% say being exact and accurate is very or extremely important
• 49% spend more than half the workday sitting
• 48% usually work more than 40 hours a week

Education Workers Say the Job Needs

Tools and Software Space Planning Managers Use

Tools and equipment

• 10-key calculators
• Desktop computers
• Laptop computers
• Laser facsimile machines
• Mobile phones
• Multi-line telephone systems
• Notebook computers
• Personal computers
• Photocopying equipment
• Scanners

Software

• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Office software
• Microsoft Outlook
• Microsoft PowerPoint
• Microsoft Word
• Adobe Acrobat
• Autodesk AutoCAD
• Autodesk Revit
• Google Docs
• Google Workspace software
• Intuit QuickBooks
• Microsoft Access

Is This Job a Good Fit for You?

People who do well in this job tend to enjoy leading, persuading and making business decisions as well as organized work with data, records and clear procedures.

Skills O*NET rates most important: Speaking, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Monitoring, Social Perceptiveness.

Knowledge areas used most: Customer and Personal Service, Administration and Management, English Language, Public Safety and Security, Personnel and Human Resources.

Preparation: O*NET places this occupation in Job Zone 3 of 5, which means medium preparation.

Related Careers

These jobs use similar skills, according to O*NET's related-occupation data:

• Building Supervisor job description
• Facilities Manager job description
• Facilities Coordinator job description
• Operations Manager job description
• General Manager job description
• Branch Manager job description
• Regional Manager job description
• Franchise Owner job description

Applying for a Space Planning Manager Job

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