Torchora
Back to Home

workplace program officer

title: Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Workplace Program Officer
salary: $60,000 - $95,000
categories: [Human Resources, Program Management, Workplace Experience, Facilities Management]
description: A comprehensive overview of the key responsibilities, required technical skills and professional background for the role of a Workplace Program Officer.
Hiring: Workplace Program Officer — responsible for designing, delivering and optimizing workplace programs that improve employee experience, space utilization, vendor coordination, safety and continuity. Ideal candidate has workplace strategy, project management, stakeholder engagement, vendor management and data-driven reporting experience. Keywords: workplace program officer, employee experience, workplace strategy, space planning, vendor management, facilities, program management, occupational health, change management.

🎯 Role Definition

The Workplace Program Officer is a mid-level program and operations professional who designs, implements and manages workplace programs that drive employee experience, operational efficiency and compliant, safe facilities. This role partners across HR, real estate, IT, procurement and business unit stakeholders to deliver integrated programs — including space allocation, office moves, hybrid work enablement, vendor/contract management, workplace safety and continuous improvement. The ideal candidate blends strong project management and stakeholder engagement skills with data-driven program evaluation, budget oversight and practical facilities knowledge.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Workplace Coordinator / Workplace Specialist
  • Facilities Coordinator / Facilities Analyst
  • HR Program Specialist / Employee Experience Coordinator

Advancement To:

  • Senior Workplace Program Manager
  • Workplace Experience Lead / Head of Workplace Strategy
  • Real Estate & Facilities Manager

Lateral Moves:

  • Program Manager, Employee Experience
  • Facilities Operations Manager
  • Project Manager, Real Estate & Construction

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Lead the design, development and execution of workplace programs (office moves, space reconfigurations, hybrid work enablement, hoteling and desk booking) from concept through rollout, ensuring alignment with organizational strategy and space standards.
  • Manage cross-functional stakeholder engagement by convening HR, IT, procurement, real estate and business leaders to define program scope, objectives, success metrics and communication plans.
  • Own program budgets and financial tracking: prepare cost estimates, track spend vs. budget, identify cost-saving opportunities with vendors and present monthly program financials to leadership.
  • Develop and maintain workplace standards, policies and playbooks (e.g., move protocols, hybrid work guidelines, space assignment rules) and ensure consistent adoption through training and communications.
  • Coordinate and manage third-party vendors and service providers (office moves, furniture suppliers, cleaning, security, maintenance), including RFP participation, contract negotiation, SLA monitoring and performance reviews.
  • Lead and coordinate office relocation and departmental moves: produce move plans, floor plans, asset inventories, schedule timelines, logistics and day-of support to minimize business disruption.
  • Implement and maintain workplace technologies (room booking systems, desk hoteling solutions, wayfinding, occupancy sensors, CAFM) and collaborate with IT to ensure integrations, support and user adoption.
  • Monitor workplace utilization and occupancy metrics using data sources (desk booking logs, sensor data, badge swipes) to optimize space allocation, reduce cost-per-square-foot and inform real estate decisions.
  • Design and run change management and communications campaigns for workplace initiatives — develop stakeholder-specific messaging, training materials, FAQs and support resources to drive adoption.
  • Conduct risk assessments and lead workplace safety, emergency preparedness and business continuity planning for office locations, collaborating with occupational health and safety teams.
  • Develop, collect and report KPIs and program performance dashboards (utilization rates, cost savings, customer satisfaction, service levels) to demonstrate program impact and surface improvement opportunities.
  • Serve as primary contact for employee workplace support escalations — troubleshoot complex issues, coordinate cross-functional responses and ensure timely resolution while capturing root cause for process improvements.
  • Partner with HR and DEI leads to ensure workplace programs promote inclusion, accessibility and equitable experience across locations and employee populations.
  • Manage asset lifecycle and inventory for furniture, AV and client-facing workplace equipment — coordinate procurement, tagging, maintenance and disposal according to policy and sustainability goals.
  • Lead pilot programs and continuous improvement initiatives to test new layouts, services or technologies; synthesize pilot results and scale successful pilots across the portfolio.
  • Oversee vendor onboarding and governance: establish SLAs, KPIs, invoicing procedures and performance remediation plans to ensure quality and cost control.
  • Conduct site assessments for new or refreshed workplace spaces — document infrastructure needs (power, networking, AV), accessibility, code compliance and ergonomic considerations.
  • Prepare executive briefings, business cases and ROI analyses for workplace investments (renovations, furniture refreshes, technology implementations), translating space data into strategic recommendations.
  • Facilitate workshops and stakeholder design sessions (program inception, needs assessments, post-occupancy evaluations) to capture requirements and align solutions with user needs.
  • Ensure compliance with local regulations and company policies related to workplace operations (health & safety, accessibility, environmental and vendor compliance), coordinating with legal and compliance teams where needed.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
  • Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
  • Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
  • Maintain program documentation, playbooks and change logs to ensure program knowledge continuity and audit readiness.
  • Support onboarding and site orientation programs for new hires to ensure consistent workplace experience.
  • Conduct regular vendor audits and site walkthroughs to validate SLAs, compliance and quality of service.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Program & Project Management: proven ability to manage concurrent workplace programs, deliverables, milestones and cross-functional dependencies using tools like Asana, Jira, Wrike or Microsoft Project.
  • Space Planning & CAD Familiarity: experience reading and reviewing floor plans, space standards and basic experience with AutoCAD/SketchUp or the ability to collaborate with designers.
  • Vendor Management & Contract Negotiation: experience issuing RFPs, negotiating service agreements, managing SLAs and performing vendor performance reviews.
  • Budgeting & Financial Analysis: experience creating program budgets, tracking expenses, performing cost-benefit and ROI analyses.
  • Workplace Technology: hands-on knowledge of room booking systems, desk hoteling platforms (e.g., Condeco, Robin, Teem), CAFM systems and basic IoT occupancy sensors.
  • Data Analysis & Reporting: ability to analyze occupancy and utilization data, build dashboards in Excel, Google Sheets, Power BI or Tableau and present insights to stakeholders.
  • Compliance & Health & Safety: working knowledge of workplace safety standards, ADA/accessibility requirements and emergency preparedness planning.
  • Facilities Operations: familiarity with building systems (HVAC, AV, access control) and ability to coordinate technical requests with building management.
  • Change Management: practical application of change management frameworks to support adoption of workplace initiatives.
  • Microsoft Office & Collaboration Tools: strong skills in Excel, PowerPoint and Google Workspace for reporting, stakeholder communications and training materials.

Soft Skills

  • Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills — able to build relationships across HR, IT, procurement and business leaders.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication — create executive briefs, user communications, training materials and status reports.
  • Customer-centric mindset with strong service orientation and responsiveness to employee needs and escalations.
  • Strategic thinking with pragmatic execution — balance long-term workplace strategy with operational rigor.
  • Problem-solving and analytical thinking — diagnose issues, propose pragmatic solutions and iterate.
  • Adaptability and resilience — manage ambiguity, shifting priorities and multiple programs in fast-paced environments.
  • Attention to detail and strong organizational skills, especially during complex moves or implementations.
  • Collaborative team player who leads cross-functional workstreams without direct authority.
  • Facilitation and workshop leadership to surface needs and align stakeholders.
  • Time management and prioritization skills to meet deadlines across competing initiatives.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Human Resources, Facilities Management, Real Estate, Urban Planning, Organizational Psychology or related field.

Preferred Education:

  • Master’s degree or advanced certificate (MBA, MPA, MSc in Facilities Management) or professional certifications (PMP, SHRM-CP, IFMA FMP, Lean/Six Sigma).

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Facilities Management / Real Estate
  • Human Resources / Organizational Behavior
  • Business Administration / Project Management
  • Urban Planning / Architecture
  • Occupational Health & Safety

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 3–7 years of combined experience in workplace operations, facilities, program management, employee experience or related functions.

Preferred:

  • 5+ years managing workplace programs or workplace strategy in medium-to-large organizations, with demonstrated experience leading moves, vendor programs and change management.
Explore More Careers