Museum or zoo facilities manager interview questions

What this hire must get done

Write the scorecard before you interview, then hire against it. Set the bracketed targets from your own numbers.

What to tell candidates before the interview

Say the hard parts plainly. People who wouldn't stay drop out early, and the ones who stay knew what they signed up for.

• Be specific about on-call: how often the manager carries the phone for alarms, storms and freezes, and how fast you expect a response.
• Name the live systems they'll own, like [collection storage climate, aquarium life support or greenhouse heat], and say who sets the ranges, usually the Curator or animal care staff.
• Show them the real budget and the backlog: what's deferred, which capital items wait on fundraising, and which gifts are restricted to a single project.
• Say that evening rentals and events are part of the job, and who on the team covers them.

How to run the interview

1. Same questions, same order. Ask every candidate the questions below and the same follow-ups. It is the only way to compare people fairly.
2. Two interviewers. An owner or manager and someone who does the work. Take notes on what the candidate says, not on how you feel about them.
3. Score right after each answer. 5 sounds like the strong answer, 3 like the mixed one, 1 like the weak one. Use 2 and 4 for answers in between.
4. Rate alone, then compare. Compare candidates question by question, and talk only after everyone has scored. Big gaps are worth a conversation.

1. Technical · Maintenance planning

   You inherit a maintenance system with [four hundred] overdue work orders and no list of assets. Walk me through how you build a preventive maintenance program in your first [ninety] days.

   It shows whether they plan by risk to people, animals and the collection, or work the list from oldest to newest.

   Follow-ups

   • Which assets go on the list first, and why?
   • Where do accessible features like elevators, lifts and power door openers sit on your list?
   • What would you hand to a contractor rather than your own technicians?

   5Strong

   Lists critical assets first: life safety, collection climate, life support, elevators and generators. Sets tasks from manuals and required inspections, closes dead work orders after checking them, and ranks the rest by risk. Puts accessible features near the top, since the ADA requires keeping them working.

   3Mixed

   Builds the asset list and schedules tasks from the manuals, but ranks the backlog by age or by who complained, not by risk.

   1Weak

   Works the backlog oldest first and fixes things as they break, with no plan for preventive work.

2. Situational · Protecting the collection

   Early on a holiday Saturday, the building automation system shows humidity in collection storage climbing for [six] hours, with the humidifier valve stuck open. You're the manager on call. What do you do?

   It tests whether they act fast without making it worse, and bring in the Curator, who sets the ranges.

   Follow-ups

   • How do you know the sensor is right?
   • Who do you call, and in what order?
   • How fast do you bring the room back, and who decides?

   5Strong

   Confirms with a second logger or handheld, gets someone on site per the call list, and shuts the humidifier off by the documented steps. Calls the Curator, brings the room back toward range at the rate the Curator agrees, and finds the root cause before closing it out.

   3Mixed

   Gets someone on site and the humidifier shut off, and lets the room settle, but waits until Tuesday to tell the Curator and doesn't check whether any objects were affected.

   1Weak

   Waits until Tuesday because it's a holiday, or blasts heat or dry air to fix it fast.

3. Behavioral · Protecting the collection

   Tell me about a time a building system failure put something irreplaceable at risk, like art, records, animals, plants, lab samples or servers. What did you do, and what did you change afterward?

   Past failures show how they think under pressure and whether they fix the system that let it happen.

   Follow-ups

   • What were your first three moves?
   • What was lost or saved?
   • What changed in the alarms, backups or maintenance afterward?

   5Strong

   Gives a specific event, the first moves and who they called, what was saved or lost, the root cause, and a lasting change such as a new alarm path, a backup unit or a new maintenance task.

   3Mixed

   Handled the emergency well, but the fix stopped at the repair, with no change to alarms, backups or maintenance.

   1Weak

   Blames a vendor or the last manager, or can't name a case.

4. Technical · Life safety and emergencies

   Walk me through how you keep the fire alarm and sprinkler systems ready for the fire marshal, from the test schedule to closing out a problem the inspector finds.

   Life-safety records are where many facilities managers fall behind, and a system out of service needs a plan that day.

   Follow-ups

   • Which codes set your test schedule, and who enforces them?
   • What do you do the day a sprinkler zone has to be shut down for repair?
   • How do you handle nuisance alarms from a bad detector?

   5Strong

   Knows the fire marshal enforces the adopted editions of NFPA 72 and NFPA 25. Keeps a test calendar with qualified contractors and closes out each finding. For a shut-down zone, follows NFPA 25's impairment steps: tags it, tells the fire department, insurer and alarm company, and sets a fire watch.

   3Mixed

   Keeps inspections current and tracks findings, and knows a shut-down zone means calling the fire department and insurer, but has no written impairment steps, so it depends on who's on duty.

   1Weak

   Leaves it all to the contractor and can't say what gets tested, or would bypass a zone to stop nuisance alarms.

5. Situational · Life safety and emergencies

   An hour before a sold-out evening event in the main hall, you find a caterer's extension cords running across an exit path and stacked rental chairs blocking a fire door. The events coordinator says the client is already upset. What do you do?

   After-hours rentals bring outside vendors who don't know your exits. This shows whether the manager holds the line and fixes the process.

   Follow-ups

   • What do you say to the caterer, and to the coordinator?
   • What else do you check before doors open?
   • What changes before the next event?

   5Strong

   Gets the exit and fire door cleared before doors open, no exceptions, and reroutes the power. Checks the occupant limit and floor plan, and that security is staffed. Explains it plainly to the coordinator, then adds exit rules to the rental contract and a pre-event walk.

   3Mixed

   Gets the exits cleared in time and the event runs safely, but doesn't change the contract or the pre-event checklist, so it happens again.

   1Weak

   Lets it go for one night because the client is upset.

6. Behavioral · Life safety and emergencies

   Tell me about the last emergency drill or exercise you ran for a building open to the public. What did it show you, and what did you change?

   A plan in a binder fails on the day. Drills show the gaps in radios, exits, assembly points and who does what.

   Follow-ups

   • What kind of drill, and who took part?
   • What went wrong?
   • How did you check that the change worked?

   5Strong

   Names the drill, such as an evacuation, a shelter-in-place or a collection salvage, what went wrong, the specific changes to the plan or training, and how they retested.

   3Mixed

   Ran drills on schedule, but the changes afterward were small or never checked.

   1Weak

   Has never run one, or says the plan is in a binder.

7. Situational · Contractors and capital projects

   A roofing contractor over your main gallery wants to start torch-applied work this afternoon, a day early. The objects below haven't been moved or covered. What do you do?

   Hot work over a collection is one of the highest-risk days a museum has. The answer shows whether schedule pressure beats the rules.

   Follow-ups

   • What has to happen before the torch comes out?
   • Who do you call besides the contractor?
   • How long does someone watch after the work stops, and why?

   5Strong

   Holds the start until a hot work permit is issued after an inspection, combustibles are cleared, the Curator has moved or covered the objects, and a fire watch is set for the work and for the time the permit sets afterward. Asks whether a no-flame method would do.

   3Mixed

   Holds the work until the permit, fire watch and protected collection are in place, but treats it as a one-off instead of adding hot work rules to the contract and the pre-job meeting.

   1Weak

   Lets them start because the roof needs to be done, or relies on a fire extinguisher on the roof.

8. Behavioral · Contractors and capital projects

   Tell me about a capital project you managed in a building open to the public, like a roof, chiller or renovation. How did you keep it on budget and keep visitors and staff safe?

   Capital work is where budgets and reputations are lost. You want the specifics: scope, bids, change orders and how the site stayed open.

   Follow-ups

   • What was the budget, and where did it end?
   • How did you handle change orders?
   • How did you keep an accessible route open during the work?

   5Strong

   Gives the scope, how it was bid, the budget and the final cost, how change orders were approved, and how barriers, signs and an accessible route kept guests safe. Can say what they'd do differently.

   3Mixed

   Delivered the project, but over budget or with a closure they didn't plan for, and can explain why.

   1Weak

   The contractor ran it, and they can't give the budget or the final cost.

9. Behavioral · Budget judgment

   Tell me about a year when the money didn't cover what the buildings needed. What did you put off, how did you decide, and what happened?

   Every nonprofit defers something. You want a manager who decides by risk, keeps leaders informed, and keeps the deferred item alive.

   Follow-ups

   • How did you show leadership the risk of waiting?
   • What did you do to keep the deferred item going?
   • Did anything you put off fail, and what did you learn?

   5Strong

   Names the list and how it was ranked by risk, the stopgaps such as extra inspections or a rental plan, how they showed leaders the cost of waiting, and what happened, including anything that failed.

   3Mixed

   Made sensible cuts, but decided alone, without showing leadership the risk of waiting.

   1Weak

   Cut preventive maintenance across the board, or can't give an example.

10. Situational · Leading the team

    Your most skilled technician, the only one who knows the [aquarium life support or greenhouse controls], has skipped lockout twice this month to save time. What do you do?

    It tests whether the manager holds safety rules for the person they can least afford to lose, and fixes the single point of failure.

    Follow-ups

    • What do you say in the first conversation?
    • What goes in writing?
    • How do you make sure the site isn't stuck if this person leaves?

    5Strong

    Stops it the day they learn of it: talks privately with the facts, retrains on the lockout procedure, documents it and follows your discipline policy, the same as for anyone. Spot-checks lockout on that crew, and starts cross-training a second technician and writing procedures for the system.

    3Mixed

    Stops it, retrains and documents it the same as for anyone, but does nothing about depending on one person for the system.

    1Weak

    Lets it slide because the site can't afford to lose them, or gives a warning with no retraining.

Work exercise: rank the backlog and the capital list

Give finalists a made-up packet: [twenty] open work orders, a capital list of [six] items with rough costs, a budget that covers about half, and one gift restricted to a single item. Mix in a humidity alarm in storage, a stuck accessible restroom door, a failed exit sign and a leaking roof drain. In [45] minutes they rank next week's work, assign it to staff or contractors, pick the capital items, and write a one-page memo to the COO. Then take [10] minutes of panel questions.

Use made-up materials, never real customer work, and keep it to the time shown. Follow your own safety rules for anything hands-on.

Reference check questions

Tell finalists you'll call a former manager, and get their permission first. Ask about what they did, not whether they were nice.

• When something failed after hours, how quickly did they respond, and how did they keep you informed?
• How did their budgets and capital projects land against plan, and how did they handle overruns?
• How did fire marshal and other inspections go while they ran the department? Any repeat findings?
• How did the technicians and officers who reported to them do: did people grow, leave or work around them? Would you hire them again?

Questions to skip, and what to ask instead

Ask only what the job needs. Questions that touch age, health, family or pay history can break federal, state or local law, even when you mean well.

• SkipYou'd be on call a lot. Do you have young kids at home?

  AskThis role is on call for alarms and storms [one week in three], with a response within [your target]. How would that work for you?

• SkipThis is a long-term role. How many years do you have before retirement?

  AskAsk every finalist the same thing: we're planning a [five-year] capital program. What would you want finished in that time, and how would you get there?

• SkipCan you still climb onto the roofs and into the mechanical rooms?

  AskRead every candidate the same duties: walking the whole site daily, ladders, roofs and mechanical rooms, and lifting up to [fifty] pounds alongside technicians. Can you do those tasks, with or without reasonable accommodation?

• SkipWhat are you making now?

  AskThis role pays [your salary range], plus [any on-call pay]. Where does that sit against what you need?

Common mistakes when hiring a museum or zoo facilities manager

• Promoting the best technician by default

  The person who can fix any air handler may never have built a budget, written a capital plan or said no to the COO. Weigh the budget, capital and leadership questions as heavily as the technical ones.

• Letting the capital plan live in one head

  Boards and donors fund what's written down. Make the ranked risk list and capital plan a [ninety-day] deliverable, and ask references whether the candidate wrote one before.

• Interviewing without the Curator

  A candidate from office buildings may tune for comfort and energy savings, not steady conditions. Put the Curator or animal care lead on the panel to judge the collection and live-system answers.

Museum or zoo facilities manager interview FAQ