Jobs & Roles

Legally responsible for buildings that outlive the practice, which is why the drawings are archived for decades.

Hired for a view from outside, which is also why the recommendations can be hard to implement from inside.

Spends more time cleaning and reconciling data than analyzing it, which is rarely what the job description says.

Judged on how something looks and paid for how it works, and the brief rarely separates the two.

Runs buildings and grounds day to day, a job that is invisible until something stops working.

Sits between the customer and the insurer, and is usually paid by the one that is not asking the questions.

Most of the profession never sees a courtroom: contracts, property and compliance are the bulk of the work.

Measured on numbers that move for reasons outside the department, which makes attribution a permanent argument.

Negotiates prices for things they will not use, judged by savings rather than by what was bought.

Has responsibility for an outcome and authority over almost nobody, which is the defining feature of the job.

Owns the schedule and none of the work, so the role is mostly finding out what is actually happening.

Paid by the employer and talking to the candidate, which is the structural tension of the role.

Employed by the company while being the person staff bring problems to, which is a role with two masters.