Assistant Director for Residential Life

About the role

The assistant director for residential life is responsible for the management of junior and senior housing (including thematic housing and Greek Chapter houses), coordinating effective residential housing processes, stewarding financial resources, and providing clear communications within a liberal arts, undergraduate-focused, residential campus.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with the Associate Director to develop, implement, and assess strategies and programs that enhance the junior and senior experience, connecting programmatic goals to broader divisional and institutional priorities.
• Actively engage and maintain high visibility within junior, senior, lower campus, and thematic housing areas to establish positive relationships, convey expectations, and foster student accountability.
• Translate the departmental philosophy, mission, and strategic goals into actionable practices that support the growth, maturity, and intellectual development of residential students.
• Proactively address community issues to foster a supportive environment that promotes a sense of belonging and inclusion for all students.
• Recruit, hire, train, supervise, and evaluate a team of student staff in accordance with department expectations, goals, and established procedures.
• Facilitate weekly staff meetings, 1:1 check-ins, and ongoing professional development or in-service activities for student staff.
• Apply student development theory and professional best practices when supervising staff and advising departmental student committees.
• Model professional behavior appropriate for an educator living in and among students.
• Effectively utilize housing software and technical solutions to manage on-campus housing assignments, status changes, waitlists, room changes, and related records.
• Manage administrative housing data sets and workflows, including key management, room condition reporting, and the tracking of seasonal processes (e.g., early arrivals, late stays, and break housing).
• Maintain strict confidentiality of student records and ensure data maintenance aligns with University, division, and department guidelines.
• Collaborate closely with University Communications to draft, edit, and execute regular, high-quality email correspondence tailored to all residential students.
• Develop clear, concise, and engaging communications for major residential processes, ensuring complex instructions are delivered in a warm, welcoming, and accessible manner.
• Maintain a high standard of editorial excellence across all platforms to ensure student-facing messaging is accurate, timely, and aligned with departmental standards.
• Cascade key information regarding policies, conduct, administrative matters, and campus events to student staff and residents.
• Serve as a welcoming, informative presence for campus partners, students, and families, including providing coverage for the central office on a rotating basis and resolving parent concerns with care and support.
• Monitor and coordinate the day-to-day administrative and operational functions of multiple residence halls, thematic houses, and chapter houses (including occupancy, maintenance, technology, and furniture inventory).
• Manage residence hall opening, closing, and break procedures across all areas.
• Partner with Facilities to document and address maintenance needs, ensuring reported damages and facility problems are resolved promptly.
• Oversee weekly facility and safety inspection processes conducted by student staff, executing appropriate follow-up.
• Coordinate the department-wide damage billing process, including inspections, documentation, and final closing procedures.
• Provide crisis intervention, documentation, and necessary follow-up in accordance with campus protocols, collaborating with Campus Safety, the Counseling and Psychological Services, the Dean’s Office, and other campus resources.
• Support student staff during counseling or crises, serving as their primary referral resource.
• Participate in the scheduled professional staff on-call duty rotation to provide comprehensive campus crisis response.
• Manage student behavior and resolve conflicts by responding to incidents, meeting with students, and applying appropriate sanctions as detailed in the University Student Handbook.
• Apply strong time management, problem-solving, and planning skills to seamlessly execute on-site logistics, programs, and processes.
• Meet functional accountabilities while staying within assigned departmental budget constraints.
• Build and maintain highly collaborative working relationships with colleagues across the Residential Life team, Dean of the College division, facilities, faculty, and the broader University community.
• Meet regularly with the supervisor to review departmental goals, establish individual benchmarks, assess progress, and solve systemic problems.
• Apply basic assessment techniques to measure programmatic effectiveness and drive continuous improvement.
• Participate in University committees as deemed appropriate by the supervisor or Residential Life Leadership Team.
• Fulfill responsibilities as a designated Campus Security Authority (CSA) by accurately reporting allegations of Clery Act crimes to the Campus Safety Department.

Qualifications

• A Master’s degree in higher education or a related field is required. Those with a combination of a Bachelor’s degree and experience from which comparable skills are gained may be considered.
• Must have well-developed written and verbal communication skills and be capable of creating and maintaining productive and collegial working relationships with a diverse group of faculty, staff, students, and visitors.
• Knowledge of student development and/or human development theory and practice is ideal.
• Must be available to work occasional evenings and weekends as required.
• Must be self-motivated and able to manage multiple projects, programs, and student challenges simultaneously with an appropriate sense of urgency.
• A minimum of two years of relevant work experience is required.
• Experience working with faculty within the context of a learning community or similar program is highly desired.
• Experience working with housing software, especially StarRez, and reporting is preferred.
• Experience working with thematic housing, Greek organizations, and chapter housing is preferred.

Benefits

Colgate University offers a competitive benefits package, with most benefits effective on the date of hire. Highlights include: medical, dental, vision, retirement contributions, paid time off, paid family leave, health & wellness, continuing education and professional development. We also offer unique perks, such as free parking, gym discounts, bookstore savings, athletic tickets, and access to cultural and recreational facilities. Explore the full benefits package on our Benefits page.