Director, Residence Life

About the Role

Serves as the head of Residential Life by providing leadership, management, and strategic direction for a comprehensive residence life program that serves the educational and personal needs of 340+ students in 5+ housing complexes. Responsible for the direct and indirect supervision of professional staff and student staff in residence life. An integral part of Residential Life, overseeing the day-to-day functions of the Office of Residential Life, all conduct, and residential programming.

Responsibilities

• Manage the day-to-day operations of the Office of Residential Life, including inquiries and enforcement of all rules and regulations.
• Serve in the on-call rotation, responding to residential hall crises and emergencies.
• Manage and direct all functions related to the room assignment process for students, including applications, fees, contracts, room change requests, and consolidations.
• Coordinate move-in/move-out, hall opening/closing, break housing, and summer housing logistics.
• Communicate policies to students, staff, and parents.
• Conduct ongoing inspection and evaluation of housing facilities and address concerns from students regarding facilities and housekeeping.
• Lead the residential curriculum/learning outcomes and ensure quality programming across all residential areas.
• Ensure accurate billing and maintain records regarding occupancy, immunizations, and meal plans.
• Annually update all housing documents (e.g., handbooks, applications) and policies.
• Recruit, hire, assign, train, supervise, and evaluate professional staff (e.g., Resident Directors) and student staff (e.g., Resident Assistants, desk attendants, hall councils).
• Coordinate, develop, and implement training and staff development programs for all levels of staff.
• Develop training materials, schedules, and evaluation processes for staff.
• Provide instruction, guidance, and feedback to staff regarding responsibilities and work performance.
• Set agenda and facilitate weekly residence life team meetings and monthly campus-wide meetings.
• Maintain the professional staff on-call and break schedule.
• Review all student incidents and determine appropriate referrals to the student conduct process.
• Collaborate on cases with the Office of Student Conduct, Student Clinic and Counseling Services, and Safety and Security.
• Assist in case follow-up for the Care Team.
• Coordinate response to Clery Act and Title IX incidents/complaints.
• Seek proactive measures to advocate and care for on-campus students.
• Coordinate response to all crisis situations involving housing facilities or incidents impacting on-campus students.
• Serve as a personal resource for students regarding residential life, personal, and college matters.
• Establish and maintain communication with students through individual outreach and community meetings.
• Conduct mandatory hall meetings at the beginning of each semester to review policy/procedure and answer questions.
• Supervise, support, and evaluate assigned team of Resident Assistants (RAs).
• Conduct periodic health and safety room checks.
• Assume on-call responsibility for assigned residence halls during the week and for all residence halls on a scheduled basis.
• Inventory each room prior to the opening of school with the assistance of RAs and complete check-in sheets.
• Ensure students are living in their assigned rooms.
• Responsible for keeping all keys secure and collecting keys when residents move out.
• Respond to crisis situations in accordance with University procedures.
• Assist students in the development, implementation, and oversight of the Residential Hall Council, with the goal of self-governance within the halls.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree (required).
• 3-5 years of progressively responsible professional leadership experience in a housing environment.
• Experience responding to and handling various crisis and emergency situations.
• Experience in staff hiring and training.
• Experience working with a housing assignment process.
• Master’s degree (preferred).
• Previous director-level experience in a comprehensive housing and residence life program (preferred).
• Financial modeling, budget management, and strategic planning experience (preferred).

Skills

• Strategic planning and implementation.
• Knowledge and application of student development theory.
• Written and oral communication skills.
• Leadership, supervisory, and managerial skills.
• Proficiency in technology use.
• Knowledge of policies and legal issues in higher education.
• Ability to build collaborative partnerships.
• Ability to balance opinions of different groups and competing interests in decision-making.
• Administrative, multi-tasking, and organizational skills.
• Critical thinking, decision-making, and problem-solving skills.
• Knowledge of Thesis Elements, Pharos 360, StarRez, or ability to learn such systems (preferred).
• Mediation and conflict de-escalation skills (preferred).
• Spreadsheet analysis skills (preferred).

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis without need now or in the future for sponsorship for employment visa status.