Associate Director of Residence Life

Shepherd; Shepherdstown (WV); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

13 paid holidays

24 days annual leave

18 sick days per year

Health insurance and benefits

Tuition waivers for employees and-dep.

Retirement savings plan

Job summary

Shepherd University seeks an Associate Director of Residence Life to lead the development of engaging communities for about 850 residents. You will supervise hall directors and indirectly guide ~25 RAs, while shaping initiatives aligned with the university’s learning mission.

This full-time, live-in role includes housing and meals, occasional evenings and weekends, and an on-call rotation to support student success and safety.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in higher education, student affairs, counseling, or related field.
• 2 years live-in Residence Life experience (professional/paraprofessional).
• Experience supervising staff and on-call crisis response.
• Ability to communicate effectively, in writing and verbally.

Responsibilities

• Lead conference services staffing, engagement, and area partnerships.
• Supervise Hall Directors and RA staff; assist in training activities.
• Develop residential programming and liaise with student groups.
• Serve as crisis and conduct liaison; manage on-call rotation.
• Assist in budgeting and planning for residential communities.

Skills

Leadership

Staff supervision

Crisis management

Communication

Collaboration

Education

Master’s degree in higher education

Job description

The Associate Director is an influential member of the Residence Life staff and an active team member within the University community. The Associate Director serves an active role in envisioning and creating departmental initiatives. The Associate Director leads the development of engaging communities that support and enhance the University’s learning mission for approximately 850 residents. The Associate Director directly supervises hall directors, provides indirect supervision to approximately 25 Resident Assistants, and supervises one residential community and staff. The Associate Director provides training and professional development to all Residence Life staff members. The Associate Director leads the Residence Life participation in summer conferences. The Associate Director reports directly to the Director of Residence Life and leads the department in the Director’s absence.

This is a full-time, live on required position. Housing, essential meals required to participate in quality control reviews and to enhance individual student engagement when Dining Services is open, and essential utilities will be provided. Some evening and weekend hours are required, including an on call duty rotation.

Minimum Qualifications

• Previous Live-In Residence Life experience – 2 years (may be a combination of professional and paraprofessional experience).
• Master’s degree in higher education, student affairs, counseling, or related field.
• Supervision of professional/ paraprofessional staff – 1 year.
• Experience being on-call for crisis response in a residential community.
• Experience creating supportive living environments that contribute to student success, retention, and personal development.
• Demonstrated experience of communicating effectively both verbally and in writing.
• Successfully pass a background check.

Preferred Qualifications

• Conference Services – 1 year of experience
• Leadership with activity programming, staff selection, and training.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with other divisions in the university and with external partners.
• Ability to develop proficiency in various technology systems.

Appointment to this position will be contingent upon a satisfactory background check.

We believe in work-life balance and keeping time for things we love outside our work. Shepherd University offers generous employee benefits , including:

• o 13 paid holidays
• o 24 days annual leave (vacation) per year
• o 18 sick days per year and the flexibility to use that time to care for immediate family members
• o Wide range of health insurance and other benefits
• o 401(a) retirement savings with 6% contribution match; eligibility to continue health insurance post-retirement, and other retiree perks
• o Tuition waivers for employees and their dependents

Job Duties

Description of Job Duties

Conference Services:

• Establish a working model of staffing, campus partner engagement, and area alliances to help provide exceptional services for all conference users.
• Manage the recruitment, planning, execution, and supervision of summer conferences as well as other year-round assigned events to include prospective client engagement with proposed services.
• Communicate effectively with Shepherd constituents and ensure the proper reservations, conditions, set ups, and management for various areas on campus (including facilities, dining, athletics, and SUPD ).
• Reconcile client billing and establish tracking of accounts receivable with Campus Services Accountant; manage payment to dining services and other campus partners as appropriate.

Supervision:

• Provide leadership and direction to area Hall Directors and their resident assistant staffs.
• Collaborate on the selection process for HD’s and RA’s. Assist in development and execution of training activities for HD’s and RA’s.
• Take lead role in developing summer conference and facilities assistance crews.

Community Development:

• Assist in the development of residential programming for students and guests.
• Serve in liaison capacity to student groups such as SGA.

Conduct:

• Serve as liaison between RLO and student conduct and/or SUPD as necessitated by events that may occur within university residential properties.
• Input conduct data into appropriate software to follow up on critical incidents.

Crisis Management:

• Serve in a weekday and weekend on-duty call rotation with other RLO professional staff. In this capacity serve as first contact for GA Hall Directors on duty. Provide leadership to manage crisis issues that may face front line staff including facilities challenges, resident conflict, and various life/safety challenges.
• Serve as member of various University student support organizations.
• Understand and be able to initiate campus Emergency Operation Plans.
• Responsible for procuring supplies for departmental programs and needs with strict adherence to University procurement protocols.
• Assist in planning programming budgets for area residential communities.

Other:

• Assist Director in devolving Departmental budgets and strategic plans.
• Other duties as assigned and specifically noted in departmental working documents.