Director, Residence Life

The University of Tennessee Southern; Pulaski (TN); On-site; USD 55,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Tennessee Southern is seeking a Director of Residential Life to lead a comprehensive program serving 340+ students across 5+ housing complexes. You will supervise professional staff and resident staff, coordinate room assignments, and oversee housing operations, billing and policies across the Office of Residential Life.

Requirements include a Bachelor’s degree and 3–5 years of leadership in housing; preferred Master’s degree and experience with StarRez/Pharos 360/Thesis

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• 3-5 years of progressive leadership in housing.
• Experience with crisis and emergency response.
• Experience in staff hiring and training.
• Experience with housing assignment processes.

Responsibilities

• Manage day-to-day operations of the Office of Residential Life and enforce rules.
• Respond to residential hall crises during on-call rotations.
• Direct room assignment processes, applications, fees, contracts and changes.
• Coordinate move-in/out, hall openings/closings, and summer housing logistics.
• Communicate policies to students, staff and parents; maintain records.
• Lead the residential curriculum and ensure quality programming across housing areas.
• Supervise and evaluate professional staff and student staff.
• Oversee care for housing facilities and respond to facilities concerns.

Skills

Strategic planning

Student development

Written and oral communication

Leadership

Technology literacy

Higher education policy knowledge

Collaborative partnerships

Decision making

Administrative skills

Organizational skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Master’s degree

Tools

Thesis Elements

Pharos 360

StarRez

Job description

Job DescriptionServes 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. They are also responsible for the direct and indirect supervision of professional staff and student staff in residence life. They are an integral part of Residential Life, responsible for the day-to-day oversight of the functions of the Office of Residential Life and oversees all Conduct, and residential programming.

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. They are also responsible for the direct and indirect supervision of professional staff and student staff in residence life. They are an integral part of Residential Life, responsible for the day-to-day oversight of the functions of the Office of Residential Life and oversees all Conduct, and residential programming. 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.

Administrative

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Manage the day-to-day operations of the Office of Residential Life, including inquiries, ensuring that all rules and regulations are carefully enforced.
• Serve in the on-call rotation, responding to residential hall crisis and emergencies.
• Manage and direct all functions related to the room assignment process for students, including all applications, fees, and contracts, as well as 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 & manage and address concerns from students pertaining to facilities and housekeeping issues.
• Lead the residential curriculum/learning outcomes and ensure quality programming across all residential areas.
• Ensure accurate billing and maintain accurate records regarding occupancy, immunizations, and meal plans.
• Annually update all housing documents (e.g. handbooks, applications, etc.) and policies.
• Additional duties as assigned.

Supervision And Training

• Recruit, hire, assign, train, supervise, and evaluate professional staff (e.g., RDs) and student staff (RAs, desk attendants, hall councils).
• Coordinate, develop and implement training and staff development programs for all levels of staff.
• Develop training materials, training schedules, and evaluation processes for staff in all levels of the residence life.
• Provide instruction, guidance, formal, and informal 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.

Student Conduct And Crisis Response

• 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 the case follow up for the Care Team.
• Assist in coordinated 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.

Resident Director

• Serve as personal resource for students in support regarding residential life, personal, and college matters
• Establish and maintain communication with students living in the residence halls through individual outreach and community meetings. Mandatory hall meetings of all residents are required at the beginning of each semester to review policy/procedure and answer questions
• Supervise, support, and evaluate assigned team of Resident Assistants (RA)
• Conduct periodic health and safety room checks of all rooms
• Assume On-Call responsibility for assigned residence hall during the week and for all residence halls on a scheduled basis
• With the assistance of the RAs, inventory each room prior to the opening of school and fill out the check-in sheets
• Ensure that students are living in their assigned rooms
• Assume responsibility for keeping all keys secure, and collect keys when residents move out of the building
• Respond to crisis situations in accordance with University procedures
• Assist the students in the development, implementation, and oversight of the Residential Hall Council, with the eventual goal of self-governance within the halls

Qualifications

To be considered for this opportunity, please submit a resume and cover letter describing your experience and what interests you in the role. The hiring range for this position is $55,000 to $65,000 annually, depending on qualifications and experience.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Ability of strategic planning and implementation.
• Knowledge and application of student development.
• Written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to perform leadership, supervisory, and managerial skills.
• Skills in use of technology.
• Knowledge of polices and legal issues in higher education.
• Ability to build collaborative partnerships.
• Ability to balance the opinions of many different groups and competing interests in decision making.
• Administrative, multi-tasking, and organizational skills.
• Critical thinking, decision-making, and problem-solving skills.

Preferred Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Knowledge of Thesis Elements, Pharos 360, StarRez among others, or ability to learn such systems. Skills in mediation and conflict deescalation.
• Skills in spreadsheet analysis

Required

• Bachelor’s degree
• 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.

Preferred Requirements

• Master’s Degree
• Previous director level experience in a comprehensive housing and residence life program.
• Financial modeling, budget management, and strategic planning experience.