Senior Associate Director, Residence Life

Penn State University; State College (Centre County); On-site; USD 100,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Penn State University seeks a Senior Associate Director of Residence Life to provide strategic leadership for a large multi-campus program serving 20,000 students. The role oversees professional staff, coordinates student support, and partners with campus leaders to promote student success and belonging.

The successful candidate will supervise two Associate Directors and other staff, lead policy updates, crisis response, on-call rotations, and collaborate with Housing, University Police, CARE

Qualifications

• Experience supervising professional staff in Residence Life or student affairs.
• Crisis response and incident management experience required.
• Ability to collaborate with campus partners and police, housing, CARE Team.

Responsibilities

• Lead conduct and crisis response for residential life across campuses.
• Supervise two Associate Directors and senior staff; oversee staff development.
• Manage department budget and strategic priorities; coordinate trainings.
• Collaborate with Housing, University Police, CARE Team, and other partners.

Skills

Staff supervision

Crisis management

Partnerships with campus

Budget management

Policy development

On-call readiness

Tools

Maxient

Job description

POSITION SPECIFICS

The Senior Associate Director of Residence Life provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for designated areas within a comprehensive, multi-campus Residence Life program serving 20,000 residential students and 350 student leaders. This position supports the development of residential communities that promote student success, wellbeing, and belonging through the supervision of professional staff, coordination of student support practices, and collaboration with campus and divisional partners.

Student and Community Development

• Serve as the department-wide point of contact for residential conduct and the primary liaison to the Office of Student Accountability and Conflict Response.
• Meet consistently with campus partners about activity in the residential communities, including University Police, Housing, CARE Team, and those specializing in the holistic support of students and the various identities they hold.
• Monitor and update the electronic climate report system and Maxient.
• Update residence hall polices as they relate to the Student Code of Conduct, the Housing Contract, and University policy.
• Handle student emergencies and crisis response. Be a part of the weekday and weekend on call rotation for the department.
• Support faculty and student involvement initiatives.
• Demonstrate a commitment to students and the quality of their life in the residence hall environment.
• Demonstrate a commitment to the use of restorative practices.
• Demonstrate a commitment to staff and student retention and recruitment efforts.
• Advise student organizations representing the voice of residential students and student leaders.

Supervision

• Supervise and oversee the tasks of two Associate Directors, a Senior Assistant Director for Student Accountability and Conflict Response, and a Conduct and Care Case Manager.
• Plan and facilitate staff meetings.
• Evaluate job performance for direct reports.
• Provide department-wide support and training for para-professional and professional staff.

Administration

• Assist the Senior Director in setting the overall direction for the department.
• Maintain effective working relationships with university departments that are external to Student Affairs including Housing and Food Services.
• Lead and oversee key strategic priorities.
• Participate in a leadership team that manages a budget of $17 million.
• Collaborate with other Senior Staff members to support initiatives centered on student success such as living-learning communities, residential curriculum, and peer-to-peer student leadership programming.
• Represent Residence Life as part of the CARE team.
• Represent Residence Life in a variety of operational and strategic meetings.
• Attend and co-facilitate new staff mentor sessions.

Miscellaneous

• Assist the Senior Director in the development and implementation of goals, policies, guidelines, and procedures for the residence hall program.
• Utilize Residence Life and Student Affairs assessment results to measure the department's effectiveness and to implement appropriate programs and services for students.
• Respond effectively to student emergencies and inquiries from higher-level staff, faculty, parents, and the press.
• Serve as representative for construction and renovation planning and committees for buildings and office spaces.
• Serve on University and Student Affairs committees.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Preferred Qualifications

• Must participate in an on-call duty rotation and be able to be on site within 45 minutes.
• Demonstrated professional staff supervisory experience.
• Proven crisis management experience.
• Strong time management, administrati