Associate Director for Living-Learning and Leadership Initiatives

Position Summary: 

Reporting to the Director for Residential Learning, the Associate Director for Living-Learning and Leadership Initiatives has responsibility and accountability for assisting the Director in supervising the professional staff in the residential learning functional area; implementation of residential living-learning initiatives; and advising and supporting leadership programming, particularly the Residence Hall Association (RHA) and National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH). The Associate Director also oversees robust summer programs in support of a year-round campus; use of a learning outcomes framework for facilitation of residential environments consistent with the strategic goals of the University; assisting with other community building programs; as well as collaboration with departments within the Division of Student Affairs and across the University. 

The incumbent must demonstrate skill with supervision of professional staff, program development and implementation, collaboration, as well as the administration of policy. The Associate Director will employ evidence-based best practices to implement and evaluate programs and services and maintain program effectiveness. The Associate Director is responsible to work collaboratively and develop productive working partnerships with multiple university departments. This is a live-off position, which requires the incumbent to participate in a rotation providing 24/7 on-call support to in-hall staff and to assist with emergencies that occur after normal business hours. The Associate Director will be designated as an essential employee during certain campus emergencies and crisis situations. 

Functional areas of responsibility:

• Training and supervision of professional and graduate student staff 
• Development and oversight of Living-Learning Communities and similar initiatives
• Advising and leadership programming for RHA, NRHH, and other groups
• Coordination of programming to promote student retention, graduation and academic success
• Oversight of summer housing programming and programs to promote a year-round campus
• Coordination of assigned move-in and welcome-week activities

Essential duties and responsibilities:

• Supervise two to three full-time professional Area Coordinators (AFT PSS4) as well as graduate staff.
• Collaborate with Area Coordinators and Resident Directors to advise and provide robust leadership development training for the Residence Hall Association, Hall Councils, National Residence Halls Honorary, and Rho Alpha Sigma organizations.
• Manage designated budgets for departmental programs. Assure University policies and procedures for financial transactions are adhered to.
• Use relevant student development theory and evidence-based best practices to develop and institutionalize residential learning initiatives that support student needs and meet University strategic goals.
• Collaborate with University partners to develop and implement community initiatives designed to enhance the residential experience beyond the classroom.
• Oversee the development and ongoing effectiveness of Living-Learning Communities and other co-curricular initiatives. 
• Serve as liaison between Residential Learning and University Housing and Learning Community sponsors (faculty and staff) to support Living-Learning Communities. 
• Develop and oversee processes to develop and support new Living-Learning Communities and similar initiatives.
• Collaborate across the department, division and the University to coordinate residential initiatives serving special populations to promote retention, graduation and academic success including IMPACT, Cooperman Scholars, Degree-in-3, and Recovery Housing.
• Supervise a Post-Doctoral intern to support the Recover Housing program in collaboration with staff providing clinical supervision in the Wellness Center.            
• Conduct appropriate assessment activities to measure the effectiveness of programming provided to residential students. 
• Supervise summer Residential Learning staff and oversee implementation of summer programming in support of a year-round campus, including initiatives to increase student summer enrollment and participation in programming on campus during summer session. 
• Collaborate with the Director and Area Coordinators to organize staff training and in-service sessions during summer and throughout the year.
• Assist in the opening and closing of all campus residences at the beginning and end of each academic semester as well as during summer session.
• Support fall move in by developing appropriate residential programming during move-in and welcome week in coordination with other campus departments. 
• Oversee the creation of staff manuals other documents for staff training needs on relevant material.
• Co-facilitate regular departmental staff meetings with the Director and chair Residential Learning committees as assigned.
• Work collaboratively with other campus offices to plan activities and serve on campus committees as assigned.
• Provide support and intervention as needed to assist in-hall staff to mediate, manage and resolve crisis incidents and conflicts within the residential community.  Provide referral assistance as needed.  Review incident reports and follow-up appropriately on a daily and case-by-case basis.
• Work closely with the Associate Vice President and Dean of Students, Assistant Vice President for Residential Learning, Assistant Vice President for Civic Involvement, and Director for Residential Learning in responding to and addressing student conduct matters.
• Remain on call via cell phone for in-hall staff and facilities concerns 24 hours a day when assigned.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

 

Required Qualifications:

• Education:  Master’s Degree in Student Affairs, Student Personnel, Higher Education Administration or a related field.
• Experience:  3 years of post-master’s experience in residence life/residential education with direct experience supervising staff, providing advising to student organizations, implementing educational initiatives and overseeing living-learning communities in a college/university context. Prefer experience with supervision of professional and graduate level staff.

  Abilities, attitudes, knowledge and skills:

• Energy, creativity, organizational skills, tolerance for ambiguity, sense of humor, desire to challenge status quo, ability to work odd hours and as a member of a team.
• Demonstrated knowledge of residential learning programming and housing operations.
• Demonstrated leadership ability. 
• Strong administrative as well as organization and planning skills.
• Demonstrated ability to maintain confidentiality of sensitive information.
• Sensitivity to and ability to work with students, faculty, and staff of diverse backgrounds including varied socio/economic status, sexual identities/orientations, gender identities or expressions, cultures, ethnicities, nationalities, national origins, ancestries, races, colors, religions, abilities/disabilities and ages.
• Demonstrated ability to foster and maintain collaborative working relationships.
• Demonstrated leadership skills and an ability to facilitate team teams and groups.
• Knowledge of all Federal, State, and municipal laws likely to have an effect upon University students.
• Ability to work in a stressful and changing environment and with great attention to detail.
• Demonstrated ability to handle multiple assignments and balance competing priorities and develop efficient work plans.
• Expertise in budget development and oversight.
• Availability to work varied and flexible hours including nights and weekends as needed.

Core Competencies: 

Strong analytical, and organization skills; excellent interpersonal, cultural/intercultural, and community relations skills; excellent oral and written communication skills; excellent presentation, teaching, training and student education skills; strong conflict resolution skills; excellent program development skills.

Language Skills:  Ability to communicate effectively and interact tactfully with all levels of university students, staff, faculty, and trustees; read, analyze, and interpret documents, budgets and contracts; and respond effectively to the most sensitive inquiries or complaints.

Reasoning Skills:  Ability to define problems, collect and analyze data, conduct assessment of needs and program effectiveness, and apply data and analysis skills to the formulation of proposals and solutions.

Technology:  Proficient in use of technology to carry out electronic communication and develop both printed and electronic documents using computers and the Internet. Experience with Windows or Macintosh system software, Microsoft Office (Excel, Microsoft Word, Power Point), Outlook and other e-mail software, and Banner (preferred).

Work Environment:   The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.  The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Advertised: Oct 11 2019 Eastern Daylight Time
Applications close: Oct 31 2019 11:55 PM Eastern Daylight Time