Director of Housing & Residence Life

Job Description: Under direct supervision of the Vice President for Campus Life & Dean of Students, Arcadia University is seeking a dynamic, collaborative, forward thinking experienced Housing & Residence Life professional who possesses a deep passion for serving students and building a robust residential engagement environment for students. The Director of Housing & Residence Life will be expected to demonstrate innovative, visionary, and collaborative leadership that will contribute to a vibrant residential campus experience and support divisional and campus-wide efforts in several focus areas: enrollment, retention, Combating Anti-Black Racism, student well-being, student sense of belonging, student engagement, and residential engagement. The Director will possess the skills to effectively partner with multiple stakeholders and strategically advance our Housing and Residence Life department through fulfilling a variety of key priorities, goals, and objectives. The ideal candidate will be a compassionate, empathetic, and student-centered professional that is capable of balancing multiple priorities with poise in a complex environment.

Location: Glenside

Responsibilities:

Essential Department Functions:

• Facilitates the development and assessment of an inclusive residential engagement strategy steeped in best and promising practices that help to contribute to and promote the overall well-being and development of resident students;
  
• Supervises, evaluates, trains, and develops professional, graduate, and paraprofessional student staff;
  Facilitates the development of co-curricular, social, and cultural experiences for residential students including, but not limited to, the development of a Residence Hall Council or similar;
  
• Works collaboratively with Facilities to ensure a safe and healthy residential living environment; identify key short term and long term capital projects, and assist with the development of a comprehensive deferred maintenance plan specific to our housing portfolio;
  
• Establishes key performance indicators and benchmarks that align with institutional priorities (ie., housing occupancy goals, employee retention, meal plan purchases);
  Ensures housing efficiencies in order to maximize revenue and reduce costs.

Essential University Functions:

• Serves as an administrative conduct officer and supports the Office of Student Conduct and Community
• Standards in effectively promoting the Knight Code of Honor, Code of Conduct, and community expectations;
  
• Serves in the second tier of the emergency on-call rotation;
  
• Manages departmental responses to crisis, emergencies, parent and student concerns, and facilities issues;
  
• Serves a a member of the CARE Team and a member of the Emergency Management Team;
  
• Serves as key divisional partner and liaison with Facilities and Finance to identify opportunities for residential growth, development, and expansion.
  
• Assists the Vice President & Dean of Students through managing special projects and initiatives, and represent the division through serving on university/campus committees, teams and or task forces;
  
• Other duties as assigned.

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Technology: Demonstrated proficiency and experience using housing management software (e.g. StarRez, Campus Kaizen) and conduct management systems (e.g. Maxient) to complete required tasks and objectives.

Communication: Able to give clear and timely information to the appropriate stakeholders in compliance with state and federal laws that safeguard personal information. Able to professionally communicate via written correspondence, telephone or video, online media, and face to face, and tailoring the message appropriately to the medium used and the audience (example: coworker, parent, student, other University employees).

Customer Service: Able to work professionally and positively with students, students, parents, high school representatives and university employees. Provides clear and timely information and answers to questions, following up as necessary, or being able to refer an individual to a more appropriate team member. Able to empathize with others and understand the various perspectives that individuals bring to a situation, and address those perspectives. Has a friendly demeanor and welcoming disposition.

Project Management: Able to organize tasks in the right order to reach the right outcome at the right time. Monitor progress in projects and plans and adapt appropriately to changes or challenges. Communicates workload and status of projects effectively and timely. Is well organized and manages assignments to a successful conclusion.

Cultural Understanding: Able to demonstrate respect for and engage with people of diverse backgrounds to create a stronger community.

Emotional Intelligence: Ability to understand how this role fits into the overall goals of the division and the University, and how the quality and consistency of individual efforts affect other staff in the unit. Able to respond positively to direction and performance-related critiques. Able to initiate, establish, and foster communication and teamwork by maintaining a positive, cooperative, productive work atmosphere while on campus and while representing the department, division, and university off-campus.

Qualifications:

• Master's Degree in Counseling, Higher Education, Student Personnel, or other relevant field.
  
• Five to seven years of progressive professional experience in Housing & Residence Life, including experience hiring, evaluating, supervising and developing professional and paraprofessional staff.
  
• Experience working with campus partners (e.g., Public Safety, Counseling Services, Student Conduct, Facilities) to manage residential crisis situations.
  
• Demonstrated experience developing, implementing, and assessing residential engagement strategies.
  
• Experience managing and developing budgets and the ability to develop revenue generating strategies.
  
• Demonstrated understanding and commitment to Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion as well as the mission and values of Arcadia University.
  
• Clear evidence of working with and supporting individuals of diverse backgrounds.
  
• Experience understanding and interpreting data and using data to inform decision making and practice.
  

Special Requirements:

• Some evening and weekend availability
  
• A valid driver's license and successful motor vehicle check is required.
  
• Successful completion of a background check
  

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to lift and carry items of 30 lbs (with or without accommodations)
  
  

Supervision: Received: Vice President for Campus Life & Dean of Students Given: Housing Operations Manager (1); Residence Life Coordinator (3); Graduate Assistant (1)

Application Instructions:

• Applications must be submitted online through Arcadia's Human Resources portal to receive full consideration. Please do not email application materials to the hiring manager. Due to the volume of applications received, communication will generally be limited to candidates selected for additional consideration.
• Application review will begin immediately. Posting will be removed from the website once we've established a sufficient talent pool for consideration.

Arcadia University is a top-ranked private University in Greater Philadelphia that provides a values-based educational experience by placing students at the center. The Institute of International Education has ranked Arcadia first nationally in study abroad for 10 of the last 13 years, and the Princeton Review has ranked Arcadia among the "Best in the Northeast" for eight consecutive years. The University's Physical Therapy and Physician Assistant programs are nationally ranked in their respective categories by U.S. News & World Report, which cites Arcadia for being among the top study abroad programs and among the "most innovative," and "best value" colleges. Arcadia promises a distinctively global, integrative, and personal learning experience that prepares students to contribute and lead in a diverse and dynamic world. Through its community of practice and commitment to Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) and to combating anti-Black Racism, Arcadia has made facilitating a safe and welcoming environment a priority. Learn more about our vibrant community at www.arcadia.edu.

Our belief and experience is that there is strength in diversity and we are committed to building a welcoming and inclusive environment for students and employees alike. We are a community built on varied experiences and perspectives that benefits from open-minded discussion and cultural humility. Guided by our University's values, we are committed to justice, equity, diversity and inclusion, and we are working towards dismantling anti-Black racism/white supremacy and other forms of interpersonal and systemic discrimination and oppression.

We welcome candidates who can contribute to the diversity and excellence of our community. The successful candidate will demonstrate examples of ways they will incorporate our values. in their work.

At Arcadia University, our JEDI principles (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) are the foundation of our highly regarded, values-based learning community, which reflects the world in which we want to live. As such, Arcadia actively seeks and welcomes candidates of diverse backgrounds and abilities. Arcadia prohibits discrimination against individuals on the basis of ethnicity, national origin, ancestry, race, color, religion, creed, sex, gender, marital status, affectional or sexual orientation, age, gender identity, military or military veteran status, disability, family medical or genetic information, or any other legally protected characteristic. All offers of employment are conditional based on the successful completion of a background check. Employment may not begin until the University accepts the results of the background check.