Director of Residential Life

Director of Residential Life

Main Campus - Boston, MA
R07503

About Simmons University

Located in Boston's historic Fenway area, Simmons has a strong tradition of empowering women and challenging traditional gender roles. Simmons University was one of the first higher education institutions to prepare women to become leaders and has evolved to become a university offering a women's undergraduate program and graduate programs open to all.

Today, Simmons serves nearly 1,800 undergraduates in a women-centered undergraduate program and nearly 5,000 students in coeducational graduate programs. Simmons recently embarked on an academic redesign to create four interdisciplinary colleges. Given the richness and complexity of its offerings, Simmons obtained formal approval and became Simmons University effective September 1, 2018.

You're joining our community at an especially exciting time as one of our strategic goals is to become the most inclusive campus in New England. You'll find that people who work here are truly committed to our mission of preparing students to become champions of social justice and leaders in their professions and their communities. This commitment and pride make for a dynamic workplace. Simmons University is committed to inclusive excellence in all aspects of an individual's community experience.

As a University committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, Simmons encourages applications from all under-represented groups. Simmons is committed to creating, developing, promoting, and enhancing inclusive hiring practices-at all levels, for all positions-ensuring diverse talent pools and the delivery of a consistent positive candidate experience. Simmons is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to continuing to develop a more diverse faculty, staff, student body, and curriculum.

Position Overview

Simmons University is seeking an equity minded and innovative Director of Residence Life (“Director”) to provide leadership for a dynamic and creative team. Reporting to the Dean of Student Experience, the Director will lead a central office staff, professional live-in staff, graduate assistants and undergraduate Resident Assistants in delivering a robust residential student educational program. The Director will lead efforts to enhance the residential experience including connecting co-curricular experiences to the academic mission of the institution, integrating leadership and skill development both as part of the student experience and as part of the training and development for professional and paraprofessional staff. The Director will also engage university stakeholders in the development of a robust and intentional residential programming curriculum and programming model. The residential experience at the college is critical to a pivotal student experience and is key to the University's retention efforts. The Director will be responsible for the administrative operation including occupancy management, supervision, residential conduct, and policy development. Additionally, the Director, in conjunction with the Dean of Students and the Vice President for Student Affairs, will provide leadership for the development and alignment of strategic goals and vision for the residential community. The Director will oversee the current residential campus and will be integrally involved in the preparation to transition from the residential campus to a new, state-of-the art Living Learning Community on the academic campus as part of the One Simmons strategy. In addition to providing a vibrant residential space for undergraduates, the Living Learning Community will house a new dining facility, athletics, campus recreation including modern equipment and a swimming pool.

Essential Responsibilities:

• Supervision, hiring, training and management of three area coordinators, graduate hall directors, an Assistant/Associate Director and resident assistants;
  
  
• Oversight of 9 residence halls housing just over 1000 students;
  
  
• Develop, implement and cultivate a residence life philosophy that fosters a community and provides students with opportunities for collaborative leadership development, personal development, academic support and success as well as fun;
  
  
• Stay abreast of and incorporate changing trends and best practices in residence life and the student experience;
  
  
• Design and create effective and efficient an occupancy management strategy responding to enrollment projections, negotiating and acquiring additional housing in the local area as needed;
  
  
• Oversight and development of themed learning communities, residential programming and a transformative programming model that aligns with university priorities and goals that relate to providing students with a pivotal student experience;
  
  
• Responsible for collaborating with campus partners to report, track and project occupancy rates;
  
  
• Coordinate crisis response and risk management strategies and provide oversight of residential conduct process;
  
  
• Provide strategic direction including the development and implementation of unit-level goals, assessment and evaluation in alignment with the strategic goals of the division and the university;
  
  
• Manage residential technology, operations and facility recommendations;
  
  
• Participate in the University Care Team meetings providing consulting and support for students in need;
  
  
• Serve on the administrator on-call rotation, responding to campus emergencies as needed;
  
  
• Oversee the communications and publications from the Office of Residence Life to students and the community;
  
  
• Respond to student and parent concerns regarding housing policies and services;
  
  
• Prepare and manage the Residence Life budget, performing monthly reconciliations;
  
  
• Other duties assigned.
  
  Qualifications:
  
  
• Master's Degree in Higher Education Administration, College Student Personnel or closely related field required or the equivalent of a bachelor's degree and significant related experience;
  
  
• 6+ years of professional experience in residence life or student affairs; minimum 3 years of related experience within a residential life/housing program;
  
  
• Passion for fostering inclusive and vibrant communities that enhance students' academic and personal growth and success;
  
  
• Effective communication skills and demonstrated experience managing conflict proactively;
  
  
• Demonstrated knowledge of housing and residence life functions including budgeting, facility maintenance, room assignments, staff supervision, and professional development, and student conduct;
  
  
• Knowledge of the impact of residential educational and community development activities and programs to enhance resident academic success, persistence, and retention;
  
  
• Understanding of the principles, practices, and trends in enrollment, student retention, and student engagement preferred;
  
  
• Ability to derive data-driven results and provide analytical results;
  
  
• Experience planning, promoting, publicizing and executing events and programming;
  
  
• Proven ability to manage highly sensitive and confidential information, work independently, and take initiative;
  
  
• Demonstrated ability to maintain high levels of privacy and discretion in handling information of a sensitive and personal nature;
  
  
• Knowledge of student conduct, adjudication, and skill at developing and conducting in-service training for professional and RA staff.
  
  This is a full-time, 12-month position.
  
  Required Application Materials:
  

• Resume
  
• Cover Letter
  

Salary Grade
S08

Instructions to Applicants: Please upload all applicable application materials (e.g. resume/cv, cover letter, writing sample, teaching philosophy, etc.) in the "Resume/CV" box on page 2 ("My Experience") of this application. Documents can be uploaded individually or as a combined document (e.g. PDF).

Simmons University is committed to inclusive excellence in all aspects of an individual's community experience. As a university committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, Simmons encourages applications from all under-represented groups. Simmons is committed to creating, developing, promoting, and enhancing inclusive hiring practices-at all levels, for all positions-ensuring diverse talent pools and the delivery of a consistent positive candidate experience. Simmons is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to continuing to develop a more diverse faculty, staff, student body, and curriculum.


To apply, visit https://simmons.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Simmons-Careers/job/Main-Campus---Boston-MA/Director-of-Residential-Life_R07503

Located in Boston’s historic Fenway area, Simmons College is a small, private, non-sectarian College which has educated students for enriching careers and purposeful lives since 1899. Working at Simmons means joining a collaborative, diverse and mission-driven community of educators and professionals.

We prepare students to be leaders for themselves, their communities and the world. Our faculty and staff members lead by example - sharing a commitment to excellence and putting the students first.