Executive Director of Housing

Executive Director of Housing & Residential Education

California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) seeks a forward-thinking professional to serve as the Executive Director of Housing & Residential Education. This is a distinctive role for an experienced leader who is committed to fostering a respectful and responsible residential learning community that promotes the academic success and wellbeing of all residents within a diverse and culturally pluralistic community. The Executive Director must have deep and current knowledge of and familiarity with residence life and housing programs, processes, and policies.

Housing & Residential Education at CSUSM is a shared initiative between Student Affairs and the CSUSM Corporation. The Executive Director will provide leadership and oversight for the residential options for students and is responsible for working closely with University and Corporation leaders to enhance the residential experience of students. The Executive Director must have a deep understanding of public-private partnerships, knowledge of factors related to residential growth on a university campus, a commitment to the residential experience and the role it plays in supporting student success, interest in designing and implementing a First-Year Residential Experience, and expertise with fiscal management. While possessing the skills necessary to manage the department, the Executive Director must also be able to assess current operations and develop a vision that ensures the Housing & Residential Education program is meeting the needs of the diverse student body that currently attends CSUSM. The Executive Director will have the opportunity to be involved with the planning and execution of expanding the housing portfolio.

Successful candidates will demonstrate skills and experience in housing operations and residential education, leading a department, supervision, problem-solving, innovation, and collaboration. A deep understanding of, and dedication to, student development, diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice is essential.

Housing at CSUSM
CSUSM Housing includes a mixture of housing located on campus and affiliated housing located across the street from campus in North City. The affiliated housing (Quad and North Commons) is owned by Seabreeze Properties but operated by CSUSM Housing. The University Village Apartments (on campus) and the Quad are apartment style housing with kitchens in each unit. North Commons (opening in the Fall of 2022) is a traditional suite style residence hall. In addition, the state of California has established funds for affordable housing projects at the University of California, California State University, and California Community Colleges. CSUSM has applied for a grant for a 600-bed community and Dining Hall.

Position Summary
Under the general supervision of the Dean of Students and the Executive Director of the CSUSM Corporation, the Executive Director of Housing & Residential Education provides the strategic vision and leadership for the operation of a holistic Student Housing program at California State University San Marcos. Student Housing is comprised of 1,800 beds located in three communities. CSUSM has a combination of on-campus and affiliated housing. The business, operations and facility aspects of the communities are managed by a shared third-party management firm.

The Executive Director of Housing & Residential Education has supervisorial oversight of the Director of Facilities & Operations, Director of Residential Education (currently an interim), Resident Directors, Resident Advisors, and Resident Peer Mentors. In partnership with the CSUSM Corporation Executive Director, the Executive Director also provides daily oversight of the management firm responsible for housing operations to ensure a high-quality student experience in all aspects of Student Housing. The Executive Director is responsible for developing and delivering a comprehensive and developmentally robust experience for approximately 1,800 students who are primarily first-year students and other undergraduates.

The Executive Director will be instrumental in leading the design and implementation of a First-Year Residential Experience. With the addition of North Commons, and planning for new affordable housing, the Executive Director will have the opportunity to provide leadership during a time of growth and change. As a part of the First-Year Residential Experience, the Executive Director will play a crucial role in the expansion of our Living-Learning program.

In addition, the Executive Director will be responsible for:

1. Leadership/Management:
Acts as a change champion. Leads courageously by addressing complex issues. Works to resolve the problems at the peer level and takes measures to mitigate future issues. Supports and moves new initiatives forward. Identifies current and future challenges and proposes effective solutions. Understands what issues require a “sense of urgency” and handles accordingly. Ensures confidentiality around sensitive topics. Facilitates an environment that motivates, empowers, and inspires commitment from employees. Assumes good intent with one another and works on the premise of trust. Demonstrates commitment to creating and sustaining a diverse and inclusive workforce. Provides clear direction. Communicates effectively and with purpose. Develops and implements methods for improving individual and team performance. Builds effective teams committed to organizational goals. Works with a spirit of collaboration, inclusion, respect, and collegiality. Takes ownership of issues and demonstrates accountability. Creates an environment in which employees are recognized for their accomplishments and contributions to the success of the team. Builds competence in others through effective coaching, performance management, and mentoring. Supports and encourages professional and career development for employees. Fosters a culture of support and success for new hires by utilizing effective onboarding methods. Understands the university's mission and vision and how the department/division work activities and goals support the mission. Ensures cross-divisional support and participation. Recognizes, understands, and appreciates different roles across the institution. Identifies and advocates for needed changes in policy and procedures. Speaks and advocates with one common voice. Determines, effectively allocates, and coordinates resources.

2. Strategic Planning:
As a strategic partner, recommends, creates, and implements long and short-term strategic plan goals and operational plans for areas of responsibility. Ensures areas of responsibility goals align with and support the overall mission of the university. Motivates and encourages commitment to the achievement of strategic plans. Effectively communicates the strategic initiatives. Accomplishes strategic goals for assigned areas of responsibilities. Develops a Strategic Plan and First-Year Residential Experience that supports CSUSM's Strategic Plan focused on Student Success.

3. University/Community Partnership:
As a member of the campus community, ensures a community-focused strategy to support the university's mission. Demonstrates commitment to equity and inclusion in housing operations, program, and philosophy. Fosters relationships with our affiliated housing partner, third-party management firm, and campus partners. Identifies and anticipates community needs. Builds effective strategic alliances internally and externally. Collaborates with business partners in the achievement of university goals that support the university's mission. Initiates and develops strong working relationships with the community. Recognizes the importance of collective strength, knowledge, and information. Actively solicits and acts upon feedback. Develops and implements solutions. Successfully negotiates through persuasion. Gains support and commitment from others. Works to find common ground and group consensus. Takes the necessary measures to solicit and influence internal and external support.

4. Functional Oversight/Management:
As the leader for student housing, ensures the holistic student housing operation supports the goals and objectives of the university's residential education program, reflects the educational mission of the university, and achieves short-term and long-term budgetary expectations of the owner(s). Leads the design, implementation, and assessment of a comprehensive residential education program grounded in stated student learning outcomes, oversees living-learning communities and shapes environments that support holistic educational and developmental outcomes. Ensures Student Housing operates within compliance of all applicable federal and state statutes as well as CSU and CSUSM policies. Leads the design and implementation of residential learning communities. Leads emergency management and facilitation of crisis response. Collaborates with site staff and university partners to promote safety and security of the residential community. Assists with managing budgets, contracts and service vendors and consults with property managers and owner(s) on short- and long-term facility maintenance needs, plans and budgets. Serves as the CSUSM Senior Housing Officer.

Qualifications

• A master's degree in Student Personnel Services, Higher Education Leadership, MBA, or related field required.
  
• A minimum of eight years of progressively responsible work experience in college/university housing administration which includes a minimum of three years leading and/or supervising the work of others; or an equivalent combination of education and experience required.
  
• Demonstrated commitment and ability to advance the University's goals in the areas of diversity and inclusive excellence required.
  
• Previous experience with supervision of Associate Director/Director level staff preferred.
  
• Previous Student Housing experience within the California State University system preferred.
  
• Previous experience with Public Private Partnerships, Affiliated Housing, and Housing Management Companies preferred.
  
• Previous experience with First-Year Residential Experience and/or Residential Learning Communities preferred.
  
• Previous experience with construction and opening new housing facilities preferred.
  
  Desired Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
  
• Leadership / Vision:
  
• Commitment to CSUSM's mission and strategic plan.
  
• Ability to establish a clear and understandable vision for Student Housing, engage the university community in the implementation of the vision, and build the operational components to execute the vision.
  
• Ability to facilitate the development and growth of a First-Year Residential Experience.
  
• Ability to lead and enable groups of people to face challenges and achieve results in complex conditions.
  
• Ability to lead a complex housing program with on campus and affiliated housing.
  
• A commitment to diversity, inclusiveness and access in all areas of the university.
  
• Demonstrated ability to support ongoing improvement through courageous and resilient leadership.
  
  
• Management / Conflict Resolution / Problem Resolution / Initiative / Continuous Improvement:
  
• Successful experience managing a complex organization.
  
• Experience building and managing an effective world-class team dedicated to organizational goals and high performance.
  
• Experience with directing, supervising, motivating, and inspiring others; measuring the performance of people, teams and organizations, and assessing performance and progress.
  
• Familiarity with collective bargaining and administering corrective action as appropriate in a collective bargaining environment.
  
• Ability to develop and support ongoing learning and professional development for staff, managers and emerging leaders.
  
• Ability to lead courageously by addressing difficult issues.
  
• Ability to prioritize and handle issues based on a sense of urgency and importance of the issues.
  
• Ability to ensure confidentiality around sensitive issues.
  
• Ability to initiate and support innovation with creativity, openness to change, flexibility, responsiveness, and future focus.
  
• Ability to apply quality management techniques of continuous improvement and employee involvement to assess and improve services, promote campus culture, and build teams.
  
• Ability to identify current and future challenges and propose and implement effective solutions.
  
• Experience making effective decisions with sound analytical ability, good judgment, and strong operational focus.
  
  
• Communication:
  
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
  
• Ability to communicate effectively and with a purpose to a variety of audiences.
  
• Successful negotiation and persuasion skills.
  
  
• Strategic Planning / Goal Setting:
  
• Experience in strategically supporting growth and/or change.
  
• Experience creating and implementing long and short-term goals.
  
• Ability to collaborate with multiple entities to plan and accomplish the objectives set forth in the university's strategic plan, coordinating ongoing, multiple, large and complex projects from conception to completion in a centralized and highly regulated environment.
  
• Ability to find solutions that result in prudent decisions, promote mutual satisfaction and positive action, and develop imaginative approaches to achieve individual, unit and institutional strategic initiatives.
  
• Ability to apply forward-thinking and creative thought with high ethical standards to develop a strategic vision.
  
  
• Teamwork / Collaboration:
  
• The ability to work effectively and build strong alliances internally and externally with a broad range of individuals to bring the University community together around shared goals.
  
• Ability to recognize, understand, and appreciate different roles across the institution.
  
  
• Functional Area Expertise:
  
• Knowledge of student development theory within a multicultural context and demonstrated success in developing programs and services to meet the needs of a diverse student body.
  
• Knowledge of applicable state and federal laws, CSU and CSUSM policies, and ability to ensure Student Housing operates within compliance of all expectations.
  
• Must possess knowledge and skills associated with the design, implementation, and assessment of a comprehensive residential education program grounded in stated student learning outcomes.
  
• Must possess an understanding of living-learning communities and how to shape environments that support holistic educational and developmental outcomes.
  
• Awareness of public-private student housing partnerships and ability to ensure student housing business and facility management by contracted management firm delivers high quality service to students, supports the goals and objectives of the University's residential education program, reflects the educational mission of the University, and achieves short- and long-term budgetary expectations.
  
• Awareness of CSU Auxiliary structure and governance as it relates to the CSUSM Corporation ownership of University Village Apartments.
  
• Expertise in emergency management and facilitating crisis response to situations of individual student welfare, threats to safety of the residential or campus community, and natural disasters.
  
• Expertise in student behavior intervention and collaboration with campus partners to address students in distress.
  
• Demonstrated ability to conduct comprehensive safety and security assessment of the residential environment and lead a collaborative process to design, implement and assess plans to promote safety and security.
  
• Demonstrated ability to design, deliver and assess effective trainings for residents, student paraprofessional employees and professional staff.
  
• Demonstrated ability to communicate the learning and development outcomes of a student housing experience to a wide variety of audiences.
  
• Demonstrated ability to identify student housing marketing strategies that highlight educational benefits of living in student housing to incoming students and their families and to create strategies to encourage residents to return and live on campus for multiple years.
  
• Demonstrated ability to consult with property managers and owners on short- and long-term facility maintenance needs, plans and budgets.
  
• Demonstrated ability to interpret and clearly communicate to the university community on several laws and policies related to the position.
  
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and discretion in all aspects of the position.
  
  Application Process
  California State University San Marcos has partnered with Keeling & Associates in this search process. Confidential inquiries and nominations should be addressed to Jeff Ewing, Senior Consultant for Executive Search, at JFEwing@KeelingAssociates.com. Applications must include a cover letter and resume and must be sent, preferably in PDF format, to recruiting@keelingassociates.com. The subject line of the email should read “CSUSM—Executive Director.” All materials received by July 25, 2022, will receive full consideration. The process will continue until the position is filled.
  
  About California State University San Marcos
  California State University San Marcos is one of the 23 campuses that comprise the renowned California State University System. The mission of the CSU is to provide high-quality, affordable education to meet the ever-changing needs of California. With its commitment to quality, opportunity, and student success, the CSU is renowned for a commitment to inclusive excellence, superb teaching, innovative research, and for producing job-ready graduates. Each year, the CSU awards more than 125,000 degrees; one in every 20 Americans holding a college degree is a graduate of the CSU.
  
  CSUSM faculty and staff are committed to providing quality, accessible, and affordable higher education to all students. The student body is extraordinarily diverse, and the campus is proudly reflective of its surrounding community. CSUSM has been the recipient of the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award for Top Colleges for Diversity since 2014. Located in close proximity to large military bases, the CSUSM community includes more than 450 student veterans and boasts the highest percentage of student veterans of any CSU campus. In addition, the campus has a robust transfer student population from local community colleges and serves a large number of non-traditional college-age students. The student body has close ties to the surrounding area, and roughly 80 percent of CSUSM alumni remain in the local community after graduation.
  
  The Office of Inclusive Excellence has been a centralizing force for CSUSM's long-standing commitment to diversity, social justice, and inclusive excellence across campus. Over the past year, there has been an array of efforts, programs, and initiatives to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion across the University. Please see www.csusm.edu/diversity for information on previous institutional efforts ranging from the Diversity Mapping Project to the Diversity & Equity Requirement and the 2016 Diversity & Inclusion Strategic Plan (DISP).
  
  Located in the beautiful foothills of northern San Diego County, San Marcos is a suburban community of nearly 97,000 residents. Every campus building has been constructed since the institution's groundbreaking in 1990. CSUSM acknowledges that the campus sits on the traditional territory and homelands of the Luiseno/Payomkawichum people and remains the shared space among the Kuupangaxwichem/Cupeno and Kumeyaay and Ipai peoples.
  
  CSU requires faculty, staff, and students who are accessing campus facilities to be immunized against COVID-19 or declare a medical or religious exemption from doing so. Any candidates advanced in a currently open search press should be prepared to comply with this requirement. The systemwide policy can be found at https://calstate.policystat.com/policy/9779821/latest/. Questions should be sent to the Office of Human Resources at hr@csusm.edu.
  
  Following a conditional offer of employment, satisfactory completion of a background check (including criminal records check) is required prior to beginning employment. Any offer of employment rescinded in the background check reveals disqualifying information, and/or it is discovered that the candidate knowingly withheld or falsified information. Failure to satisfactorily complete the background check may affect the continued employment of a current CSU employee who was conditionally offered the position.
  
  California State University San Marcos is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer that is strongly committed to promoting diversity in all areas of the campus community. We consider qualified applicants for employment without regard to age, physical or mental disability, gender or sex, genetic information, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, medical condition, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion or religious creed, sexual orientation, and veteran or military status.
  
  The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act or Clery Act Notification can be found at https://www.csusm.edu/clery/annualreports.html.
  
  California State University San Marcos is not a sponsoring agent for staff or management positions (i.e. H10B visas).
  
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