Director of Residence Life

Director of Residence Life & Student Conduct

Posting Number: R0004030
Location: Salem Campus

Attention Current Willamette University Employees: In order to apply for posted positions, please close this window and log into your Workday account and apply through the Career worklet.

Instructions for Applicants:

Please read the following carefully before beginning the online application process.

To be considered for employment at Willamette University, please complete our online employment application. Your application and all required attachments -- listed at the bottom of the page -- must be submitted for each individual job post that you are interested in applying for. If there is an application deadline, please ensure that your application is submitted by the deadline. Once you submit your application you will not be able to edit your application.

Position Summary:
The Director of Residence Life and Student Conduct (RLSC) is responsible for the planning, implementation, evaluation, and strategic direction of the Willamette University residential education, conduct, and housing operations, comprised of over 1300 residential undergraduate and graduate students, including approximately 100 exchange students from Tokyo International University, and 130 students living in the ArtHouse residential community located on our Pacific Northwest College of Arts campus in Portland, Oregon.

The incumbent provides direct supervision for the Associate and Assistant Directors and indirect supervision for other professional staff. The Director provides oversight for facilities, occupancy management, integrated living-learning efforts, residential curriculum development, student satisfaction and learning outcomes assessment, emergency/on-call support and response, programmatic and operational effectiveness, and budget/revenue management.

Reasonable Accommodations Statement
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Department Leadership and Supervision:
1. Establish a vision for residence life communities that foster sense of belonging and community, cross cultural relationship building, academic success, and student wellbeing.
2. Recruit, train, and supervise the Associate Director of Residence Life and the Assistant Director for Housing Operations. Hold regular 1-1 meetings with direct reports, lead weekly department staff meetings, and provide appropriate on-boarding and professional development opportunities for staff.
3. Indirectly supervise and ensure the training and development for the Housing Operations Support Specialist, 4 Area Coordinators, and 38 Resident Assistants.
4. Provide leadership for professional and paraprofessional staff, addressing needs and concerns of students and staff in a proactive and timely manner. Establish a sense of unity, teamwork, and positive staff relations among professional and paraprofessional staff members.
5. Ensure staff training that leads to the facilitation of residence hall communities that support students' development of multicultural understanding, cross-cultural relationships, academic success, and wellbeing.
6. Oversee department crisis response and management protocol and emergency situations in residence halls; work collaboratively with on-call staff, Dean of Students, Facilities, Campus Safety, Bishop Wellness Center staff, and off-campus agencies (local authorities, medical facilities/personnel) as needed.
7. Ensure the department's development of a robust residential education program that includes assessment of student learning.
8. Ensure the development and full utilization of the Residence Hall Association (RHA) for feedback and creation of residence life policies, programs, and facilities and the leadership development and advisement of the Residence Hall Association (RHA). Meet regularly with student leaders.

Housing Operations & Facilities:
1. Provide innovative and strategic leadership for the operational and outreach function for housing operations.
2. Collaborate with campus partners on forecasting and long-range planning for residence halls facilities maintenance, renovations, and occupancy.
3. Oversee the administration of the annual budget.
4. Oversee the efficient and effective co-coordination of university-wide Opening Days operations. Ensure the efficient and effective coordination of break openings and closings. Ensure collaboration with offices on early arrivals and needed housing during breaks (e.g., Athletics, Admissions, Campus Safety, and Student Engagement and Leadership, etc.)
5. Manage annual capital improvements and capital budget requests.
6. Coordinate resident satisfaction assessments, analyze results to form action plan.
7. Oversee the housing contract cancellation and residence requirement processes.
8. Ensure that the department's day-to-day operations include efficient systems to meet professional standards in timely and sensitive response to students', families', and WU community members' questions, concerns and requests for information regarding policies, housing assignments, facilities, student conflicts and general assistance.
9. Ensure the efficient and effective coordination of residence hall openings and closings to include collaboration with offices on early arrivals and needed housing during breaks.
10. Ensure the development and maintenance of accurate, timely, and accessible department publications and website.
11. Ensure the successful transition of residence hall facilities to summer conferences; collaborate and maintain timely communicate with Conferences and Facilities concerning summer facilities availability, staffing, and capital projects to support effective conference operations and university net revenue goals.

Student Conduct:
1. Oversee the direction, training, advising and facilitation of effective conflict resolution. Develop, coordinate, and facilitate all aspects of alternative dispute resolution processes.
2. Serve as the primary interpreter of the student code of conduct and oversee the day-to-day operations of student conduct which includes the system for case distribution, investigation, adjudication, sanctioning and overall management of student conduct.
3. Review and propose updates to the University Student Code of Conduct.
4. Assist in the processing of Title IX sexual harassment, sexual assault, gender-based discrimination, dating and domestic violence, and stalking complaints in a timely manner, providing a fair and neutral process for all parties.
5. Ensure appropriate utilization of the case management database system (Maxient) to organize, manage and track conduct and bias incidents and CARE reports.
6. Supervise conduct administrators in investigations, adjudication and alternative dispute resolution; ensure student conduct is administered in a fair, impartial, non-adversarial, restorative, and educational manner.

Student Support:
1. Advise students and family members in decision-making as appropriate and provide resource referrals to help support student success and well-being.
2. Serve on the senior staff on-call team on a rotating basis to support residence life staff responding to emergency situations during the evening and weekend hours. Consult with university staff concerning serious or problematic situations as needed.
3. Ensure residence life staff are appropriately trained and engaged in follow up with students of concern, wellness checks.
4. Provide and support student recognition initiatives and promote leadership opportunities.
5. Ensure the development of department systems for staff's timely and sensitive response, outreach, and relationship building for students of concern and on-going tracking of follow-up.
6. Assist students and staff in mediating and addressing student conflicts, applying restorative and community development principles.
7. Assist in the orientation of incoming Willamette and Tokyo International University of America students to the hall and campus. Provides programs and activities which support cross-cultural understanding.
8. Ensure effective advising and support for RHA and other student organizations that may develop in the residence halls.

General Program Administration:
1. Attend divisional meetings, bi-weekly divisional leadership team meetings, trainings and committee meetings.
2. Create departmental protocols with the Associate Director and Assistant Director to include, but are not limited to, hall opening and closing, break transitions, emergency response, American Studies Program student arrival, staff evaluations, and departure.
3. Executes assigned administrative tasks thoroughly and promptly.
4. Perform other duties as assigned by supervisor or their designee.
5. Lead the development and evaluation of departmental policies, procedures, and goals.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• A Master's degree in Student Personnel, counseling, or related discipline is required.
  
• Minimum of eight years of residential staff and student conduct experience is required; Progressive increased level of responsibility preferred in crisis management, student advising, supervision, student conduct, and program planning.
  
• A sound background in student/human development theory. Ability to articulate philosophy of residential life programs. Committed to expanding knowledge and understanding of student development and social awareness issues (e.g., alcohol and other drugs, sexual harassment and assault, gender issues, international and multicultural issues, eating disorders, mental health, etc.).
  
• A demonstrated commitment and passion for professional growth in the areas of student learning and development, community development, supporting students' well-being, and best practices in residence life programs and operations.
  
• Knowledge of equity and inclusion issues and laws that impact higher education and particularly community living (all gender spaces, Title IX, affinity based living learning communities, ADA compliance).
  
• Demonstrated commitment to expand knowledge and awareness of diversity, equity, and inclusion, understanding cultural differences, social identities, and historical inequalities, and strategies for interacting effectively with people different from oneself and providing support and advocacy for diverse communities.
  
• Demonstrated experience using diversity, equity, and inclusion lens in delivering programs and services practice (i.e., staffing practices, supervision, training, policies, programs) and working effectively with individuals and groups from a variety of identities, cultures, and backgrounds.
  
• Demonstrated experience and commitment to professional growth in best practices in using technology in residence life and student affairs to increase efficiency, accessibility, and quality of housing operations and residence life practices (Microsoft office suite, assignments, billing, and judicial database management systems, social media, community development tracking).
  
• Involvement in local, regional, and national organizations supporting the mission of Housing, as well as in the field of student affairs (such as ACUHO-I, ACPA, ASCA, and NASPA).
  
• Availability on weekends and evenings as needed.
  
• Ability to model open, direct, and honest communication. Possess well-developed assertion and confrontation skills.
  
• Strong interpersonal communication skills. Possess excellent basic helping skills and displays empathy and regard for others' concerns. Ability to demonstrate sensitively to the diversity of individuals' needs, backgrounds, life and work styles. Ability to practice a developmental approach to behavioral problems and develop strong rapport.
  
• Ability to successfully facilitate student groups of various sizes.
  
• Ability to develop and maintain a staff team. Ability to coordinate staff efforts so that departmental goals are met efficiently. Ability to motivate staff members to excel in their job responsibilities. Ability to provide support while holding staff accountable.
  
• Ability to function competently under pressure and effectively diffuses crisis situations. Ability to demonstrate sound judgment.
  
• Ability to manage time and tasks to accomplish responsibilities in a timely manner. Ability to work independently as well as accept direction.
  
• Ability to pay attention to details and to track operational processes key to housing on a university campus, including but not limited to, facility and maintenance issues, contractual language, and administrative processes.
  
• Ability to advise students in programming and present needed recreational, social or educational programs. Ability to be an effective designer and presenter of programs.
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Doctorate in higher education, counseling, student personnel services, student affairs administration, or other relevant field.
  
• Ten or more years of experience in residence life and student conduct with increasing levels of responsibility that include crisis management, budget management, conduct administration, facilities and housing operations, student advising, program planning, and supervision of professional staff.
  
• Experience with Adirondack Solutions housing management system, The Housing Director (THD).
  
• Experience working with Maxient Database system for student conduct.
  
• Experience working with a learning outcome based residential curriculum.
  
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to collect, organize, analyze and display information in ways that are easy to interpret and spot patterns, trends and correlations. Examples of these representations include charts, graphs, infographics and other pictorial diagrams.
  

Typical Work Schedule

Monday-Friday 8am-5pm

Physical Demands & Working Conditions

As most work is performed indoors, incumbent has minimal exposure to hazards or adverse environmental conditions. However, special activities may require incumbent to operate outdoors and experience inclement conditions. Incumbent must also be able to navigate stairs up to seven floors.

Review of applications will begin November 29, 2021 and will continue until the position is filled.

All University positions require that candidates submit to a criminal conviction record check prior to hire. Conviction does not automatically preclude candidates from being hired. Nature of conviction will be considered relative to the duties of the position.

You will need to upload the following two documents as part of your application materials in the "My Experience" section labeled Resume:

• Cover letter addressing the required/desired qualifications and presenting any other applicant characteristics which deserve emphasis
  
• Current Resume
  

​Incomplete applications will not be considered.



Apply online at https://willamette.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/willametteuniversityjobs/job/Salem-Campus/Director-of-Residence-Life---Student-Conduct_R0004030

Believing that diversity contributes to academic excellence and to rich and rewarding communities, WU is committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse faculty, staff and student body. We seek candidates, particularly those from historically under-represented groups, whose work furthers diversity and who bring to campus varied experiences, perspectives and backgrounds. jeid-54ec42817801b849958d44a5da670580