Associate Director

POSITION OBJECTIVE

The Associate Director of Residence Life serves as a senior member of the Office of Residence Life, which implements the residential characteristic of Case Western Reserve University, serving over 3,500 students in 38 buildings with an operating budget of approximately $1.7 million. The Associate Director works in tandem with the Director in leading the Office of Residence Life within the larger mission of the Division of Student Affairs and designs and implements an experience for students that underpins, supports and enhances the intended outcomes of the Residential Experience. The Associate Director supervises a team of residence life professionals and supporting graduate and undergraduate staff members in the First- and Second-Year Experiences. The Associate Director is a member of the Senior Staff On-Call Rotation and will take primary responsibility for assessment within the department.

Building a welcoming and inclusive community is the foundation of the work we do as professionals working with students. Fully including people of diverse backgrounds and perspectives helps us all thrive by working together, focus on our collective well-being and help students gain insight from their academic endeavors and real-world experiences.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Provide leadership and direction to the First- and Second-Year Experiences and support the planning and implementation of a cohort-based (First-Year, Second-Year, Upperclass) Experience program, fostering a sense of home and student pride, belonging and engagement. Actively collaborate with departments in the Division of Student Affairs (e.g., Student Activities and Leadership, Office of Multicultural Affairs, Greek Life, Center for Civic Engagement and Learning) and other University units (e.g., Student Success, First-Year and Family Programs) to ensure that the residential experience complements and enhances the overall Case Western Reserve University experience (20%)

Recruit, select, train and supervise and develop 6 Residential Community Directors. Indirectly supervise approximately 100 student staff at the graduate and undergraduate level. Develop employee(s) confidence in their ability to be successful by meeting on a regular basis, sharing information and guiding employees to make decisions on how objectives will be achieved and issues resolved in their assigned areas of responsibilities. Provide employees with clear expectations regarding organizational values and desired results. Establish ongoing clear and honest performance feedback. Collaboratively identify professional and self-development plans. Complete timely annual staff performance evaluations. Work is to be completed in conjunction with HR policy and the student affairs processes and procedures to on-board new employees, create / update job descriptions, process promotions and additional duties compensation, process staff performance evaluations and off-board exiting employees. (20%)

Support the crisis management, case management and student conduct processes by shared participation in a senior-level on-call schedule, organizing and implementing residence life on-call, ensuring representation at student concerns and care management meetings, coordinating wellness checks by staff and maintaining records. Demonstrate concern for understanding and satisfying needs of customers, co-workers and others with economy, efficiency, flexibility, courtesy, good judgement and continuous measurable improvements. Regularly seek feedback on quality of and ways to improve services. (20%)

Develop assessment plans in response to the division’s/department’s mission and strategic goals and divisional learning outcomes. Collaboratively establish processes to identify, collect, analyze and report on student and programmatic outcomes. Work within the assessment schedule to avoid duplicate efforts and minimize assessment fatigue of the students. (20%)

Utilize institutional resources effectively and efficiently in accordance with University guidelines to develop and implement programs and services. Manage community budget(s) totaling approximately $750,000. Oversee fiscal processes including purchasing, monthly reconciling, quarterly forecasting expenditures and revenues and balancing the budget by the year end close. (5%)

Maintain a work environment and a residential environment that is marked by a sense of community, respect for others, that values inclusiveness and builds workforce diversity; and that fosters cooperation and teamwork, with the supporting values of well-being, integrity, resiliency, curiosity, collaboration and inclusion. Actively infuse practices to enhance academic excellence and impact, inclusiveness and diversity, integrity and transparency and effective stewardship. In support of strategic enrollment changes continue to adapt programs and services for international and out-of-state students with additional consideration given to special student populations including but not limited to women in STEM, students of color and students who identify as LGBT+. (5%)

Enhance the leadership experience of students who participate in the Residence Hall Association, student staff positions and other student leadership positions in connection to Residence Life. (5%)

Work collaboratively with University Housing leadership in implementing residential processes that require the coordination of residence life, housing, planning and other allied departments. Provide residence life expertise in processes such as long-term planning and construction, assignment patterns, room selection, room lottery and customer service. Implement expectations outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding. (5%)

NONESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Represent the department and university to other colleges and universities through participation in local, regional and national organizations. (<1%)

Perform other duties as assigned. (<1%)

CONTACTS

Department: Continuous contact with Director, Assistant Director and Administrative Assistant. Frequent contact with direct reports, moderate or occasional contact with student staff for the purposes of supervision and program implementation.

University: Frequent contact with staff of the Office of the Dean of Students, Student Conduct and Community Standards and Student Success for the purpose of individual student issues and trend identification. Regular contact with staff from the Office of Student Affairs, University Health and Counseling, University Police, First-Year Experience and Family Programs, Student Affairs Operations and other Student Affairs departments. Regular contact with University Housing and Facility staff for the purpose of coordination of programs and procedures and response to student and facility issues. Infrequent contact with Dining Services, University Libraries, Sustainability, General Counsel, Resiliency for the purposes of program and procedure planning, crisis response and individual student case response.

External: Occasional contact with parents for consultation and assistance with student concerns. Infrequent contact with prospective students and parents for the purpose of supporting admission recruitment, alumni for the purpose of programming, employment candidates for the purpose of hiring in the department and allied departments, outside vendors and services for the purpose of acquiring services and products and members of regional and professional associations for the purpose of professional development, leadership and learning.

Students: Moderate contact with students for the purpose of supervision and with student leaders for the purpose of advising. Infrequent contact with students for the purposes of student concerns, assessment and community-building.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY

Directly supervise six (6) Residential Community Directors (SG12). Indirect supervision, through direct reports, of approximately 100 student staff members.

QUALIFICATIONS

Experience: 5 years of professional experience in the field of residence life and/or housing required.

Education/Licensing: Master’s degree in an appropriate discipline required. Master’s degree in Higher Education, Student Affairs, or Student Personnel preferred.

REQUIRED SKILLS

Proven exceptional leadership, supervisory and staff development, team-building, administrative and collaborative skills.

Ability to apply independent judgment and decision-making skills within university policies and procedures.

Ability to quickly and accurately respond with crisis management skills in a university residential environment.

Commitment to and appreciation of working with diverse groups of individuals, including age, race, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, socioeconomic and educational background and ability.

Ability to build formal and informal communication channels. Excellent oral and written communication skills. Ability to listen to others carefully and attentively.

Effective organizational and management skills.

Ability to collaborate and develop partnerships.

Ability to meet consistent attendance.

Ability to interact with colleagues, supervisors and customers face to face.

WORKING CONDITIONS

Typical office environment. Some weekend and evening hours are required. Position serves in an on-call rotation.