Overnight Safety Specialist - Housing and Residence Life (Adjunct)

Grand Valley State University•Allendale Charter Township, MI

6d•Onsite

About The Position

This role focuses on the evening/overnight security operations within residential buildings while fostering a supportive and responsible community. The Overnight Safety Specialist oversees the nightly building access and security program for GVSU residence halls by supervising and scheduling a team of Overnight Safety Student Assistants who monitor entrances, enforce access protocols, and assist residents and guests. Primarily working overnight and on a rotating schedule that includes weekdays and weekends, the specialist ensures proper staffing, responds to safety and behavioral concerns, and coordinates with Housing & Residence Life staff, campus security and police, and other university partners.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree, or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
Experience supervising, mentoring, coordinating, or providing leadership to employees, student employees, volunteers, or comparable teams.
Demonstrated experience responding to challenging interpersonal, behavioral, safety, or customer-service situations.
Ability and willingness to maintain a regular evening/overnight work schedule.
Commitment to GVSU’s culture of Educational Equity.

Nice To Haves

Ability to supervise, train, motivate, and hold student employees accountable.
Strong organizational skills and demonstrated ability to manage complex employee scheduling.
Ability to maintain appropriate professional boundaries and confidentiality.
Strong interpersonal communication and conflict-management skills including critical thinking, deescalation, and crisis response.
Ability to analyze operational information and identify patterns or areas requiring intervention.
Ability to navigate online systems and software, and proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint) and other relevant technical software.
Ability to work independently during evening and overnight hours while maintaining effective communication with departmental staff and leadership.
Ability to establish collaborative relationships with Housing & Residence Life staff, campus police/security, and university partners.
Ability to work effectively with students and community members from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences.

Responsibilities

Provide professional oversight of nighttime access and security operations across residential buildings.
Conduct regular rounds among residential locations to provide visible professional support, assess operations, and assist Overnight Safety Student Assistants.
Ensure student staff consistently follow established procedures for residents, guests, and individuals who do not have authorized building access.
Respond to situations that exceed the role or authority of Overnight Safety Student Assistants and determine when concerns should be referred to Housing & Residence Life on-call staff, campus police/security, emergency services, or other university resources.
Recruit, select, train, supervise, schedule, and evaluate a team of paid Overnight Safety Student Assistants. Provide regular supervision, coaching, feedback, recognition, and accountability for student employees.
Create and maintain weekly and semester staffing schedules and ensure adequate coverage during established overnight safety operating hours. This includes managing call-offs, vacancies, substitutions, and unexpected staffing shortages.
Serve as the professional point of contact for Overnight Safety Student Assistants when situations require consultation, additional support, or escalation.
Assess safety concerns and determine appropriate next steps within established university protocols.
Ensure appropriate documentation of significant access issues, guest concerns, policy violations, unusual circumstances, and safety incidents.
Coordinate with Housing & Residence Life on-call team, or campus police, when circumstances or resident issues require continued follow-up.
Develop and maintain written overnight safety operating procedures, expectations, training materials, shift protocols, and escalation procedures.
Collaborate with Housing & Residence Life leadership to assess appropriate deployment of Overnight Safety staff based on building population, entrance configuration, incident history, and identified risk.
Develop effective working relationships with all Housing & Residence Life staff including student staff and Resident Assistants, campus police, and other university partners.
Participate in Housing & Residence Life safety planning, emergency preparedness, and operational meetings as appropriate.
Perform other duties as assigned.