Residence Director

Emerson College•Boston, MA

13d•$47,550 - $56,950•Hybrid

About The Position

The Residence Director (RD) is responsible for the overall management of a residential community housing between 250-500 first-year or upper-class students. This unique position requires the RD to live on campus in order to fulfill frequent evening and weekend responsibilities (including, but not limited to advising students, facilitating and participating in programming efforts, as well as assisting with special campus events). Additionally, this role serves in an on-call capacity to respond to both emergency and non-crisis situations. This position also oversees aspects of the community and individual development that occurs in the Residence Halls including RA training, RA programming/community development, and Learning/Themed/Specialty Community support. This position operates outside of the standard business hours of the institution and requires work on evenings and weekends.

Requirements

Master’s Degree in College Student Personnel, Student Affairs, Psychology, or a related field required
Minimum of 1 year of full-time experience working with college students required
Experience in housing/residential life field required
Comprehensive knowledge of student development theory, housing operations, and residential life
Ability to effectively work with students from a broad range of backgrounds and life experiences
Demonstrated understanding of developmental and social issues experienced by college students
Knowledge of facilities management
Strong analytical, technological and organizational skills
Ability to supervise and train staff members
Strong communication, interpersonal and customer service skills
Ability to foster and maintain strong working relationships
Ability to problem solve, use good judgment and think critically
Ability to be flexible and adapt to changing circumstances
Exceptional accuracy and attention to detail required
This position is generally sedentary in nature, movement throughout the area is required from time to time.
Ability to have continuous oral and written communication with co-workers, supervisors, and customers is essential.
Repetitive movements, occasional lifting of up to 10 pounds, reaching, lifting, stooping and the ability to read a computer screen, detect color-coding and read fine print will be expected.
Ability to serve in an out-of-hours on-campus duty rotation is required.
Ability to work outside of standard business hours and weekends on occasion

Nice To Haves

Proficiency with housing assignment software such as StarRez, and student conduct software such as Maxient preferred

Responsibilities

Hire, train and supervise Resident Assistant staff. Review applications, conduct candidate interviews, and participate in staff selection meetings. Lead sessions and create instructional documents for staff training. Conduct weekly staff meetings and weekly individual supervision meetings. Provide feedback and encouragement to staff members. Hold staff accountable and provide ongoing opportunities for growth.
Maintain an active presence within their residential area both by regularly scheduled office hours and attending programs and events within the building and campus communities. There will periodically be a need for work to be completed outside the traditional business hours of the College based on the needs of the community and processes occurring.
Meet with individual students to discuss problems and concerns, provide assistance and/or appropriate referrals, follow-up on community related concerns, and provide challenges and opportunities for learning and student development. Respond to psychological, behavioral, medical, Title IX and maintenance emergencies by acting within established protocol.
Adjudicate policy violations and update software associated with each documented violation. Serve as a primary hearing officer for violations in assigned areas and conduct meaningful discussions with students about the decisions they are making. Serve on conduct boards as assigned.
Address facilities concerns in a timely manner. Make sure that housing facilities are maintained in a clean and safe manner. Address any concerns raised by students and ensure that problems are fixed in a timely manner. Make sure that residents are maintaining appropriate levels of cleanliness in facilities. Manage and track keys and lock inventory in the building.
Facilitate roommate conflict resolution by training student staff in conflict resolution, facilitating the completion of roommate and suitemate agreements, regular following up on reported student conflict and meeting personally with students in a timely manner.
Oversee RA programming and community development. Approve proposals for active and passive programs. Coordinate efforts in order to address educational and social needs of residents. Assist with logistical matters related to program completion. Manage budget for all hall events. Ensure that appropriate documentation has been submitted. Oversee building initiatives through EmConnect.
Serve as a facilitator for Emersion, Emerson College’s First Year Experience course each academic year. Advise Learning Community(ies)/themed housing/ specialty housing, including RA and student programming efforts.
Supervise the Welcome Desk, including Welcome Desk Coordinator and Welcome Desk Assistants.
Manage Hall Opening/Closing and maintain accurate records of residents in the building. Coordinate all closing and opening procedures for the residence hall at semester and holiday breaks. Maintain accurate records of students residing in the building.
Prepare and follow up on systems and reports, including occupancy reports, statistics, incident reports, maintenance reports, evaluation, hall opening/ closing, and mid-year and annual reports by maintaining accurate records, utilizing management tools, documenting incidents, concerns and recommendations, checking office email and physical mail daily, and writing evaluative reports.
Serve on departmental and institutional committees; attend departmental and area staff meetings and training. Work up to 5 hours a week (depending on the events and time of the year) on an assigned collateral assignment with other offices. Some areas considered are: Orientation Program Planning, Class Council, Late Night/Weekend programming, Leadership Development/Engagement, and Care and Concern.
Actively serve in on-campus duty rotation, ensuring the professional staff are able to respond to any emergency or non-emergency situations that arise anytime students are on-campus. Examples of duty responsibilities include responding to emergencies impacting student physical or emotional health, residence hall facilities, or crucial operations; communicating via phone and providing keys to students who need to transition to quarantine/isolation housing; non-emergency responsibilities include responding to calls from concerned faculty, staff and parents.
Perform other miscellaneous duties as assigned