Director of Residence

Position: Director of Residence Life
POSITION SUMMARY

The Director of Residence Life provides vision-driven and operationally disciplined leadership for campus housing as a living, learning community that prepares students for life beyond college. The Director is responsible for creating and sustaining a residential environment where care and accountability coexist, community standards are clear and consistently applied, safety is visible and reliable, and students are supported as they learn how to live responsibly with others.

This role is not centered on hotel-style service delivery or reactive problem management. Instead, the Director serves as the chief steward of housing culture and operations, ensuring that Residence Life functions as an extension of the educational mission and a primary environment where the Maroon & Gold Standards are lived daily.

The Director is expected to be a visible, engaged presence within the housing community and to lead a team that is proactive, relational, and responsive, ensuring students feel safe, noticed, supported, and held to clear expectations.

This position requires living in a residence hall in a one-bedroom apartment provided by the College.

CORE PURPOSE OF

THE ROLE

The Director of Residence Life is responsible for:

* Translating the Housing & Community Vision into daily operational practice

* Establishing housing as a learning community, not a lodging operation  

* Building a culture of shared responsibility, safety, and care  

* Ensuring students are supported while being held accountable fairly and consistently

* Leading Residence Life staff to be present, proactive, and aligned  

* Delivering reliable operations, risk management, and measurable performance

ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

* Culture, Community, and Learning Environment

* Lead the development and sustainment of a housing culture grounded in Human-First principles, academics, safety, and preparation for independent living.

* Ensure community standards are clearly communicated early, reinforced often, and applied consistently with fairness and good judgment.  

* Establish housing as a learning environment where students practice communication, shared living, accountability, repair after harm, and stewardship of space.

* Set clear expectations that students are community members, not customers, and reinforce the shared impact of individual choices.

* Leadership, Supervision, and Staff Development

* Hire, train, supervise, and evaluate professional and paraprofessional housing staff.

* Build a Residence Life team that is proactive rather than reactive, relational rather than transactional, and confident and consistent in setting expectations.  

* Ensure strong supervision structures, regular check-ins, and accountability for staff presence, follow-through, and student engagement.  

* Establish non-negotiable training standards, including scenario-based drills, crisis response competencies, conduct process training, and duty preparedness.

* Organize and facilitate ongoing professional development that reinforces community-building, student development, crisis response, and Human-First practice.

* Student Support, Engagement, and Early Intervention

* Lead Residence Life efforts to build authentic relationships with students, particularly those who may not otherwise feel seen or connected.

* Ensure staff are trained and expected to notice early signs of struggle, disengagement, or conflict and to intervene before issues escalate.

* Work collaboratively with Student Services and campus partners to identify and support at-risk students while maintaining appropriate boundaries and referrals.  

* Respond to student and parent concerns in ways that are firm, fair, consistent, transparent, and aligned with institutional values and state and federal regulations.

* Safety, On-Call Response, Compliance, and Risk Management

* Maintain avisible, proactive Residence Life presencesupported by a reliable, well-defined on-call system that responds promptly, escalates appropriately, and operates in close partnership with the Campus Safety and Security Department.

* Serve as aprimary operational partner with Campus Safety & Security leadership to ensure shared understanding of roles, responsibilities, and response expectations related to residential incidents, emergencies, and student welfare concerns.

* Ensure Residence Life staff understand policy and procedures outlining when an issue is managed internally, when Campus Safety & Security must be engaged, when matters require the Judicial Officer and when immediate escalation to senior leadership or external authorities is required.

* Participate in the Residence Life on-call rotation and ensure after-hours response reflectscalm authority, consistency, sound judgment, and adherence to established protocols, particularly during high-stakes or emotionally charged situations.

* Establish, document, and enforce clear protocols and staff compliance related to:

* Campus Safety coordination and emergency…