Graduate Assistant - Residence Life

Graduate Assistant - Residence Life

Concordia University Chicago (CUC) invites applications for the position of Graduate Resident Director. This position is a Graduate Assistantship, reporting directly to the Director of Residence Life, and is located in River Forest, IL.

The Graduate Assistant – Residence Life assists the Director of Residence Life in providing holistic, educational leadership while administering a comprehensive living-learning environment for communities housing 150-200 students. Under the oversight of the Director of Residence Life, the Graduate Assistant provides direct supervision over a residence hall and staff and assists the Director of Residence Life in overall community supervision. The GA is a dynamic individual who exhibits a vibrant personal faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, displaying Christ-centered servant leadership and a commitment to student success.

This individual seeks opportunities to integrate the mission, vision, and core values of Concordia University Chicago into his/her daily work with students, faculty, and fellow staff members. In line with the mission of our university, GA champions for the spiritual development of our students and demonstrate a commitment to the Christian ethics of love, forgiveness, patience, and faith as well as a desire to support students in their own faith.

The GA also assists in advising residence hall management and administrative responsibilities. The average workload is 20 hours a week but will include intensive full-time training in August as well as intermittent increases in workload throughout the semester. Living on campus is required.

Candidates must be enrolled or planning to enroll in a Concordia University Chicago graduate program.

Community Development

• Responsible for the supervision, leadership, and development of a comprehensive living-learning environment housing 150-200 students under the guidance of the Director of Residence Life
• Assist the Director of Residence Life in the overall leadership and management of all residential students
• Develop intentional assessment practices to address the needs of each community and create action steps to meet those intended outcomes
• Execute a community development plan for the residential area focused on the learning, growth, and development of students

Housing Operations and Administrative Responsibilities

• Coordinate day-to-day operations of the residential area and department such as occupancy, facilities management, hall opening and closing, room selection, conduct issues, and the housing reassignment process
• Manage efficient and accurate operational reports and communicate regularly with necessary offices
• Assist the Director of Residence Life in identifying and resolving facility issues in a timely fashion and proactively identify opportunities to improve the residential environment
• Ensure the observance of all Concordia applicable policies, rules, and regulations as well as the laws of the city, state, and nation
• Practice fiscal responsibility in the administration and oversight of community programming budget
• Establish healthy mentoring relationships through daily interactions with students, mediate conflicts, respond to their needs and refer students to appropriate resources as needed
• Implement the departmental programming model and provide guidance to staff in achieving learning outcomes for the community
• Promote the institution's core values in all initiatives and through public discourse

Educational Supervision

• Along with the Director of Residence Life, supervise, train, evaluate and provide leadership to a Resident Assistant staff of 6-8 staff members
• Assist in the coordination of all department-wide initiatives including RA training, RA selection, room selection, and other programming initiatives and committees as needed
• Provide proactive visible leadership within the community to promote the institution's values and services, and support residential programming
• Collaborate with multiple University offices in creating new educational initiatives and developing more efficient practices that seek to create cutting edge residential experiences for students

Crisis Intervention & Response

• Participate in on-call emergency duty rotation throughout the year (evenings and weekends), excluding Christmas, Spring, and Summer academic breaks providing crisis support and response to students
• Collaborate with Department of Public Safety, and other qualified persons on immediate response to incidents in hall, as needed
• Provide supportive leadership in responding to the needs of individuals in crisis and make necessary referrals and guidance as needed
• Collaborate with multiple student services offices in checking in and following up on the welfare of students and make referrals as needed

Oversight of Hall Management

• Assist in the organization, management, development, and implementation of a residence hall government under the direction of the Director of Residence Life
• Serve as an…