Executive Director, Housing & Residence Life

Salary: $80,000.00 - $102,000.00 Annually
Location : Florence, Alabama
Job Type: Staff
Division: Student Affairs
Department: Housing & Residence Life
Opening Date: 04/14/2026
FLSA: Exempt


Job openings are posted for a minimum of seven days. This job may be removed from posting boards and filled any time after the minimum posting period has ended. The posted salary and/or position title may be adjusted dependent on the successful candidate's education, experience, and unique qualifications as they relate to the position. Sponsorship is not available for any staff positions and unless otherwise indicated within the posting information, is not available for most faculty positions.

Description


This position requires a strategic, student-centered, and collaborative leader responsible for providing comprehensive direction over a large and complex housing and residence life operation. This position oversees campus housing management, residential education, staff leadership, crisis response, conduct processes, and student success initiatives that promote belonging, learning, and well-being. At present, the department has over 50 professional, graduate, and undergraduate student staff that serve over 2,000 students living in on campus residence halls and apartments. This position manages significant human, financial, and physical resources; leads data-informed decision making; and ensures alignment of the residential experience with the University mission and student success priorities. This position works closely with varied campus partners to create welcoming and safe residential communities that support student growth and persistence. Sponsorship is not available for this position.

Essential Job Duties


Strategic Leadership and Oversight

• Provide direct supervision, leadership, vision, and long-range strategic planning for housing & residence life;
• Align departmental goals with institutional mission, student success, and retention priorities;
• Lead assessment, data analysis, and continuous improvement processes;
• Develop policies, procedures, and systems that protect university assets and enhance operations;

Housing Operations and Facilities

• Oversee day-to-day housing operations, occupancy management, and housing assignments;
• Direct processes for room selection, inspections, summer/interim/break housing, and move-in/move-out;
• Coordinate facility needs with campus partners/departments and external vendors to ensure safe, well-maintained spaces;
• Support capital planning, housing master planning, and renovation priorities;
• Oversee housing software systems, currently StarRez, and technology-driven improvements;
• Work with private owners near campus who are partners in affiliated housing management;

Residential Life and Student Experience

• Create residential environments that promote learning, leadership, and community engagement;
• Implement and evaluate a residential curriculum tied to developmental learning outcomes;
• Oversee residential programming, student engagement activities, and living-learning initiatives;
• Maintain visible presence in residential communities and build strong relationships with students;

Retention, Assessment & Student Success

• Use data to evaluate programs effectiveness, occupancy trends, and student outcomes;
• Monitor housing retention patterns and develop strategies that support persistence;
• Produce reports and summaries to inform divisional and institutional decision-making;

Crisis Management, Safety & Compliance

• Participate in on-call rotation and respond to after-hours emergencies;
• Serve on crisis and threat management teams as appropriate;
• Ensure compliance with university policies, Title IX, student conduct expectations, and risk-management practices;

Budget & Resource Management

• Develop, manage, and forecast complex housing and auxiliary budgets;
• Ensure responsible stewardship of financial, human, and facility resources;
• Identify opportunities for efficiencies and revenue development;

Staff Leadership & Supervision

• Recruit, train, supervise, and evaluate both professional and student staff;
• Provide ongoing professional development and coaching;
• Foster a collaborative, ethical, student-focused work culture;
• Perform all other duties as assigned.

ADDITIONAL DUTIES:

• Serve on university, divisional, and departmental committees and working groups as requested or required by position;
• Represent the department and division at campus programs and significant events;
• Perform duties to support student success and institutional priorities.

Minimum Qualifications

• Master's degree in higher education, student affairs, counseling, educational leadership, or a related field is required;
• Seven to ten years of progressively responsible leadership experience within housing/residence life or student affairs is required;
• Supervisory experience, including oversight of professional staff and multiple functional areas is required;
• Proven experience with budget management and resource management is required;
• Experience with crisis response, conduct processes, and student support systems is required;
• Experience working with housing software systems is required;
• Experience managing large-scale residential operations or complex auxiliary systems is preferred;
• Experience with retention initiatives, residential curriculum, learning communities, and/or student success platforms is preferred;
• Experience with capital planning, facilities oversight, and/or housing master planning is preferred.

LICENSES, CERTIFICATIONS, OR REGISTRATIONS:
None

Special Instructions to Applicants


Applicants must upload a cover letter and resume at the time of application, as well as provide contact information for at least three professional references. For questions, please email View email address on click.appcast.io or call View phone number on click.appcast.io and select option #2. Selecting an option other than #2 will result in a delayed response.


UNA is an equal opportunity employer. We seek a wide range of applicants for our positions so that our core values will be affirmed.
Staff Benefit Summary - For more details regarding each benefit listed below, please visit the HR website at or click on the links below. The benefits premiums listed below are effective March 1, 2026.
UNA has a fully-insured group health insurance program with , which includes medical, prescription drug, vision, psychiatric, and substance abuse benefits for full-time university employees, and their eligible dependents. The University covers the full individual premium for eligible employees.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama Health/Vision/RX - Monthly Premiums

Tier Employee Cost UNA Cost Total Premium
Employee $0.00 $728.36 $728.36
+Child(ren) $423.42 $778.36 $1,201.78
+Spouse $678.36 $778.36 $1,456.72
+Spouse & Child(ren) $786.88 $778.36 $1,565.24
UNA also provides dental coverage through The University covers the full individual premium for eligible employees.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama Dental - Monthly Premiums

Tier Employee Cost UNA Cost Total Premium
Employee $0.00 $29.61 $29.61
Family $39.07 $29.61 $68.68
UNA provides all eligible employees with basic life insurance at no cost to the employee. The basic life coverage level is 1.5 times the covered employee's annual base salary with a maximum benefit of $400,000. Included with your basic life coverage is Accidental Death and Dismemberment coverage at 3 times the covered employee's annual salary. The provider for this coverage is As a member of the , eligible employees have life benefits available through the TRS. Also, for eligible active employees, a death benefit of the payment of accrued sick leave is paid to the employee's beneficiary by the University.
This coverage provides benefits after a 90-day period of disability. The monthly benefit is 60% of the covered employee's monthly base salary not to exceed $10,000 per month. The cost for this benefit is paid in full by the University for eligible employees and the provider for this coverage is


Retirement Plans

The is a defined benefit plan in which participation is mandatory for eligible employees. Eligible employees are categorized by the TRS as Tier I or Tier II members.


Rates below are effective as of October 1, 2025

• Tier I - Employee contribution rate is 7.5% for regular employees and 8.5% for law enforcement employees.
• Tier II - Employee contribution rate is 6.2% for regular employees and 7.0% for law enforcement employees.

- this retirement plan is a voluntary, supplemental, deferred compensation plan.


- this plan is a voluntary, supplemental, deferred compensation plan offered by the Retirement Systems of Alabama.
The University provide a $6.00 per month credit to eligible employees to offset the cost(s) for supplemental, voluntary benefits. All full-time regular employees are eligible for this benefit on the first day of the month following the completion of 90 days of employment.

• Flexible Spending Accounts - HealthEquity
• Cancer Insurance - Allstate
• Short-Term Disability Insurance - Fort Dearborn Life
• Life Insurance - Symetra
• Accident Coverage - Symetra
• Critical Illness Insurance - Symetra
• Hospital Indemnity Coverage - Symetra
• Vision Insurance - Vision Blue by VSP
• Air Evac Lifeteam
• Long-Term Care Insurance - LTCi Plans

UNA provides remission of tuition to eligible employees and to their spouses and qualified dependent children.

Paid Time Off
- Annual leave is accrued for each hour worked. During the first 2 years of employment, the accrual is 10 workdays. After completion of 2 years of continuous service, eligible employees are entitled to 12 days of annual leave and, for each additional year of service, annual leave is increased by one day per year to a maximum of 20 days after 10 years.
- Full-time regular staff members are entitled to 96 work hours (12 workdays) of sick leave each year at the employee's regular rate of pay regardless of length of service.
- Full-time, regular staff employees are eligible for paid holidays.

Miscellaneous Benefits

01


Do you have a master's degree in higher education, student affairs, counseling, educational leadership, or a related field?

• No, I do not have a master's degree.
• Yes, but in a related field.
• Yes, in one of the fields listed.
• No, but I have a higher level degree in one of the fields listed or a related field.

02


Do you have seven to ten years of progressively responsible leadership experience within housing/residence life and/or student affairs?

• No
• Yes, seven to ten years.
• Yes, more than ten years.

03


Do you have supervisory experience, including oversight of professional staff and multiple functional areas?

• No
• Yes

04


Do you have experience with crisis response, conduct processes, and student support systems?

• No
• Yes

05


Do you have experience with digital housing platforms/housing software systems?

• No
• Yes

06


Do you have proven experience with budget management and resource management?

• No
• Yes

07


Do you have experience managing large-scale residential operations and/or complex auxiliary systems?

• No
• Yes, large-scale residential operations.
• Yes, complex auxiliary systems.
• Yes, both.

08


Do you have experience with retention initiatives, residential curriculum, learning communities, and/or student success platforms?

• No, none.
• Yes, one or more of those listed.
• Yes, all of those listed.

09


Do you have experience with capital planning, facilities oversight, and/or housing master planning?

• No, none.
• Yes, some of those listed.
• Yes, all of those listed.

10


This position is not eligible for sponsorship of any kind. Will you now or in the future require sponsorship (H1B, OPT, etc.) ?

• No
• Yes

Required Question