Director Housing and Residence Life

Job Description

Job Description

Position Summary 

The Director of Housing & Residence Life provides strategic leadership, vision, and oversight for a comprehensive portfolio of student life programs and services that promote student belonging, leadership development, residential engagement, and holistic student success. Reporting to the VP, Chief Student Affairs Officer/Dean of Students, the Director serves as a key member of the Student Affairs leadership team and works collaboratively across the institution to create an inclusive, engaging, and supportive campus environment. 

The Director provides leadership for Housing and Residence Life. The position is responsible for developing and implementing programs, policies, and services that enhance the student experience while advancing institutional mission, values, retention, persistence, and student success goals. 

The Director supervises professional and student staff, manages departmental budgets, oversees residential operations, responds to student concerns and crises, and collaborates with campus and external partners to support a vibrant and values-based campus community. 

Key Responsibilities 

Housing and Residence Life 

• • Provide strategic and operational leadership for Housing and Residence Life, ensuring the productive, effective, and student-centered operation of residential facilities and programs. 
• • Supervise the selection, training, evaluation, development, and discipline of professional and undergraduate residence life staff. 
• • Oversee residence hall programming and initiatives that foster community, belonging, and student development. 
• • Supervise the room selection, housing assignment, and lottery processes and ensure effective implementation of housing policies and procedures. 
• • Interpret and enforce housing policies, procedures, and community standards while balancing institutional expectations with student support and developmental needs. 
• • Oversee housing and meal plan accounts, meal plan exemptions, room condition reports, damage assessments, and related processes. 
• • Develop and maintain policies, procedures, publications, and communications necessary for the efficient operation of residential life. 
• • Coordinate with Physical Plant, Campus Safety, Dining Services, Information Technology, and other campus partners regarding residential facilities, maintenance, safety, technology, and operational needs. 
• • Develop and implement plans for residential facility improvements and participate in the selection, purchasing, repair, and maintenance of residence hall furnishings and equipment. 
• • Coordinate summer housing and conference use of residential facilities and assist with institutional programs and events such as orientation, Host Days, Family Day, registration, and other special events. 
• • Recruit, select, supervise, train, evaluate, and develop professional staff, graduate assistants, undergraduate staff, student employees, and administrative support personnel within the assigned areas. 
• • Develop, manage, and monitor budgets for Housing and Residence Life, student engagement, fraternity and sorority life, residential programming, and related initiatives. 
• • Oversee applicable student organization and residential programming funds and ensure appropriate review, approval, documentation, and fiscal accountability. 
• • Lead departmental strategic planning, program assessment, learning outcome development, and annual reporting. 
• • Establish and utilize assessment practices to evaluate student learning, engagement, satisfaction, retention, and program effectiveness. 
• • Represent Student Affairs on institutional committees, task forces, working groups, and professional organizations. 
• • Develop collaborative relationships with faculty, staff, students, alumni, parents and families, community partners, and external organizations. 
• • Serve as part of the on-call and crisis response structure for Housing and Residence Life and respond appropriately to residential emergencies and student concerns. 

Student Support, Conduct, and Crisis Response 

• • Provide support and referrals to students experiencing academic, personal, behavioral, or other concerns, connecting students with appropriate campus and community resources. 
• • Serve as a judicial or conduct advisor as assigned and participate in student conduct processes. 
• • Respond to student emergencies and crisis situations with sound judgment, flexibility, and appropriate follow-through. 
• • Collaborate with Counseling, Academic Affairs, Campus Safety, Athletics, Health Services, and other campus partners to address complex student needs. 
• • Promote practices that support student well-being, persistence, belonging, and successful integration into the campus community. 

Qualifications 

Required 

• • Master's degree in relevant fields of Higher Education Administration, Educational Leadership, Student Personnel or other relevant fields. This can also be made up for by relevant experience. 
• • At least three to five years of progressively responsible professional experience in student affairs, student housing/residence life, or related areas. 
• • Demonstrated experience supervising professional and student staff. 
• • Demonstrated knowledge of student development, leadership education, and residential life. 
• • Experience with budget development, fiscal management, and operational planning. 
• • Demonstrated ability to advise, mentor, and support a diverse student population. 
• • Strong written, verbal, interpersonal, organizational, and problem-solving skills. 
• • Demonstrated ability to respond effectively and appropriately to student concerns, emergencies, and crisis situations. 
• • Ability to work collaboratively across departments and build effective relationships with students, faculty, staff, families, alumni, and external partners. 
• • Willingness and ability to work evenings and weekends and participate in an on-call or emergency response rotation as required. 

Preferred 

• • Experience with strategic planning, program assessment, learning outcomes, and data-informed decision-making. 
• • Experience with residential facilities management, housing assignments, room selection processes, and residential operations. 
• • Experience with StarRez Student Housing Management Software. 
• • Professional involvement with organizations such as NASPA, ACPA, ACUHO-I, or related professional associations. 

Core Competencies 

• • Student-Centered Leadership: Demonstrates a commitment to student development, belonging, persistence, well-being, and success. 
• • Strategic Leadership: Translates institutional mission and strategic priorities into effective student affairs programs, policies, and services. 
• • Relationship Building: Builds trust and productive partnerships with students, faculty, staff, families, alumni, and external organizations. 
• • Staff Development: Effectively recruits, supervises, evaluates, mentors, and develops professional and student employees. 
• • Crisis Management and Judgment: Responds calmly and effectively to complex student, residential, behavioral, and emergency situations. 
• • Organizational and Operational Management: Demonstrates strong planning, prioritization, project management, and attention to detail. 
• • Fiscal Responsibility: Effectively develops, monitors, and manages departmental and program budgets. 
• • Inclusive Leadership: Creates environments that respect and support students and colleagues from diverse backgrounds and experiences. 
• • Collaboration: Works effectively across institutional divisions and functional areas to advance student success. 
• • Assessment and Continuous Improvement: Uses data, assessment, and student feedback to evaluate programs and improve services. 
• • Mission Alignment: Demonstrates commitment to the institution's mission, values, and purpose. 

Working Conditions 

This position requires flexibility to work outside of traditional business hours, including evenings and weekends, based on student programs, residence life needs, campus events, and emergency situations. The Director will participate in the Student Affairs/Housing and Residence Life on-call structure as assigned and may be required to respond to urgent residential or student concerns. 

The successful candidate will demonstrate the ability to balance strategic leadership with hands-on operational oversight while maintaining a visible, accessible, and student-centered presence across campus