Division: Dean of the College
Department: Residential Life
Work Arrangement type
On-Site (Hamilton, NY) - expected to work fully at the designated campus/office location.
Hiring Wage/Salary Range
$65,000 - $68,500
Professional Experience/ Qualifications
Ideal candidates will have well-developed:
Department: Residential Life
Work Arrangement type
On-Site (Hamilton, NY) - expected to work fully at the designated campus/office location.
Hiring Wage/Salary Range
$65,000 - $68,500
Professional Experience/ Qualifications
Ideal candidates will have well-developed:
- Written and verbal communication skills and be capable of creating and maintaining productive and collegial working relationships with a diverse group of faculty, staff, students, and visitors.
- Must be available to work occasional evenings and weekends as required.
- Must be self-motivated and able to manage multiple projects, programs, and student challenges simultaneously with an appropriate sense of urgency.
- A minimum of two years of relevant work experience is required.
- Experience working with faculty within the context of a learning community or similar program is highly desired.
- Experience working with housing software, especially StarRez, and reporting is preferred.
- Experience working with thematic housing, Greek organizations, and chapter housing is preferred.
A Master's degree in higher education or a related field is required. Those with a combination of a Bachelor's degree and experience from which comparable skills are gained may be considered.
Offer Determination
When extending an offer, Colgate University considers factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, as well as market and organizational considerations.
Other Information
This position will require occasional evening and/or weekend hours. This position will require participation in the residential life on-call rotation.
This position requires living on-campus.
Room and partial board are also required and included in the compensation package.
Work visa sponsorship is not available for this position.
Benefits
Colgate University offers a competitive benefits package, with most benefits effective on the date of hire. Highlights include: medical, dental, vision, retirement contributions, paid time off, paid family leave, health & wellness, continuing education and professional development. We also offer unique perks, such as free parking, gym discounts, bookstore savings, athletic tickets, and access to cultural and recreational facilities. Explore the full benefits package on our Benefits page.
Department Statement
The assistant director for residential life is responsible for the management of junior and senior housing (including thematic housing and Greek Chapter houses), coordinating effective residential housing processes, stewarding financial resources, and providing clear communications within a liberal arts, undergraduate-focused, residential campus. Colgate University students, faculty, and staff are highly collaborative and intellectually engaged with a genuine interest in working together to create and sustain a vibrant student residential experience. The successful candidate for this position will demonstrate their ability to excel through their capacity for building and maintaining collegial relationships, operating with a student-centered focus, engaging in creative problem-solving, providing strong attention to detail, and possessing strong skills in the use of housing software. This position is a hands-on educator with a keen interest in operationalizing a residential experience aligned with the developmental interests and needs of junior and senior undergraduates.
The primary responsibilities of this position include the development and oversight of the junior and senior residential experience, assisting with the management of housing processes, including annual housing selection, the private off-campus housing lottery, and semester break and recess housing (including late stays and early arrival housing). Additional functional areas include key operations, damage billing, furniture inventory, and room management. Work with apartment communities and fraternity/sorority communities is also part of this position.
This position requires strong communication capacity and skills, as it often engages with students and families. The assistant director will build and maintain collaborative relationships with colleagues across campus, including with Campus Safety, Fire Safety, Facilities, Fraternity and Sorority Advising, Student Involvement, Student Disability Services, Information Technology Services, Summer Programs, Communications, and the Office of the Dean of the College.
The position directly supervises student staff in junior and senior housing, and reviews systems and processes to maximize student ownership of their residential communities. The Assistant Director reports to the Associate Director of Lower Campus and Operations. This position will also oversee the lower campus residence halls, thematic houses, and/or fraternity and sorority chapter houses.
This position is a required live-on position. As a visible member of the lower campus community, the incumbent will connect with residential students in the area, develop an awareness of the benefits and challenges of living in the junior and senior community, attend occasional evening and weekend events sponsored by the interest communities, occasionally dine with junior and senior students, and provide on-site crisis response when needed. Colgate places student agency at the forefront of the college experience, so an interest in helping students create their residential communities is expected. Regular engagement with campus events, programs, lectures, and athletic events is not only helpful for understanding the life of the campus, it helps the Assistant Director connect with students outside of the residential communities and deepen relationships with them.
Accountabilities
The Assistant Director is a full-time, live-on position, primarily responsible for the effective and efficient execution of strategies and programs that enrich the junior and senior residential experience at Colgate. This position works closely with the Residential Life Leadership Team and campus partners to build an engaging junior and senior experience that will prepare students for life after college.
Specific Responsibilities
Junior and Senior Experience & Community Development
- Collaborate with the Associate Director to develop, implement, and assess strategies and activities that are connected to broader divisional and institutional priorities and that maximize student agency as they develop their own residential experience. Actively engage and maintain high visibility within junior, senior, lower campus, and thematic housing areas to establish positive relationships, convey expectations, and foster student agency and accountability.
- Apply student development and learning community theories to build theme and interest community partnerships, collaborating with students, student organizations, departments, and faculty.
- Translate the departmental philosophy, mission, and strategic goals into actionable practices that support the growth, maturity, and intellectual development of residential students.
- Proactively address community issues to foster a supportive environment that promotes a sense of belonging and inclusion for all students.
- Recruit, hire, train, supervise, and evaluate a team of student staff in accordance with department expectations, goals, and established procedures.
- Facilitate weekly staff meetings, 1:1 check-ins, and ongoing professional development or in-service activities for student staff.
- Apply student development theory and professional best practices when supervising staff and advising departmental student committees.
- Model professional behavior appropriate for an educator living in and among students.
- Effectively utilize housing software and technical solutions to manage on-campus housing assignments, status changes, waitlists, room changes (in partnership with the Associate Director), and related records.
- Manage administrative housing data sets and workflows, including key management, room condition reporting, and the tracking of seasonal processes (e.g., early arrivals, late stays, and break housing).
- Maintain strict confidentiality of student records and ensure data maintenance aligns with University, division, and department guidelines.
- Collaborate closely with University Communications to draft, edit, and execute regular, high-quality email correspondence tailored to all residential students.
- Develop clear, concise, and engaging communications for major residential processes, ensuring complex instructions are delivered in a warm, welcoming, and accessible manner.
- Maintain a high standard of editorial excellence across all platforms to ensure student-facing messaging is accurate, timely, and aligned with departmental standards.
- Cascade key information regarding policies, conduct, administrative matters, and campus events to student staff and residents.
- Serve as a welcoming, informative presence for campus partners, students, and families, including providing coverage for the central office on a rotating basis and resolving parent concerns with care and support.
- Monitor and coordinate the day-to-day administrative and operational functions of multiple residence halls, thematic houses, and chapter houses (including occupancy, maintenance, technology, and furniture inventory).
- Manage residence hall opening, closing, and break procedures across all areas.
- Partner with Facilities to document and address maintenance needs, ensuring reported damages and facility problems are resolved promptly.
- Oversee weekly facility and safety inspection processes conducted by student staff, executing appropriate follow-up.
- Coordinate the department-wide damage billing process, including inspections, documentation, and final closing procedures.
- Provide crisis intervention, documentation, and necessary follow-up in accordance with campus protocols, collaborating with Campus Safety, the Counseling and Psychological Services, the Dean's Office, and other campus resources.
- Support student staff during counseling or crises, serving as their primary referral resource.
- Participate in the scheduled professional staff on-call duty rotation to provide comprehensive campus crisis response.
- Manage student behavior and resolve conflicts by responding to incidents, meeting with students, and applying appropriate sanctions as detailed in the University Student Handbook.
- Apply strong time management, problem-solving, and planning skills to seamlessly execute on-site logistics, programs, and processes.
- Meet functional accountabilities while staying within assigned departmental budget constraints.
- Build and maintain highly collaborative working relationships with colleagues across the Residential Life team, Dean of the College division, facilities, faculty, and the broader University community.
- Meet regularly with the supervisor to review departmental goals, establish individual benchmarks, assess progress, and solve systemic problems.
- Apply basic assessment techniques to measure programmatic effectiveness and drive continuous improvement.
- Participate in University committees as deemed appropriate by the supervisor or Residential Life Leadership Team.
- Fulfill responsibilities as a designated Campus Security Authority (CSA) by accurately reporting allegations of Clery Act crimes to the Campus Safety Department.
- Execute other duties as assigned.
Temporary: No