"Director of Residence Life"

Director of Residence Life

Posted: 08-Dec-25

Location: Fitchburg, Massachusetts

Type: Full-time

Categories: Residence Life, Staff/Administrative

Employment Type: Full-time

Organization Type: Higher Education Institution

GENERAL STATEMENT OF DUTIES:

Reporting to the Assistant Dean for Student Engagement, the Director of Housing and Residential Services provides leadership and direction for the programmatic and operational functions within the Department of Housing and Residential Services (HRS). Leadership functions include but are not limited to the supervision of housing operations including assignments, room changes, and billing. The Director supervises the residential education program with a focus on student engagement, support, and personal development within a residential setting. Additionally, the Director plays a key role in student conduct and ensures policies and procedures are followed with HRS staff, hearing high level cases, and assisting in the development of policy and process. This position requires a high volume of contact with a variety of constituents, with the ability to strategize on departmental goals, campus capacity needs, residence hall use, and the creation of a strong campus community. The Director directly and indirectly supervises full time employees, graduate assistants, and student staff.

SUPERVISION EXERCISED:

Supervises the Associate Director, Assistant Director, and Administrative Assistant. The Director plays a support role in supervising and training personnel in other functional areas, which may include, but are not limited to, Area Coordinators, Graduate Resident Directors, Lead Resident Assistants, Resident Assistants, Community Desk Assistants, and Office Assistants.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

Leadership/Supervision

• Provides administrative oversight and supervision of professional staff, including hiring, guidance, support, and evaluation of personnel to ensure compliance with applicable laws, policies, and regulations.
• Leads departmental committees and initiatives geared towards retention & recruitment of residential students.
• Supervises the Associate Director in the developing of programmatic and student encounter models for Resident Assistants to execute with residential students.
• Supervises the Assistant Director in operational functions related to housing, room assignments, room changes, room and meal plan billing, room card access, and damage billing.
• Leads strategic initiatives concerning the student conduct and community standards process in partnership with the Assistant Dean for Student Engagement and the Dean of Students.
• Promotes a commitment to diversity and success in working with diverse constituencies, both domestic and international, to support an inclusive environment.
• Lead strategic initiatives around increasing on-campus occupancy which includes marketing to potential residential students, partnering with Enrollment Management, and developing a working relationship with Capital Planning and Maintenance.

Administrative

• Provide advice, support, assistance and referrals to all HRS staff as well as residents.
• Prepares departmental communications, applications/agreements and recruitment materials.
• Supports housing recruitment process (for example, show rooms for open houses/events) in conjunction with Admissions.
• Prepare a weekly occupancy report that will be shared with the senior leadership team.
• Maintains the Student Code of Conduct in partnership with the Associate Director.
• Supervises the Associate Director on the accurate tracking, dissemination, and completion of conduct cases.
• Provides data around occupancy, capacity, and future use of residence hall spaces.
• Evaluates and determines occupancy reassignments and agreement releases.
• Serve as a Core Circle member of the CARE team.

Operations

• Coordinates the management operations of approximately 1550 beds across 18 individual buildings.
• Coordinates operational aspects of residence hall opening operational plan (including the recruitment and training of move-in volunteers) and closings.
• Supervises the Assistant Director on the receipt and processing of housing operations, which includes billing, room assignments, room access, room changes, room selection, break housing, summer housing, and applications from new and returning students.
• Supervises the management of meal plans for both residential and commuting students in conjunction with Dining Services.
• Serves as the liaison to Capital Planning and Maintenance for all routine work orders (maintenance and cleaning), pest control, laundry services, landscaping, deferred and preventive maintenance.
• Assists the Associate Vice President of Capital Planning and Maintenance in working with the Massachusetts State College Building Authority (MSCBA) through strategic planning initiatives by tracking trends in the halls.

Information Technology

• Maintains housing operations system.
• Conducts periodic audits on software
• Supervises the Assistant Director on student use of the end user portal of software products and troubleshoots connection issues.
• Coordinates department’s office card access, phone, computer and wifi support needs.
• Serves as the liaison to software companies and communicates systemic changes to IT.
• Supports oversight of the department website, as well as housing marketing materials, information sessions and tours.

Assessment

• Supports the creation and implementation of the mission and strategic plan for the department.
• Leads departmental assessment planning processes including identifying annual goals and objectives, monitoring key performance indicators, recommending appropriate assessment tools, conducting data analysis, providing recommendations and improvements.
• Coordinates assessment training for functional areas in order to assist with long term departmental planning.
• Contributes to the periodic departmental self-assessment using CAS standards.

Emergency Response/On-Call/Student Development

• Serves as a support to the Administrator on Call rotation when needed.
• Responds to campus incidents, including responding on-site after hours when required.
• Serves as a senior level conduct officer for high level cases.
• Trains student and professional HRS staff on emergency response protocols and procedures.

General

• Occasional evening, weekend and holiday hours may be necessary.
• Serves as a liaison with campus partners including but not limited to Capital Planning & Maintenance, Information Technology, Admissions, Student Accounts, One Card, Student Engagement, the Center for Diversity and Inclusiveness, Student Conduct, Student Affairs, Academic Affairs and the Registrar regarding operations management.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Minimum of seven (7) years experience in housing/residential life or related field.
• Knowledge of higher education and student housing practices and procedures.
• Effective oral and written communication and interpersonal skills. Attention to detail and excellent time management skills are essential and exercise sound judgment. Attention to detail, excellent time management skills, and sound judgment are essential.
• Computer skills and familiarity with various software programs (preferably Banner, Maxient, and Cloud).
• Ability to identify, collect, and analyze the necessary data to create reports and recommend data-driven actions.
• Must be able to satisfactorily pass the Criminal History Systems Board/Sexual Offender Information Registry (CORI/SORI check); a background check satisfactory to the university.
• Ability to perform above duties with or without reasonable accommodation.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master’s degree in higher education, business or a related field.
• Experience in university housing operations, student conduct administration, and residential education model development.

This position qualifies as a Campus Security Authority (CSA) and is designated as such, effective September 2024. A CSA is a person designated to report crimes that occur on campus to the University Police Department. CSAs are designated under the Clery Act and must complete annual training on reporting crimes, victim relations and support, and related University policies.