Director, Residential Life

Who is Saint Louis University? Founded in 1818, Saint Louis University is one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious Catholic universities. SLU, which also has a campus in Madrid, Spain, is recognized for world-class academics, life-changing research, compassionate health care, and a strong commitment to faith and service.

All About You

JOB SUMARY

The Director of Residence Life supervises and collaborates operations for residential programming, live-in staffing, living-learning communities development and operations, and directly supports student success initiatives and opportunities related to the university’s 2-year live-on requirement. As a driver of engagement and student retention, this position collaborates with the student success and housing operations team to coordinate breadth and depth of interventions focused on student belonging, well-being, and other aspects of student development. This position is part of a divisional leadership team and collaborates with the Director of Housing Operations in planning goals for the residential environment. Supervised by the Assistant Vice President of Student Engagement, this position is expected to form strong, collaborative relationships within the department and with various campus partners to create innovative practices for the successful implementation of department and division goals.

PRIMARY JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

• Collaborates with Student Success to develop and operate living-learning communities and residential curriculum that seamlessly fits into the university’s overall plan for student success and retention; plans for the prioritization of work, setting and enforcing standards, and leveraging technology in order to achieve short term and long term strategic goals; participates and leads strategic initiatives such as training, assessment, program development and implementation; collaborates with faculty, staff, and students to coordinate development of learning communities and other academic initiatives; participates in group meetings to discuss opportunities, issues and strategies to promote student learning with Residence Life and Student Success staff

• Facilitates the fiscal, long-range planning for the department to include the annual budget development process and residential staffing model

• Reviews internal and external departmental contracts, Student Handbook and other policy and procedure information and updates as necessary; provides leadership for crisis management in residential settings; serves on the university emergency management response team

• Establishes and continuously evaluate goals and objectives for the department and program; serves on Departmental/Divisional committees, task forces, and completes research projects as assigned; manages departmental expenditures and reconciles accounts; responsible for the development of healthy and supportive relationships between individuals and groups within Residence Life and other areas of the University

• Performs evaluations and meets regularly with staff

• Assists with staff corrective counseling procedures to maintain accountability; ensures that staff members are successfully completing assigned job duties and goals; provides training to department staff on facilities operations, security, and budget; participates in professional development through training, committee involvement, conference attendance and involvement in professional associations; develops appropriate and timely improvement plans with staff and supervisors

• Performs other duties as assigned

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

• Knowledge of residential learning environments and living-learning communities best practices

• Understanding of a curricular model of residential education

• Crisis management and response, risk management, and skills related to upholding community standards

• Strategic planning and assessment

• Supervisory and leadership skills

• Interpersonal/human relations skills

• Verbal and written communication skills

• Organizational/planning skills

• Attention to details

• Ability to empower students to make decisions

• Ability to manage multiple tasks

• Ability to maintain confidentiality

• Ability to work a flexible schedule

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Master’s degree in a related field

• Seven years of full time, related experience in facilities management, project planning and budget management

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• n/a

Function

Housing

Scheduled We