Dir of Housing & Resident Life

Description

The mission of The University of Bridgeport is to promote academic excellence, personal responsibility, and commitment to service. Distinctive curricula in an international, culturally diverse supportive learning environment prepare graduates for life and leadership in an increasingly interconnected world.

Position Description Summary/Purpose:

Reporting to the Dean of Students, the Director of Housing and Residential Life will be responsible for the overall management of the on-campus community living/learning environments and overseeing implementation of department goals in pursuit of the mission of the University. The Director of Housing and Residential Life is a highly visible leader within the university community who interacts daily across departments to ensure that residents are supported academically, socially, and personally. This role, which requires collaboration with all university segments, is crucial for ensuring alignment with institutional goals to foster student learning, engagement, satisfaction, and retention, making them feel committed to the university's mission. The Director must exercise high levels of discretion, independent judgment and the ability to work collaboratively with a large number of university community members and offices.

Essential Job Functions/Primary Responsibilities:

(The essential functions or duties listed below are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related or a logical assignment to the position.)

• Provide strategic and operational oversight for the University’s on-campusliving program, including the supervision of traditional undergraduate residence halls, undergraduate and graduate houses, and special interest and theme housing, and oversee all assessment initiatives for the department.
• Provide oversight of administrative systems associated with the University’s on campus living program including room assignments and occupancy management, data collection and analysis, key management, customer services, StarRez, Datatel, intersession and summer housing programs, and fall opening and semester closing operations.
• Update Datatel with on-campus students and billing;
• Partner with the Office of Facilities to oversee the maintenance and improvement of assigned residential facilities.
• Coordinate with Bursar in billing of students;
• Hire, train, develop, supervise, and evaluate three full-time professional Residence Hall Directors, two graduate assistants, and approximately 40 paraprofessional staff
• Develop, implement, and evaluate educational, social, cultural, co-curricular programming for resident students
• Provide leadership for strategic and fiscal planning for housing renovation and construction
• Prepare budgets and monitor expenditures for all programs assigned and ensure proper maintenance of records
• Provide administrator on-call responsibility for the campus on a rotating basis with other Senior Student Affairs professional staff members as part of the Administrator On-Call rotation
• Act as a first responder to emergencies in the residence halls. 
• Facilitate the development, implementation, and evaluation of training and policy/procedures/protocols, manuals, handbooks, etc.
• Market Housing and Residential Life to the public and the university community
• Investigate, mediate, and resolve student and parent concerns related to housing and residential life.
• Develop a rapport with students and serve as an advisor and mentor for concerns related to the position and provide informal counsel to student residents and employees concerning academic and social needs
• Serve on department, divisional, and university-wide committees as assigned.
• Perform related duties as necessary to support the University of Bridgeport mission

Other Functions: 

• Performs similar or related work as required, directed or as situation dictates
• Continues professional development and training; keeps current with trends

• Assists other department staff as needed to promote a team effort
• Engage in special events such as New Student Orientations, Admissions Days, Open Houses, and other events to support the recruitment of new students and their families
• Work collaboratively with university staff/administration members (faculty, residential life staff, campus security staff, etc.) for the well-being of students

Knowledge, Ability and Skill:

• Demonstrated commitment to developing and fostering best practices and policies to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion, and build an environment in which all members of the University community are treated with respect and dignity.
• Strong oral and written communication skills, interpersonal skills, a collaborative teamwork approach to work projects.
• Solid analytical and critical thinking skills, including the ability to interpret policy, procedures, and data.
• Ability to work under pressure and maintain a pleasant and professional attitude. 
• Ability to work with ethnically, culturally, and socially diverse students, staff, faculty, and other constituencies required.

Qualifications

Minimum Required Qualifications:

Education, Training and Experience:

• Master's degree in higher education/college student personnel or related field.
• Minimum of three years of full-time, progressive professional, experience working in Residence Life, Housing, or closely related experience.

• Demonstrated skills of customer service, leadership, and communication with an interest and enthusiasm for working with students.

Special Requirements:

• Significant professional experience with progressively increasing administrative responsibilities in student affairs at a high management level
• Experience in managing overall operations of residential life and housing, including: policy development, marketing, managing staff, budgeting, billing, damage assessments, key management, safety, etc.
• Experience managing residence life programs
• A strong vision for a purposeful residence life program and demonstrated resourcefulness towards achieving/implementing such vision
• Experience in student living-learning communities and assessment
• A demonstrated understanding of how to promote student learning and academic success in a residential life environment
• Significant, progressive full-time experience working in residence life that includes: mentoring students, safety programs, alcohol awareness programs, educational programming, recreation and social programs and orientation programs
• Perform on-call emergency coverage for the Division including evenings,

weekends, and periods when classes are not in session.

Physical and Mental Requirements:

Vision requirements (Especially relevant if driving is required by the job)

_X_     Close vision (i.e. clear vision at 20 inches or less)

___      Distance vision (i.e. clear vision at 20 feet or more)

___      Color vision (i.e. ability to identify and distinguish colors)

___      Peripheral vision (i.e. ability to observe an area that can be seen up and down or

            left and right while the eyes are fixed on a given point)

___      Depth perception (i.e. three-dimensional vision, ability to judge distances and

            spatial relationships)

___      No special vision requirements

Full-Time Employee Benefits:

• Medical Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Vision Insurance
• Pet Insurance
• 401k employer match
• Employee & dependent life insurance
• Great tuition benefits for employee, spouse & dependents
• PTO program
• Flexible work schedules

(This job description does not constitute an employment agreement between The University of Bridgeport and employee. It is used as a guide for personnel actions and is subject to change by the University as the needs of the University and requirements of the job change.)

The University of Bridgeport provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, amnesty, or status as a covered veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. The University of Bridgeport complies with applicable state and local laws governing non-discrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including, but not limited to, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.