What are the responsibilities and job description for the Coordinator, Housing Assignments position at Vanderbilt University?
Position Summary:
The Coordinator for Housing Assignments is part of Housing and Residential Experience in the Student Affairs division at Vanderbilt University and is a key individual contributor responsible for providing assistance in the student room assignment processes. This position will provide support for the management of Vanderbilt’s housing assignment software package, The Housing Director (THD), and will collaborate with Student Access to manage the reasonable accommodations process for students seeking housing accommodations. Reporting directly to the Associate Director of Housing Assignments, the Coordinator for Housing Assignments will partner regularly with Residential Experience, Student Care Coordination, Center for Student Wellbeing, Student Accountability, Community Standards and Academic Integrity, and Student Access on students matters as they pertain to their housing assignment.
The Coordinator for Housing Assignments will assist with all student room assistant processes. In addition, this individual will serve as a primary point of contact for students and their families.
About the Work Unit:
Housing Assignments is responsible for occupancy management of Vanderbilt’s on-campus residence halls. Our office works to ensure that students assigned to housing that best meets their needs through a fair and consistent process. Our team collaborates with various offices inside and outside of Student Affairs including Residential Experience, Housing Facilities, Housing Finance, Student Care Coordination, Center for Student Wellbeing, Student Access Services and Residential Colleges. In addition, our office works to coordinate numerous logistical efforts including move-in, move-out and transitions between terms, and is responsible for all aspects of billing within Housing and Residential Experience.
About Student Affairs at Vanderbilt
Student Affairs at Vanderbilt cultivates vibrant, inclusive communities that foster a student’s sense of belonging and wellbeing through collaborative partnerships, transformative learning experiences, and an accessible and holistic network of resources. We value connection, belonging, compassion, development, and innovation. The Student Affairs division plays a central role in student learning and development, advancing the University’s quest to bring out the best in humanity—pushing new ideas into the frontiers of discovery, challenging the limits of what’s possible and working diligently in the service of others. Promoting mental health and wellbeing; focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion; and engaging students in co-curricular learning experiences are top priorities for our division, and our staff are committed to continued growth in knowledge, awareness, skills, and experience engaging with these priorities in a higher education environment.
Key Functions and Expected Performance:
- Assist with the Director and Associate Director of Housing Assignments with the management of the upper-division student housing assignment process
- Collaborate with Greek Life to manage the Greek Housing application process
- Assist with the application and assignment processes for the Mayfield and McGill living learning communities
- Manage the unassigned student housing process
- Work in collaboration with Student Access and EOA to manage the reasonable accommodations process
- Process room change requests during the various periods (fall, end of fall, spring, and summer prior to move in)
- Manage the spring housing assignment process
- Co-manage the application and room assignment processes for summer housing (May and summer sessions)
- Assist with the various break period (Thanksgiving, Winter, Spring, and Commencement Week) registration processes and reporting
- Assist with logistics for the Move-In Day, including coordinating staff volunteer assignments
- Maintain campus maps to help communicate information to residents related to move-in and move-out
- Assist with occupancy verification processes and tracking of all enrolled undergraduate students
- Resolve complex issues by working with appropriate partners to address student concerns and wellbeing
- Responsible for assisting with the management of the housing database (The Housing Director), including application management, room assignment process design and management, general report design, inspection setup, user groups and permissions, and staff training
- Assist with management of housing transitions between all terms as well as residence hall openings and closings
- Aid in designing and distributing internal and external communications to students, families, staff, and other key stakeholders
- Support the management of the department email inbox, including by checking the email regularly, providing clear and accurate responses, and responding in a timely manner and assisting with issues management communication efforts in the residence halls; may be “on call” to facilitate communications to community for urgent facility matters.
- Support department webpage to ensure accurate information is available to students and families
- Communicate with students and their families
- Assist with the development of policies and room assignment process procedures
- Respond promptly to student, family, faculty, and staff requests for housing assistance
- Review and update relevant website content and social media content as needed
- Assist with the management of the off-campus housing website, annual off-campus housing fair and off-campus resident address verification
- Assist with assessment projects
- Maintain collaborative working relationships with relevant campus partners in order to best serve students
- Assist with answering the main department phone
- Assume other responsibilities as assigned
- Serve on divisional committees and working groups to enrich the experience and resources available to staff across the division.
- Participate in division wide events as needed (Move-In Day, Rites of Spring, Diverse ‘Dores Day, MLK Day, etc.) to support colleagues and ensure these events run smoothly.
- Maintain an understanding of institutional and departmental financial policies related to areas such as travel, procurement, expense, and time reporting to ensure compliance and proper stewardship of university resources.
- Demonstrate a willingness to support colleagues across the division in order to encourage the implementation or fulfillment of divisional goals and strategic priorities.
Supervisory Relationships:
This position does not have supervisory responsibility; this position reports administratively and functionally to the Associate Director of Housing Assignments.
Education and Certifications:
- A Bachelor’s Degree in an appropriate area of specialization from an accredited institution of higher education is necessary.
- A Master’s Degree in higher education administration from an accredited institution of higher education is preferred.
Experience and Skills:
- At least 2 years of relevant professional experience in a university housing office is necessary .
- Experience in students affairs or equivalent combination of education, training, and experience combined is necessary.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills are necessary.
- Demonstrated ability to counsel and work effectively with college students and their families is necessary.
- Excellent and effective communication skills in person, telephone and email are necessary.
- Strong organization and planning skills are necessary.
- Robust Excel skills are preferred.
- Knowledge of Adirondack’s Housing Director software (THD) is strongly preferred.
