Assistant Director, Residential Life - Specialty Living, Graduate, and Summer Programs

Student and Campus Life (SCL) inspires transformation in all Cornell students on their journey of individual, academic and personal evolution. Our division is comprised of leading student affairs experts who support our campus on pressing student life matters including public service, health, wellness, social justice, residential living, food services, sports, recreation, career services, and student activities and organizations including sorority and fraternity life. We provide support and services to roughly 25,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students on multiple campuses in the U.S. and abroad.

Cornell's on-campus living experience is comprised of two systems that operate separately, the Office of Housing and Residential Life (HRL) unit (buildings on North and South campus) within Student and Campus Life and the West Campus House system (residential college system) within the Office of the Provost.

The Office of Housing and Residential Life staff are committed to providing a residential experience of the highest quality for each of our residents. This includes providing a safe, comfortable, diverse, and purposeful living and learning environment aligned with the University's values and learning goals. Through partnerships with University faculty and staff, HRL staff foster students' personal growth, critical thinking, intellectual engagement, and social responsibility that is designed to educate, challenge and develop our students.

Pillars of our Residential Experience-
*Belonging at Cornell
*Social Responsibility
*Academic Empowerment
*Culture of Care
*Navigating Transitions

The Housing and Residential Life program includes cooperative houses, graduate and professional student housing, Program Houses with focused identity and/or themed living environments, a focused First-Year Residential Experience on North Campus, and a unique upper division and transfer student experience on North and South Campus. Our department serves approximately 8,000 students with a two-year residential requirement. In addition, there is significant faculty engagement in the residential communities, with faculty-in-residence living in the first-year communities and over 110 faculty and community members spread throughout all the residential communities.

Housing & Residential Life at Cornell University is going through a significant organizational transformation to enhance the residential experience. To advance these efforts, we are excited to launch the search for four Assistant Director positions in Residential Life. These positions consist of the following - individuals must apply to each position separately if interested in multiple positions:
*Assistant Director of Community Engagement & Leadership Development
*Assistant Director of Specialty Living, Graduate Housing, & Summer Programs
*Assistant Director of Staff Selection & Development (Student Staff)
*Assistant Director of Student Behavior & Support (Conduct)

The Assistant Director, Residential Life - Specialty Living, Graduate, and Summer Programs reports to the Associate Director of Residential Education in Residential Life and serves as a member of the department's leadership team. The Assistant Director supports the development, management, and evaluation of Residential Life programs within Housing & Residential Life, which houses approximately 9,200 students in the Division of Student & Campus Life at Cornell University, serving a campus of 24,000 students. This role leads and manages specialty living programs (thematic & cooperative communities), including academic, special interest, identity-based programs, and self-governed housing programs aligned with residential experience and specific program goals for each option for North and South Campus communities, aligned with the residential experience and organizational priorities while focusing on first- and second-year and graduate students in collaboration with campus partners.

The Assistant Director also oversees community engagement and support services for graduate and family housing students, aligned with the residential experience and focused on graduate student priorities. This position also collaborates with the Associate Director for Residential Education and academic partners to oversee and manage summer programs, including summer sessions, bridge, and pre-college programs. The Assistant Director supervises live-in staff and student employees and manages the residential experience and operations for assigned communities for undergraduate, graduate, and cooperative students. In addition, this role supports financial management, marketing, and cross-functional operational processes and planning, as well as participates in on-call, responding to crisis as needed.

This is a full-time, 12-month, live-off position. The salary range of this position is $78,500 - $81,000. This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship.

Success Factors:

• Ability to implement and oversee specialty living programs (thematic and cooperative communities), graduate community engagement, and student support efforts aligned with the residential experience.
• Ability to supervise, develop, mentor, and motivate a large and diverse professional and student staff team.
• Exceptional interpersonal, communication, planning, reasoning, organizational, and project management skills, with an ability to multi-task in a fast-paced, high-volume environment.
• A commitment to working collaboratively in a student-centered environment dedicated to the important values of shared governance, with enthusiasm for supporting a student body that is broadly diverse with regard to gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, socioeconomic status, sexual and gender identity, religion, and (dis)ability, among other factors.
• Ability to build relationships and maintain trust, assess and balance the needs of various campus partners, and identify and advocate for achievable solutions to high-level situations.

While position responsibilities vary, all people leaders are expected to foster a culture of belonging and a psychologically healthy work environment by being trustworthy; respecting all individuals; being flexible; supporting work/life integration as well as healthy boundaries; inviting new ideas, alternatives, and perspectives; speaking up and taking action if others are being excluded or treated inappropriately; and recognizing the contributions of others.

Required Qualifications:

• Master's degree in student affairs, higher education, counseling, or a related field, with a minimum of three (3) to five (5) years of professional experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience in residential life with managing community engagement efforts and supporting first- and second-year students.
• Applied knowledge of student development theory and fostering inclusive, engaging living-learning environments.
• Experience working with and leading learning-living communities and/or other themed residential communities.
• Knowledge of on-campus graduate student needs.
• Knowledge of academic initiatives in residence halls, including faculty engagement and academic support services.
• Experience supervising, training, and developing residential life professional and hall-level staff.
• Demonstrated crisis management skills, including problem-solving and critical thinking, with the ability to serve on-call and effectively respond to crises as needed.
• Demonstrated success in building collaborative partnerships with students, parents/families, faculty, and campus partners.
• Knowledge of assessment strategies for living-learning communities or other thematic residential communities.
• Knowledge of budget management processes.
• Knowledge of residential life and housing best practices and industry trends.
• Knowledge of housing policies and compliance with university, state, and federal regulations (e.g., ADA, FERPA, Fair Housing Act).
• Ability to occasionally work nights and weekends (e.g., Opening, Family Weekend, Commencement, all staff training and selection processes, etc.).
• Demonstrated skill in understanding of cultural differences.

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Non-Union Positions

Noted pay ranges reflect the potential pay opportunity for each job profile. The hiring rate of pay for the successful candidate will be determined considering the following criteria:

• Prior relevant work or industry experience

• Education level to the extent education is relevant to the position

• Unique applicable skills

• Academic Discipline

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EEO Statement:

Diversity and Inclusion are a part of Cornell University's heritage. We are a recognized employer and educator valuing AA/EEO, and we do not tolerate discrimination based on any protected characteristic, including race, ethnic or national origin, citizenship and immigration status, color, sex/gender, pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions, age, creed, religion, actual or perceived disability (including persons associated with such a person), arrest and/or conviction record, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender expression and/or identity, an individual's genetic information, domestic violence victim status, familial status, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. We also recognize a lawful preference in employment practices for Native Americans living on or near Indian reservations in accordance with applicable law.

Cornell University embraces diversity and seeks candidates who will contribute to a climate that supports students, faculty, and staff to all identities and backgrounds. We encourage individuals from underrepresented and/or marginalized identities to apply.