Position Overview:

Reporting to the Associate Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, Engagement and Wellness, the Director of Residential Life and Housing contributes to creating a vibrant campus community characterized by a strong commitment to equity, inclusion, and belonging for students with diverse identities with special focus to students in UMCâ™s residence hall facilities. This position provides leadership for the design, development, and implementation of residential living/learning programs for students. It also provides supervision and oversight for the UMC public safety team. Primary attention shall be directed at the development of an equitable and inclusive campus community that fosters student success, a sense of belonging, and holistic wellness for all students. This position requires highly independent thinking, decision-making, diplomacy, policy development and implementation, problem analysis, and strategic planning. While not required, the Director of Residential Life and Housing is a preferred live-on position. A 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom apartment has been allocated. 

The Director works closely with a variety of campus constituencies including Global Programs, Student Success Center, the Health Center, Counseling Services, Disability Resource Center, Campus Facilities and Operations, Public Safety, the Wellness and Recreation Center, and Dining Services. The position also serves on the campus CARE Team and the campus bias response team. 

Appointment and Reporting:

• Reports to the Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Engagement and Wellness.

Functions and Duties:

Direction and Supervision

• Develop, implement, and evaluate a vision and comprehensive strategic plan for residential life and education that aligns with the universityâ™s strategic plan.
• Provide leadership, direction, and supervision for the 3-person UMC public safety team.
• Remain current and involved with comprehensive student affairs professional associations and emerging trends in the field.
• Recruit, hire, train, evaluate, and continuously develop professional and student staff.
• Oversee daily operations of the four residential life facilities with potential occupancy of over 500 students, which includes occupancy, schedules, student billing, and departmental budgets. 
• Provide leadership in the development and implementation of online housing agreements, room assignments, conduct software, residence life management software, and other technology tools to improve the overall student experience. 
• Responding to crisis situations within the residence halls or involving resident students during and after normal business hours.
• Work in close alignment with facilities management, business affairs, and public safety in ensuring facilities and services are held to a high standard of delivery while providing safe and comfortable environments for the students to live and learn.
• Responsible for developing and maintaining a sound budget strategy complimentary to the Universityâ™s strategic plan. 
• Design and implement assessment strategies for improvement initiatives in residential living and public safety.
• Serve as the main point of contact for residential life on the wellness care team and student conduct committee.
• Performs additional job-related duties as assigned or as appropriate.

Community Development 

• Collaborate across campus in the development of programs and initiatives that support the overall well-being and development of the student as a whole. Specific campus partners include Student Engagement, Student Success, Counseling Services, Educational Programs, International Programs, Wellness Center, and Student Health. 
• Co-manage student crisis response through active involvement with the behavioral intervention CARE Team and as the primary contact for after-hours emergencies. 
• Collaborating with Admissions and Student Life to promote Residence Life and increase residential enrollment.
• Serve on the campus bias response team. 
• Provide friendly and flexible customer service when accommodating housing needs for students and for summer renters.   

Oversight of Residential Life Facilities

• Oversee Residential Life operations, maintenance, facilities, and project management to provide well-maintained, high quality student living environments. 
• Develop a replacement schedule for furniture, technology, carpeting, etc. 
• Develop a strong collaborative working relationship with Facilities.
• Responsible for developing and maintaining a sound budget strategy complimentary to the Universityâ™s strategic plan.  

Community Standards Enactment and Compliance 

• Teach, facilitate, and administer community standards to ensure safe environments for students to live and learn through policy enactment. 
• Mediate disputes and resolve conflicts among students.
• In conjunction with Area Coordinator, enact duty night responsibilities, student staff scheduling, and routine observation. 
• Conduct investigations and hearings in accordance with UMC and UM board of regentâ™s standards.
• Serve as lead student conduct officer responsible for Residential Life carrying out community standards as well as the development and implementation of a comprehensive restorative justice approach, including appropriate educational interventions and disciplinary actions.  

Camps and Conference Services 

• Communicate with camp/conference hosts regularly and in a timely manner. 
• Provide clear guidelines and help hosts with contracting residence hall space. 
• Provide a friendly and welcoming environment for camp participants. 
• Work with Facilities to maintain clean rooms and common areas for camps. 
• Complete check-in and check-out procedures with camp hosts to provide keys and linens and trouble-shoot any issues with rooms. 
• Provide timely invoices and payment collection for each camp/conference.

Compensation and Term:

• 12-month renewable contract.
• Compensation commensurate with experience and qualifications.
• Excellent benefits including health and retirement.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Masters Degree and two years of related professional work experience in housing, student affairs, or a closely related field or Bachelors Degree and 6 years of related professional work experience in housing, student affairs, or a closely related field
• Demonstrated self-awareness, cultural competence, and achievement in working with diverse student populations. 
• Demonstrated commitment to the land-grant mission of the University of Minnesota Crookston, especially as related to access and student success. 
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Proven ability to work collaboratively with faculty, student affairs educators, staff, and students.
• Final job offer is contingent upon a completed background check, receipt of official college transcripts and authorization to work in the United States.  

Preferred Qualifications:

• Graduate degree in higher education, student affairs, counseling or a closely related field.  
• Four years of experience in residential life and housing providing service to college students with diverse identities including first-generation college students; students of various racial, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds; students from low-income families; students from rural communities; diverse population of students; and non-traditional adult learners. 
• Demonstrated ability to develop and manage budgets.
• Ability to live on-campus in a 2-bedroom apartment.
• Display proficiency in eResLife (or similar product) residence life database system.
• Experience supervising professional staff
• Demonstrated knowledge of principles and procedures involved in risk assessment for housing units/communities.
• Proven Skill in developing and implementing student leader selection, training, and supervision. 

About University of Minnesota Crookston

The University of Minnesota Crookston (UMN Crookston) is one of five campuses comprising the University of Minnesota system. UMN Crookston is a four-year public university with an enrollment of 1,800 students, approximately half on campus and half in online degrees.  The student body is diverse and comes from over 40 states and over 30 countries. Thirty-four baccalaureate degrees are offered, 15 of which are also offered online.  UMN Crookston proudly carries on a tradition of over a century of educational service to northwestern Minnesota, beginning in 1906 as a regional residential high school, changing to a two-year college in 1966 and to a four-year college in 1993.  UMN Crookston is a small student-centered community of learning and scholars known for providing personal attention to every student.  UMN Crookston makes a commitment to each individual student’s achievements and offers a hands-on approach and experiential learning that put students ahead of the competition. Integral to the university's statewide land-grant mission, UMN Crookston provides applied, career-oriented learning programs including internships and connects its teaching, research, and outreach to local, co...unty, and regional economic development agencies in support of the global economy. UMN Crookston delivers world?class University of Minnesota degrees in an affordable, close?knit campus setting where faculty and staff personally invest in the success of each student. UMN Crookston has been recognized for its quality programs by such organizations as U.S. News & World Report, which ranked the campus as #1 in the category Top Public Regional Colleges–Midwest for 2020.  U.S. News has ranked UMN Crookston among the top four in this category for the past 23 consecutive years.

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