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Live-In Requirement: This position requires residence in a University-provided on-campus apartment or off-campus within a 15-mile radius of the Dobbs Ferry campus as a condition of employment.

Job Summary:

The Director of Housing and Residential Life provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for a comprehensive residential program serving approximately 800 students across multiple residence halls and two campuses (Dobb Ferry and Manhattan). This role ensures that residential operations, student engagement, safety protocols, and community standards align with Mercy’s mission and commitment to student success. The Director maintains a visible and active presence within the residential community and serves as a senior leader in crisis response, student conduct matters, and emergency management. The Director is required to live either in the one-bedroom, furnished apartment on the Dobbs Ferry campus or within a 15-mile radius in order to ensure leadership presence and effective response to campus needs.

Essential Job Functions & Responsibilities:

• As a condition of employment, the Director of Housing and Residential Life is required to live in an on-campus apartment or within a 15-mile radius of campus, and to provide onsite leadership evenings, weekends, and holidays as needed
• Provides leadership oversight of all residential operations, including facilities coordination, partnerships, risk management, and occupancy strategy, ensuring operational efficiency and a sage, high-functioning residential environment
• Leads cross-departmental collaborations with Facilities, Campus Safety, Student Financial Services, Academic Affairs, etc. to align housing operations with institutional enrollment and student success goals
• Analyzes trends for residential occupancy and retention data to inform planning and continuous improvement of housing operations
• Develops and implements a comprehensive residential student experience structure that integrates community standards, engagement initiatives, and crisis response protocols to enhance student persistence and student satisfaction
• Responsible for meeting residential occupancy goals for each semester and creating and maintaining partnerships that maximize usage in summer
• Responsible for the day-to-day operation of all residential areas and staff
• Establish and maintain the long-term vision for the Residential Life experience within the Division of Student Engagement
• Using independent judgment and discretion: plans; budgets resources; develops procedures by interpreting guidelines, policies, regulations, and laws; provides direction in the daily operation to ensure the University’s goals and objectives are achieved
• Recruits, selects, hires, and trains all professional staff and oversees the selection, hiring, and training of all student staff associated with the residential operation. This includes establishing and managing the on-call structure and rotation. This position serves on the on-call role
• Supervises, guides, and directs staff through training, task delegation, audit, evaluation, and interpretation of applicable federal, state, and University guidelines, policies, regulations, and laws to ensure an effective and efficient staff capable of providing high quality customer service
• Reviews, implements, develops, and recommends as needed effective residence hall policies and protocols associated with residential living as well as emergency and crisis response
• Develops and manages the fiscal operation of Residence Life including personnel, training, staff development, travel, office equipment and programming. Submits budget requests, planning documents and other reports as requested
• Collaborates with colleagues on individual student issues while also supporting broader departmental initiatives
• Assists in the University’s response to students in crisis or to general crises affecting the University. This may include working with individual students in response to their needs or serving as part of a team of professionals assigned to work cooperatively in response to a crisis and/or emergency (e.g. Threat Assessment Team, Behavioral Intervention Team, and/or the Emergency Response Staff, CARE, etc)
• Works with the Director of Strategic Initiatives and Assessment to evaluate residential student satisfaction, residential student learning outcomes, and evaluates the quality of service delivery to ascertain valuable feedback that shapes Residence Life and Student Engagement policy and procedure decisions. Aligns residential programming and educational opportunities with student learning, student success, and student development initiatives
• Oversees the performance of Health and Safety Inspections and provides assistance during emergency response drills
• Assumes the responsibility for the opening and closing of residential facilities at the start and end of each academic semester as well as summer housing. Oversees the annual move-in and move-out processes, including the coordination of staff, student staff, and volunteers
• Participates in University events that support the academic mission of the University, the work of students, the goals of student organizations, and the mission of the Student Engagement team. This includes but is not limited to Orientation, Commencement, and Admissions events. This also includes participation at night and on weekends
• Develops and cultivates throughout Residential Life a customer service approach ensuring that all constituents are served in a fast, friendly, efficient and effective manner. Develops and maintains positive and professional customer service and/or relations within the office/department and with all constituencies to include students, faculty, staff, guests, family members, and employees
• Safety protocols and issues are reviewed each summer and communicated through ongoing training.  Goals are set to ensure a safe and healthy workplace and a reduction in work related absences. Any violation of safety rules are addressed promptly and appropriately
• This position is designated as a “responsible employee” who has the authority to redress sexual violence, who has the duty to report incidents of sexual violence or other student misconduct, or who a student could reasonably believe has this authority or duty
• Performs other duties as assigned

Required and Preferred Skills & Experience:

• Minimum of five (5) years of full-time Residential Life experience preferred
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with university constituencies, including administrators, students, faculty, staff, parents, alumni and friends of the institution. Demonstrated commitment to customer service. Excellent interpersonal skills, to include written and verbal
• Experience in Residential Life training and supervising both professional and student staff
• Minimum of 3 years supervising full-time professional staff preferred
• Experience planning and implementing a residential curriculum or residential program model. Experience with Residential Life programming, community development, and assessment of same. Experience with strategic planning
• Ability to develop and implement Residential Life policies and procedures that are consistent with student success, student learning, and student development theories. Proven ability to develop and manage programs, people and resources, including financial resources. Knowledge, training, and skills in counseling and responding to Residential Life crisis situations
• Demonstrated progressive professional responsibilities and experiences in Residential Life and Housing. Experience managing crises, student emergencies, and/or on-call responsibilities
• Experience working with Behavior Intervention Team or CARE teams and/or managing resident cases
• Experience with StarRez or similar housing management software platforms
• Experience service as a student conduct hearing administrator and utilizing Maxient or a similar software preferred

Education Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree required
• Master’s Degree in higher education administration, student affairs, counseling, or a related field preferred