Location: Hamilton,NY, USA
When extending an offer, Colgate University considers factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, as well as market and organizational considerations.
Benefits
Current Benefits
Colgate University is proud to offer in-depth, competitive benefits that support the health and wellbeing of our employees and their family. The majority of benefits are effective on the date of hire.
We pride ourselves on the scope and quality of the benefits offered toour employees. We invite candidates to visit our Benefits page to learn more about our generous benefits package, which includes but is not limited to:
Health and Wellness:
Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, behavioral health benefits, disability and life insurance, 403 B Retirementwith employer core and matching contributions.
Paid Time Off:
Vacation time (varies based on position classification), sick time, 13.5 holidays including a Winter Recess between Christmas and New Year's and 3 floating holidays.
Paid Family Leave:
After six months of employment, employees become eligible for up to 12 weeks of paid time off up to 67% of salary to a state maximum for bonding with a newborn, adopted or foster child, caring for a family member with a serious health condition or to help after a family member has been deployed to active military duty abroad.
Continuing Education and Professional Development:
Employees and their spouse/domestic partner may take up to 2 courses per semester at Colgate, tuition free with a $20 per course registration fee.
Funding for work related courses to obtain an undergraduate or graduate degree related to your current position.
After 7 years of service in an eligible position an employee's eligible children may be awarded up to half of Colgate's tuition to attend an accredited college, university or trade school of their choice.
Along with a generous benefits package, additional perks unique to Colgate University include but are not limited to free on campus parking, free gym membership with discounts for family members, reduced Seven Oaks Golf Course memberships, University Bookstore discount, free library access, 3 free tickets for any regular season athletic home event, access to Colgate owned Bewkes Center and Glendening Boathouse, free access to all cultural events.
Department Statement
The associate director for lower campus and residential operations is responsible for the broad and comprehensive program management of junior and senior housing, coordinating effective residential housing processes, stewarding financial resources, and providing clear communications within a liberal arts, undergraduate-focused, residential campus. Colgate University students, faculty, and staff are highly collaborative, and intellectually engaged with a genuine interest in working together to create and sustain a vibrant student residential experience.. The successful candidate for this position will demonstrate their ability to excel through their capacity for building and maintaining collegial relationships, operating with a student-centered focus, engaging in creative problem-solving, providing strong attention to detail, and possessing strong skills in the use of housing software. This position is a hands-on educator with a keen interest in operationalizing a residential experience aligned with the developmental interests and needs of junior and senior undergraduates.
The primary responsibilities of this position include the development and oversight of the junior and senior residential experience, on-campus occupancy management, management of housing processes including annual housing selection, the private off-campus housing lottery, and semester break and recess housing (including late stays and early arrival housing). Additional functional areas include working with marketing and communications, office operations, key operations, keyless entry access, damage billing, furniture inventory, and room management (including in emergent situations). As part of the Lower Campus Plan, a priority for the University as part of Colgate's Plan for the Third Century, the position will collaborate with the assistant vice president for residential planning and programs to develop Flex Housing Plans and other processes related to residential renovations and new construction projects.
This position requires strong communication capacity and skills, as it engages often with students and families. The associate director will build and maintain collaborative relationships with colleagues across campus, including with Campus Safety, Fire Safety, Facilities, Fraternity and Sorority Advising, Student Involvement, Student Accounts, Administrative Advising, Student Disability Services, International Student Services, Information Technology Services, Student Health Services, Counseling and Psychological Services, Summer Programs, and the Office of the Dean of the College.
The associate director is a member of the senior leadership team in Residential Life and will lead department staff through housing and operational processes with a collaborative and team-oriented approach. The position provides strong direction and clear communication to students and staff regarding housing operations. The position directly supervises the Assistant Director for Lower Campus and indirectly supervises the Residential Commons Area Director staff as it relates to housing operations responsibilities. The Associate Director reports to the Director of Residential Life. This position will also oversee the residence halls that serve as chapter houses for recognized fraternities and sororities and these chapters' student House Managers.
This position is a required live-on position. As a visible member of the Lower Campus community, the incumbent will connect with residential students in the area, develop a first-hand awareness of the benefits and challenges living in the Junior and Senior community, attend occasional evening and weekend events sponsored by the interest communities and residential communities on lower campus, occasionally dine with junior and senior students, and provide on-site crisis response when needed.
Accountabilities
Junior and Senior Experience
* Lead the development and implementation of the Residential Curriculum for the junior and senior experience.
* In partnership with Fraternity and Sorority Advising, actively engage with students who live in the fraternity and sorority chapter houses to establish positive relationships, convey expectations and provide accountability.
* Oversee theme community development and partnerships. Develop connections with appropriate students, student organizations, campus departments and faculty to enhance theme communities.
* Supervise the assistant director for the Junior and Senior experience.
* Directly select, train, and supervise fraternity and sorority student house managers.
* Maintain high visibility in junior / senior housing areas.
* Partner with Facilities to document and address facility needs for the Lower Campus (junior and senior) area.
Housing Processes
* Implement all housing operations processes in line with department and University goals including assignments, opening, closing, room changes, and selection processes.
* Utilize housing software to contribute to the management of on-campus housing by processing assignments, status changes, waitlists, and other assignment-related requests.
* Coordinate housing assignments during the academic year, breaks, commencement, reunion, summer housing, early arrivals, and late stays.
* Utilize housing software to contribute to the management of Residence Life processes including early arrival and late stay coding, key management, and room condition reporting.
* Utilize housing software to develop, implement, and assess systems and processes that support the off-campus housing lottery process.
* Work with constituent groups such as the Residential Commons, theme housing, fraternities and sororities, and interest groups to determine on-campus housing assignments in line with the educational initiatives of the department.
* Collaborate with the Office of Student Disability Services on student housing accommodation requests.
* Maintain collaborative working relationships with rental organizations and community housing providers for ease of communication about students approved for private off-campus housing.
Data
* Provide data for University administrators and campus partners related to on and off-campus housing.
* Utilize housing software for managing on and off-campus housing-related information including providing detailed occupancy reports, cancellation trends, and historical data as requested.
* Develop and maintain SQL queries to extract and analyze data from relational databases.
* Create and deliver reports and/or dashboards to communicate findings to stakeholders.
* Collaborate with cross-functional teams to understand data needs and support decision-making.
* Conduct data validation and ensure data integrity.
* Assist in designing and implementing data management practices.
Marketing & Communications
* Develop and disseminate housing process communications and educational materials through various channels, including the department website and social media, within University guidelines.
* Research and respond to complex inquiries from students, families, and campus partners in order to provide or clarify information about on and off-campus housing services, options, programs, policies, or procedures
* Assist with the development and administration of the Office of Residential Life housing policies, housing agreement, and general procedures.
Resource Management
* Effectively coordinate a room and building master key inventory; organize key check-in/check-out, and associated billing processes.
* Coordinate the damage billing process in support of fostering a community where accountability and responsibility are highly valued.
* Assist with the development of service agreements for fraternity and sorority houses.
* Assist with annual replacement and long-range furniture planning related to residential furniture in partnership with the Director of Residential Life and Facilities department.
General
* Serve as the department liaison to the housing software vendor, Information Technology Services, and Student Accounts in order to receive applications, make assignments, assess charges, deliver individualized communications, manage data, and generate reports within the housing software.
* Thoroughly train professional and paraprofessional Residential Life staff about partnership and shared responsibilities with facilities staff, and housing operations processes.
* Serve as a member of the Residential Life leadership team, training and preparing members of the live-in professional staff to perform operational functions such as room changes, room inventories, and damage reporting; role model effective communication with members of our diverse community.
* Serve on various campus-wide committees as appropriate.
* Serve in residential life professional staff on-call rotation.
* This position requires living on campus.
* And other projects and job related duties as assigned.
This position will require occasional evening and/or weekend hours. This position will require participation in the residential life on-call rotation. This position requires living on campus.
This position has been designated as a Campus Security Authority (CSA), in accordance with the federal statutory requirements of the Jeanne Clery Act. CSAs are required to and responsible for reporting allegations of crimes they receive from students and employees to the Campus Safety Department.
Technical Competencies
Name Customer Service Description
Demonstrated ability to provide high levels of customer service including timeliness, accuracy, ability to diffuse conflict, and escalate appropriately. Ability to identify needs for improvement and implement changes.
Name Residential Facilities Description
Demonstrated knowledge in building management sufficient to avoid material consequences across multiple facilities.
Name Records & Technology Management Description
Demonstrated knowledge of interrelationships between all key residential housing data sets and relevant systems. Demonstrated understanding and knowledge of residential records and protocols. Sufficient knowledge of technical systems and departmental needs to effectively operate systems.
Name Event Management Description
Demonstrated ability to effectively coordinate events and recommend favorable vendor relationships and favorable contract terms. Demonstrated ability to communicate both written and oral related to planning events.
Name Administrative Procedures Description
Demonstrated mastery of commonly and consistently used Colgate and divisional/functional administrative policies and practices. Has knowledge sufficient to conduct administrative procedures and processes that are most critical to the department/program. Has knowledge sufficient to train others on all core and common administrative procedures. Has knowledge sufficient to create desktop aids or guides in the execution of common administrative procedures and processes. Demonstrated ability to consistently meet functional accountabilities while staying within assigned budget constraints. Demonstrated ability to effectively and consistently apply time management, problem solving, and planning skills in the implementation of processes or programs.
Name Office Productivity Description
Demonstrated ability with all MS office and Google applications, to include: collecting, formatting and organizing moderately complex data via sorting, filters, charts, all basic to intermediate level formulae, including pivot tables. Demonstrated expertise with most commonly used MS word features and functionality, including table of content formatting, mail merges, track changes and other similar features. Ability to edit basic formatting and functional elements of MS PowerPoint. Demonstrated ability to efficiently leverage standard office software to manage calendars, contacts and email correspondence.
Behavioral Competencies
Name Personal Accountability for Results Description
Takes responsibility for decisions, performance, and outcomes; behaves in a responsible manner with a positive attitude; shows self-awareness and openness to feedback.
Name Effective Communication Description
Demonstrates effective written and oral communication skills; shares information and seeks input from others; adapts communication to diverse audiences; protects private and confidential information.
Name Problem Solving and Decision Making Description
Analyzes and prioritizes situations to identify and solve problems; generates solutions to improve efficiency and quality; involves others in solving problems and making decisions; factors organizational goals into decisions; makes clear, transparent, and timely decisions.
Name Change Management Description
Responds positively to changing university initiatives and readily adapts behavior to maintain effective performance; understands the long-term direction of the university and can relate this to departmental area; adapts to new methodologies; identifies and acts on areas where change is appropriate.
Name Leadership and Teamwork Description
Applies skills and knowledge to provide a climate to achieve departmental and organizational success; balances individual and department goals; helps others perform at their best; builds productive relationships to enhance individual and organizational effectiveness; treats others with respect; resolves conflicts among team members.
Name Creativity and Innovation Description
Generates, explores, encourages, and implements innovative ways of creating strategic value for the university, division, department, and individual level; critically assesses the effectiveness of new initiatives.
Name Diversity and Inclusion Description
Demonstrates respect for people and their differences; understands the benefits of a diverse workforce; earns the trust and respect of others; includes and welcomes others; works to understand the perspective of others; promotes opportunities to experience diversity within our community.
Name Sustainability Description
Understands the impact of decision making and personal behavior in achieving the university's commitment to a sustainable and carbon-neutral campus; supports and advances the university's sustainability initiatives; influences others to use sustainable practices.
Requirements
Professional Experience/ Qualifications
Ideal candidates will have well-developed:
* Interpersonal skills to build relationships across areas and to effectively respond to student and family inquiries,
* Knowledge of student development and/or human development theory and practice.
* Experience with database management and related analytical, data management, attention to detail, and problem-solving skills,
* Organizational skills and demonstrated capacity to manage multiple projects and set and organize priorities.
* Experience in maintaining and improving processes.
* Knowledge of database management, including residential housing software
Ideal candidates will bring:
* Appreciation for the educational benefits of residential living with a small liberal arts institution, and
* Enthusiasm about engaging with the diverse students, staff, and faculty with whom the Residential Life team partners.
* A minimum of three years full-time experience in residential life.
Preferred Qualifications
* Advanced understanding of StarRez software is preferred.
* Experience in a residential liberal arts setting is preferred.
* Proficiency in SQL for database querying and data manipulation.
* Strong analytical skills with a focus on data-driven decision-making.
Education
A Bachelor's degree is required.
A Master's degree in higher education, student personnel, or a related field is preferred.
Certifications Physical Requirements Other Information
We have identified a strong internal candidate for this role, but we welcome all applications to ensure we find the best qualified person for our team. If you are passionate and qualified, we encourage you to apply.