Manager, Residence Life

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Term: 12 months

Term: 20 months

These positions are being offered as a Secondment or contract opportunities.

Job Description:

Primary Purpose

The Manager, Residence Life is accountable to the Assistant Director, Student Development and Residence Life for strategic development and direct implementation and management of the Residence Life program within the Department of Housing and Residences. This includes supervising the Residence Life Co-ordinators and the Case Support Co-ordinators, implementing programs and services that directly impact the student experience, implementing and managing student conduct and crisis intervention and overseeing the hiring and training programs for all Residence Life staff. This position is responsible for the oversight of a $1.6M budget annually which includes salaries and Residence Life activities such as program development, community engagement, professional development, and recognition.

The Manager, Residence Life is part of an interdependent and collaborative team committed to integrating the student voice and connecting research and evaluation to our practice in order to continuously build on our understanding of our students' wants and needs and on our knowledge of how living environments contribute to student success. Our curricular approach facilitates the design and delivery of experiences and services so that students achieve priority developmental and educational outcomes.

Key Accountabilities

Curriculum Design and Delivery

· Decides upon, designs, and delivers Student Development and Residence Life’s (SDRL) programs and services so that students achieve priority developmental and educational outcomes. Curriculum development focuses on the first-year student experience, the upper-year experience, and the graduate student experience in residence.

· Creates an engaging and transparent culture with residents. This includes building positive relationships between students and Housing staff and leading initiatives to integrate the student voice into all of our work.

· Supports and contributes to the focus of advancing the University of Waterloo’s Housing priority goals of investigating how living environments contribute to student success and understanding the wants and needs of Waterloo students, and Housing Department’s Mission. The Research and Evaluation Strategy is a shared strategy designed to be inclusive of staff from across all parts of The Department of Housing and Residences and to foster collaboration with partners across the University of Waterloo. The Research and Evaluation Strategy’s purpose is to engage all partners in connecting research and evaluation to policy, programs, and practice.

· Researches trends, issues and best practices in residence life and student development in Canada and the United States, ensuring regular reviews and assessment of practice and process are conducted and recommendations generated.

· Creates and implements intentional plans for orientation, programming and community development in each residence area, that foster student learning and engagement in opportunities to support academic success and learning outside the classroom. This includes working closely with the Student Development Management Team.

· Creates and implements programs for student leadership opportunities and recognition in residence. Oversees the operations of the Residence Councils, which serve all undergraduate students living in residence.

Build and maintain strategic relationships

· Builds and maintains strong cross-functional working relationships within the department. Works collaboratively to aid in the achievement of goals and to resolve escalated issues.

· Works collaboratively with campus colleagues including, but not limited to, Campus Wellness, Police Services, the Faculties, and the Office of Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion to determine student needs and to coordinate interdepartmental efforts of student support.

· Actively participates in and contributes to agreed-upon working groups and committees across campus that aim to enhance student wellness and engagement.

· Represents Housing by engaging with relevant associations and groups that may include, CACUSS, OACUHO, ACUHO-I, ACPA, and NASPA.

Case Management and Student Wellness

· Manages the investigation and administration of complex and critical student cases in residence. This includes cases of sexual violence, domestic violence, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and death in residence.

· Leads the case management strategy developed to address role clarification and thresholds, internal practices that can sustain increases of student wellness cases, pro-active skill building through a curriculum development, and communication and relationship strategies with campus partners and the Kitchener-Waterloo community.

· Connects regularly with direct reports (Case Support Co-ordinators) to discuss high-level wellness cases and cases of misconduct. Advise on cases and in high-level events, make final decisions to be initiated by direct reports. Regularly reviews strategy and protocol enhancements submitted by Case Support Co-ordinator(s).

· Initiates and oversees the development of internal Housing polices/procedures related to student wellness and community standards, including return from hospital protocol, emergency relocation procedure, wellness checks, behaviour contract meetings, etc.

· Maintains knowledge base about residence policies and internal judicial processes. Be knowledgeable about campus policies (i.e. Policy 33, 34, 42 and 71) and federal/provincial legislation (i.e. Canadian Human Rights Act) and to identify when a residence student’s behaviour intersects these policies and may require a coordinated campus response.

· Ensures that an atmosphere of mutual respect and consideration is fostered in each residence by educating students about both their rights and responsibilities with the residence community. This will include administration of a fair and consistent residence conduct program in accordance with the policies and procedures developed by Residence Life, the Department and the University.

· Develops, implements and manages an effective crisis response program, which includes managing proactive suicide prevention strategies and a 24-hour-a-day, 7-day a week on-call system for residence life staff (Dons and Co-ordinators). The Manager is responsible for monitoring and responding to all crisis situations that occur in residence.

Recruitment and Supervision

· Recruits and directly manages 5-6 full-time employees: 4-5 Residence Life Co-ordinators and one Case Support Co-ordinator.

· Provides excellent leadership to direct reports in the incumbent's area of responsibility. This includes creating and maintaining positive working relationships by establishing a clear set of reasonable and mutually agreed upon expectations, effectively measuring and evaluating performance and providing feedback and coaching.

· Oversees the coordination of student-staff recruitment, selection processes and training programs ~150 student-staff annually: pre-service training, yearlong professional development, evaluation, rewards and recognition.

Required Qualifications

Education

· University degree required; Master’s or equivalent in a related field (e.g. Leadership, University Housing, Student Affairs) is an asset.

Experience

· A minimum of 5 years of progressive management experience in Residence Life or equivalent programs.

· Experience managing/leading a team in a student service.

· Experience managing a complex set of competing priorities; case management, emergencies and responding to the personal crises of individual residents is required.

· Experience in advising students, provision of support plans and safety plans, case management, emergency response, conflict mediation, program development and student conduct and judicial affairs in residence communities.

· Proven leadership and problem-solving skills. Comfort working as a member of a team composed of individuals with varying responsibilities.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities

· Knowledge of student development theory and student needs in higher education.

· Competencies will include strategic and critical thinking, people management, facilitation, interpersonal, organizational and communication skills, crisis management and the ability to inspire integrity.

· Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively, build consensus and be sensitive to the needs and interests of various stakeholders, and contribute to the functioning of a diverse team both within the department and across the institution.

· Demonstrated ability to contribute to and thrive in a collaborative environment and to apply a positive team approach to working with colleagues.

· Demonstrated ability to use and interpret data to make decisions, and communicate results effectively to various stakeholders.

· Proven ability to take initiative and be both creative and flexible, with demonstrated ability to work well both independently and as part of a team.

· Possess strong interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to communicate effectively both written and verbally. Comfort speaking in front of groups of people (i.e. students, staff, parents, peers, University administrators and colleagues from other institutions), and communicating high-level thinking and vision.

· Possess strong facilitation skills, and ability to communicate effectively to diverse audiences, including one on one and in group settings.

· Demonstrated ability to manage a variety of ongoing projects, tight deadlines, stay organized and prioritize effectively.

· Basic proficiency in MS Office.

· Financial acumen, with the ability to prepare and supervise budgets and authorize project and event expenditures.

· An understanding of and willingness to engage in assessment and on-going program evaluation as a central component of strategic planning and program development to ensure student engagement, satisfaction and learning outcomes.

Equity Statement

The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is coordinated within the Office of Indigenous Relations.

The University values the diverse and intersectional identities of its students, faculty, and staff. The University regards equity and diversity as an integral part of academic excellence and is committed to accessibility for all employees. The University of Waterloo seeks applicants who embrace our values of equity, anti-racism and inclusion. As such, we encourage applications from candidates who have been historically disadvantaged and marginalized, including applicants who identify as First Nations, Métis and/or Inuk (Inuit), Black, racialized, a person with a disability, women and/or 2SLGBTQ+.

Positions are open to qualified candidates who are legally entitled to work in Canada.

The University of Waterloo is committed to accessibility for persons with disabilities. If you have any application, interview, or workplace accommodation requests, please contact Human Resources at hrhelp@uwaterloo.ca or 519-888-4567, ext. 45935.