(Hybrid) Residence Life Specialist-Residence Life-Student Life - West Virginia University

Description

Residence Life within the Division of Student Life at West Virginia University is seeking applications for a Residence Life Specialist.

About the Opportunity:

Under the general supervision of the Assistant Director for Residence Life, the Residence Life Specialist is a full-time, live-in professional staff member responsible for the day-to-day operation of a residence hall of approximately 300-500 students.  The RLS supervises Resident Assistants (RAs) and a full-time desk secretary.  The RLS include (but are not limited to) facilitation of staff development, staff selection, staff training, residence hall programming, residence hall safety and security, facility oversight, student development, student conduct, crisis management, and summer operations support.  The RLS must participate in a rotating on-call duty schedule and be available 24 hours a day during the year.  Weekday, weekend, emergency closure, and holiday duty for the campus is required.

We strongly believe in work-life balance and keeping time for things we love outside our work. WVU offers generous benefits, including:

• 13 paid holidays (staff holiday calendar)
• 24 annual leave (vacation) days per year
• 18 sick days per year
  (for when you’re ill, for when you need time to care for sick family, for your own, or your family’s, regularly scheduled medical appointments. Who is family for the purpose of this leave? A lot of people in your life including immediate relatives and in-laws as well as others considered to be members of your household living under the same roof)
• WVU offers a range of health insurance and other benefits (this position is a benefits-eligible non-classified staff position)
• 401(a) retirement savings with 6% employee contribution match, eligibility to continue health insurance, and other retiree perks. Looking for more retirement benefits information? Check out retirement health insurance benefits, retirement income, and FAQ’s.
• Wellness programs.

What you’ll do:

Develop and Manage a Residential Community

• Implement the residential curriculum model and academic success initiatives.  Actively participate in events and programs that support the residential curriculum model and other university retention initiatives.
• Maintain Community Standards of Conduct.  Train RAs to enforce and document violations of the Community Standards in Advocate System. Adjudicate student conduct cases, review incident reports, schedule conduct hearings, assign and manage educational sanctions, communicate with students and parents regarding cases, ensure timeliness of case management, and guarantee student due process rights.  Support the Office of Student Conduct with case management as needed.
• Serve as building supervisor and facilities liaison.  Assess facility conditions and report safety, security, and other building need issues. Be knowledgeable and train staff on fire or other evacuation/crisis management procedures.  Prepare and facilitate the opening and closing of residential facilities.
• Identify potential risks and respond to student and building crisis situations as they arise.  Provide crisis intervention and referrals as needed. 
• Utilize MyHousing System and communicate with Assignment Office to ensure accurate records of residents.
• Assume assigned summer responsibilities in support of Housing Summer Conferences.  For the RLSs of Oakland Hall East and Oakland Hall West, they will serve at the RLS responsible for summer school housing.

Develop Student Leaders and Supervise Staff:

• Select, train, supervise, and evaluate resident assistants and desk staff. Contribute to the growth and development of staff via regular supervisory meetings and on-going training/feedback.  Enforce department expectations.  Maintain and ensure accuracy of time records in MyTime System.
• Serve as a role model to residence life staff, students, and other constituents.  Create and sustain healthy and effective supervisor/mentor relationships with supervisee/mentee.

Serve as Professional Educator and Administrator:

• Maintain regular office hours as assigned by the department.  Be available in person and/or by phone during other non-office hours, as outlined by the department.
• Attend department and university training, meetings, retreats, and other necessary functions to include those scheduled on evenings, weekends, closures or university holidays.
• Submit departmental paperwork in timely fashion.  Ensure staff members meet departmental deadlines.
• Serve on department and university committees as appointment by the department.
• Assume weekday, weekend, emergency closure, and holiday duty for the campus as needed.
• Other duties as assigned by the department.

Qualifications

• Master’s Degree is required in Higher Education, College Student Personnel, or a related field such as Counseling, Social Work, or Communication. 

A minimum of 1 (one) year experience involving:

• Residence hall or similar housing experience.
• Supervisory/managerial experience.
• Team building

A minimum of two (2) years’ experience involving:

• Experience working with college students
• Activity planning & coordination

• Physical Skills: Job requires the ability to physically respond on site to emergency or crisis situations; requires regular travel around campus to meetings, programs, and other functions; and the ability to perform the task of walking through the hall (s) daily to facilitate accessibility, interpersonal relationships with students, staff supervision, overall coordination of related matters, etc.
• Communication Skills: Ability to read, write, analyze reports, and prepare documents in English.  Requires a thorough working knowledge of English grammar, spelling punctuation and sentence structure.  Ability to speak before groups.  Strong advising and counseling abilities needed.  Requires the ability to develop rapport with all levels of the department as well as faculty and parents.
• Leadership Skills: Requires knowledge of student learning and student development and ability to implement programs to meet residents’ needs.  Designing proactive approaches to develop a cohesive, team-oriented staff is essential. Must demonstrate agility in multitasking and navigating a complex and changing organization.  Requires the ability to make decisions on imperfect information.  Knowledge of University policies and applicable federal and state laws is required.

• Valid US driver’s license required and the ability to drive a van is required.
• Must be able to travel to various residence halls on different campuses and drive a van of students to activities.

West Virginia University is a place of purpose and community. We take pride in our profound impact on the state of West Virginia and are committed to the personal and professional growth of our employees.

From the groundbreaking R1 research at our flagship campus in Morgantown to the career-oriented programs at WVU Potomac State in Keyser, and the technology-intensive programs at WVU Tech in Beckley, the contributions of WVU employees resonate across the state, touching lives and shaping futures.

At WVU, you will discover a supportive community that champions work-life balance and fosters a collaborative atmosphere. Our core values — service, curiosity, respect, accountability and appreciation — unite us as Mountaineers.

We are dedicated to creating an inclusive and engaging working environment and actively seek candidates who bring diverse ideas, approaches and experiences.

Join us at West Virginia University, where your work will make a lasting impact. To learn more about WVU, visit wvu.edu.

West Virginia University is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and is the recipient of an NSF ADVANCE award for gender equity. We value diversity among our faculty, staff and students and invite applications from all qualified applicants regardless of race, ethnicity, color, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, nationality, genetics, disability, or Veteran status.

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