Assistant Director of Residence Life

SAIC

For more than 150 years, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) has been a leader in educating the world’s most influential artists, designers and scholars. Located in downtown Chicago with a fine arts graduate program consistently ranking among the top four graduate fine arts programs in the nation by U.S. News and World Report, SAIC provides an interdisciplinary approach to art and design as well as world-class resources, including the Art Institute of Chicago Museum, on-campus galleries and state-of-the-art facilities. SAIC’s undergraduate, graduate and post-baccalaureate students have the freedom to take risks and create the bold ideas that transform Chicago and the world—as seen through notable alumni and faculty such as Michelle Grabner, David Sedaris, Elizabeth Murray, Richard Hunt, Georgia O’Keeffe, Cynthia Rowley, Nick Cave, and LeRoy Neiman.

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT

Residence Life provides a living-learning community in well maintained downtown facilities designed for the student artist. Student and Professional staff engage in community development, offer fun & educational events and programs, connect students with campus resources and provide 24hr on call support.

ABOUT THE POSITION

Provide supervision and direction to 1 full-time professional staff member, the Residence Hall Director who is responsible for the management of 1 residence hall facilities that house approximately 550 students and 4-6 Nuveen Center Peer Advisors.  Serves as primary conduct manager for the residence halls, monitors all on-campus conduct incident report tracking and assigns conduct cases to appropriate staff members. Research current trends for educational sanctions in higher education settings. Lead grant funded Nuveen Center for International Learning including managing student staff, physical space, and programming initiatives. Leads wellness programming in residence halls. Promotes, educates and assesses meal plan usage.  Advises and assists students by identifying their personal/emotional concerns.  Monitors, evaluates, purchases and reports on capital assets in  the residence halls.  Manages budgets.  Serve in on-call duty rotation. Evening and weekend commitments should be expected.

RESPONSIBILITIES 

Staff Supervision - Supervise and provide leadership for 1 full-time professional staff Hall Director and the Nuveen Center Peer Advisors (students). Communicate expectations and monitor work processes. Provide on-going direction & feedback about performance through weekly 1:1 meetings. Evaluate performance, including conducting performance evaluation, to ensure they  are equipped to perform their roles effectively and efficiently and attend to their professional development. Assist in recruitment and hiring of direct reports, including reviewing applicant materials, conducting candidate interviews, and offering recommendations for hiring. 

Student Conduct - Serve as primary conduct administrator for the residence halls; monitor and review all on-campus conduct incident reports; track and monitor conduct cases using Symplicity database, distribute cases to appropriate staff members; with leadership of Assistant Dean for Student Affairs for Student Support and Conflict Resolution research and stay current on trends for educational sanctions in higher education; create and implement training for all Residence Life professional staff members regarding departmental philosophy, symplicity database, and expectations regarding student conduct; create semester and yearly reports regarding conduct violation trends, conduct officer timelines and make recommendations on improvements to structure and implementation of conduct process; review student handbook policies; process guest and visitor & lost ID logs for trends/behaviors in violation of policies

Nuveen Center For International Student Learning - Provide direct oversight of the Nuveen Center, a grant-funded program center geared towards providing students with an inclusive space for cultural learning and inclusion; inclusive of supervising student staff, advising programmatic efforts, maintaining relationships with the Nuveen Benevolent Trust, creating the annual report, assessing programming, track and manage $30,000 budget, and maintaining grant-funded status.

Lead Wellness Programming in Residence Halls - Create, coordinate and manage diverse wellness initiatives and programs; work with Health and Wellness SRA and committee to provide passive and active programming in the halls; manage the allotted budget.

Capital Purchasing - Collaborate with the Assistant Dean to manage Capital Asset Budget for repair and renovation of the residence halls, including investigating products, placing orders, suggesting repair and replacement schedules and providing leadership in coordinating delivery of items.

Food Service/Meal Plan - Create and implement meal plan marketing initiatives to educate, promote food service/meal plan to prospective and current students; create tracking reports; assess meal plan usage on per semester and yearly basis

On-Call Responsibility & Student Support - Participate in 24-hour on-call rotation with live-in professional staff colleagues; recognize that residence halls are open 365 days/year and therefore being on-call during holidays should be expected; respond to student and/or facilities issues/crises in person 24-hours a day; high level of in-person response to mental health concerns, other student support situations should be expected; professional staff may be asked to respond to the hospital if a student is transported via ambulance; consistent communication with Dean On-Call during crisis/emergency situations; maintain accurate incident reports using Symplicity Advocate Software; work with Residence Life and Student Affairs team to respond to critical incidents on campus; work with other departments including IRFM, Campus Security, Wellness Center, and others to provide appropriate response to crises. Identify personal and emotional concerns of students; provide appropriate resources and referrals; track and monitor student issues using Symplicity database; maintain contact with parents and other constituencies as appropriate.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) - Participate and assist in DEI initiatives within SAIC including programming and training. Ensure all initiatives within area respond to the needs of a diverse student body.

Training: In-Hall Professional Staff & Student Staff - Actively participate in formal training programs for professional staff; provide on-going training for professional staff as needed; assist in the development and revision of a departmental training philosophy. Actively participate in formal training programs for student staff (RAs, Summer staff and OAs); provide on-going training for student staff as needed; assist in the development and revision of a departmental training philosophy.

Advise Resident Student Staff Committee -  Advise Health and Wellness committee with a Senior Resident Advisor; meet regularly with SRA to provide direction for committee and plan programs that response to the needs of the residential community; attend weekly meetings and be present during programs; attend to the leadership development of committee members; monitor budget

Budget Management - Monitor, manage, and coordinate reconciliation efforts for assigned budgets; Lead Residence Hall Director in monitoring, managing and coordinating reconciliations efforts for assigned budgets and College Work Study (CWS); Provide ongoing training to RHD to understand budgeting goals

Live-in Position - This is a 12-month, live-in position; weekend and evening commitments should be expected; assist on-call staff as needed for student and/or facilities issues/crises (e.g., fire alarms, flooding, multiple student issues, etc.); allowed one weekend away each month (to be approved by supervisor).

Student Advocacy/Outreach - Develop and maintain rapport with residents through regular student contact; attend floor meetings as needed; assess needs and concerns of residents; advocate for students in all aspects of their housing and educational experience.

Liaison with other Departments - Serve as liaison with other departments and offices on campus including: Campus Security, Instructional Resources and Facilities Management, President’s Office, Office of Student Affairs, Health Services, Counseling Services, Academic Advising, Information Services, CRIT, Admissions.

Assist with Residence Life & Office of Student Affairs Programs - Assist with departmental programs and events such as RA Selection, RA training, Move In, Move Out; Assist with OSA departmental programs such as Halloween Ball, Holiday Art Sale, Spring Art Sale, Leadership Dinner; serve on school committees and various work groups as assigned.

Student Success - Provide leadership and oversight toward the goal of overall student retention. Provide individualized care to address student concerns within Residence Life, and work to eliminate barriers to retention. Utilize resources at your disposal through other departments, such as Student Financial Services, Academic Advising, Contemporary Practices, Counseling Services, and Health Services to provide a coordinated response to student needs.

Community Development - Actively work with Residence Hall Directors to ensure effective resident outreach efforts (e.g. intentional conversations and co-curricular programming) in the residence hall

Communication - Maintain regular contact with appropriate resources to ensure effective operation of residence halls; communicate facility issues to appropriate areas in a timely fashion; communicate student issues/crises; respond to parental communication as appropriate; share necessary information to RAs during staff meetings; meet weekly with supervisor; provide written reports as requested by department head.

Quality Service - work with the Assistant Dean to provide quality service to all internal and external constituents at SAIC. Quality service includes responding in a prompt and professional manner to all student or guest concerns as well as working with others at SAIC to provide assistance when needed.  Quality service also includes setting a high standard of service for all full-time staff and student staff, training that staff appropriately, and holding that staff accountable to this standard. 

Other Duties as Assigned*

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer;
• Walk to other buildings on campus for meetings and programs; occasional standing requirements include facilitating programs, move-in and move-out, orientation and other large-scale events;
• Occasionally moves about inside the office to access file cabinets, office machinery, etc.
• Constantly operates a computer and other office productivity machinery, such as a copy machine and printer.

QUALIFICATIONS

Master’s Degree with at least two years professional experience

• Effective communication skills
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite
• Ability to work with diverse populations, including multicultural experience, cross-cultural communication skills and the ability to create and promote an inclusive community
• Demonstrated collegiality and leadership ability
• Student-focused candidate with experience supervising staff (paraprofessional or professional), developing community, advising student groups, working with other student affairs offices, or promoting student learning in a residence hall setting
• Basic understanding of mental health and mental health support
• Skills in crisis management, counseling, mediation, student referrals and understanding of working with artist
• Strong written and verbal skills. Ability to effectively communicate in a dynamic and fast-paced environment.
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to prioritize work.
• Be a self-starter with a demonstrated ability to plan, organize and prioritize strategies and tasks in an independent way.
• Exhibit strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work effectively with a wide range of constituencies in a diverse community

Salary Grade 7

BENEFITS

We offer a competitive, comprehensive benefits package:

• Generous paid time off
• Paid holidays (up to 14 days)
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Generous parental, caregiver, and medical leave benefits
• Competitive retirement plan (up to 9% matching contribution)
• Tuition remission and Tuition Exchange Program
• Great employee discounts
• Complimentary general admission to participating cultural institutions
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CLOSING STATEMENT

The Art Institute of Chicago is an Equal Opportunity Employer that recruits, hires and promotes qualified individuals without regard to race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, ancestry, veteran status or citizenship. The Institute complies with federal and state disability laws and makes reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact the Department of Human Resources at apply_help@artic.edu.