Director of the Office of Residential Life

Job title: Director of the Office of Residential Life

About the Role The Director of the Office of Residential Life at Illinois Wesleyan University provides the unified vision and leadership for the residential student experience on campus. This full-time, on-campus role oversees housing operations, residential programming, staff supervision, and safety initiatives to foster student belonging and success across 15 residence halls and apartments.

What You'll Do

• Oversee daily and yearly cycles of the residential life program; develop, promote and assess a residential, co-curricular programming model that complements classroom learning; provide experiences for social and academic belonging in residential spaces via 55 student employees across 15 residence halls and apartments; communicate successes and challenges to students, prospective students, families and other stakeholders; execute building opening and closing procedures; assist with new student orientation (pre-orientation, international student orientation and transfer student orientation)
• Coordinate and complete all housing operations for 1400-bed capacity across 15 buildings; ensure timely housing selection and roommate assignment; communicate with campus partners; complete occupancy management exercises, forecasting upcoming academic terms
• Provide leadership for any residential building upgrades, renovations, or new construction; communicate with Physical Plant, Campus Safety and other necessary campus partners regarding ongoing safety, maintenance and emergency issues
• Supervise HR for 5 professional and 65 student workers; hire, train, supervise and evaluate professional staff; oversee development and execution of all housing student worker training (topics: residential curriculum, emergency response, helping skills, policy violations and building operations)
• Collaborate with campus partners to ensure student success; consult with offices such as Student Accessibility Services and Dean of Students to identify and remove barriers to student completion; serve on Student Success Team, Retention Task Force, and other relevant committees; maintain case manager notes in Guardian; facilitate university partnerships between students and university/community partners; partner with McLean County Department of Health; infuse the residential curriculum into Pathways and other signature programs to ensure efficiencies
• Prepare for and respond to campus-wide emergency needs involving students and professionals; serve as member of the University Emergency Response Team; provide leadership on residential campus needs related to public health and other local, state and federal issues; serve in On-Call duty rotation; assist as needed with investigations related to conduct, including Title IX violations

What We're Looking For

• Master’s degree required in preferred fields of study including Higher Education Administration, Student Development or Counseling; Bachelor’s degree and eight years directly related experience may substitute for Master’s
• Minimum of five years’ progressive experience within higher education student housing and student affairs
• Knowledge of student development theories, occupancy management, legal concepts and laws related to student housing
• Occasional evening/weekend work required
• Participates in Student Affairs On-Call rotation; must live within 30 miles of campus for emergency response

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary range: $57,000-$62,000, based on experience
• Generous benefits include health, retirement, considerable time off, and access to multiple tuition programs for employees and dependents
• This is a full-time, on-campus role with on-call responsibilities and opportunities to contribute to campus safety and emergency planning