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RD Position Description

Full-Time Resident Director - Position Description

Position Summary

The Resident Director of a residential area is responsible for developing a balanced program of social, educational, and recreational activities, training and supervising resident assistants, discipline, developing hall governments and other student groups, reporting repairs and maintenance needs, and the general administration of the residential area.

Residential living not only supplements and supports the student's academic endeavors, it also supports the individual emotionally and physically. Resident Directors advise and refer staff and students for diverse problems ranging from academic support to depression. Creating opportunities for student involvement can have significant impact on student retention, as national studies show.

Resident Directors maintain full time office hours, in addition to responding to emergency/crisis situations 24 hours, 7 days a week. Weekend duty is split among the professional live in staff and grad students (when applicable).

Assignments will be made to specific tasks or duties including but not limited to judicial board, license appeals, safety committee, family housing, staff training and selection, leadership training, programming committees, and other departmental and university committees.

Summer duties could include assisting with summer housing, conferences, room assignments, program planning for the academic year, or other duties as assigned by the Area Coordinator, Associate Director for Residence Life, or the Director.

Major Responsibilities

• Staff (25%) - With other professional staff, develop job descriptions and hiring criteria for resident assistant staff. Participate in the hiring process of all student staff after determining staffing requirements of the complex. Assist in the development and presentation of a resident assistant training program, including an academic class, orientation activities, fall and spring training, and on-going training. Directly supervise all paraprofessional student staff. Conduct meetings with staff, including individual conferences as needed. Formal evaluations will occur once per semester.
• Conduct (15%) - Develop, coordinate, and implement departmental, university, and state policy related to conduct for the residential area; train staff on conduct procedures and expectations; confront policy violators; meet with all reported violators that reside in the facility, maintaining documentation for each case and providing appropriate information to other university officials. Investigate facts and establish sanctions on cases in which the student accepts responsibility. Coordinate and participate in referral processes involving the Asst. Director, Director of Office of Student Conduct or Residence Hall Conduct Board.
• Programming (15%) - Develop, implement, coordinate and evaluate an ongoing series of educational, developmental, social, and recreational programs for residents.
• On Call (10%) - Provide 24 hour availability for response to situations that develop in the residence hall or involve residence hall students. These situations include emotional distress, discipline violations, threat of harm to self or others, accidents, serious injury or death, physical or mental illness. Maintenance responses may also be required to coordinate emergency maintenance services after assessing the situation and making decisions on the appropriate action.
• Counseling (5%) - Provide counseling, advising, conflict resolution, and referral to appropriate staff for students with a wide variety of concerns ranging from substance abuse to roommate conflicts or academic or administrative concerns. Counseling may be required at any time of availability.
• Housing Operations (10%) - Coordinate front desk operations that are open nearly 24 hours per day to provide service and security for residents. Follow up on maintenance or housekeeping needs of the complex. Perform housekeeping inspections on routine basis. Maintain key control and room condition reports following departmental policy. Perform other related administrative tasks as necessary.
• Leadership Development (10%) - Directly advise Hall Government and assist with leadership development programs sponsored by the department or University. Provide advice and assistance to the Residence Hall Association and other organized groups within the residence halls.
• Other Assignments (10%) - Other duties or department tasks as assigned by the Area Coordinator/Associate Director for Residence Life or the Director.

Essential Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Knowledge of residential life, operations and procedures, administrative and supervisory experiences, student development theory, counseling and conflict resolution, general higher educational procedures are all critical to the effectiveness of this position.
• Skills essential to this position include: administration, organization, supervision, intervention, emergency response, verbal and written communication, public relations, decision making, advising, counseling, and creativity.
• Primary to one's ability to succeed in this position is the ability to be flexible and adapt to an unusual and changing environment. Living at one's job location can be very demanding.