The Assistant Director of Student Life oversees assigned residence halls and supervises Resident Assistants as a live-in professional staff member. This 12 month position plans and implements residential and campus-wide programming with a focus on community building, health and wellness, diversity, public engagement, and sustainability. They work collaboratively with students, faculty, and staff to promote the holistic development of students in an atmosphere where students are expected to learn from a full range of experiences both in and out of the studio/classroom. The Assistant Director will have shared on-call responsibilities and will help respond to student emergencies. The successful candidate will serve as a leadership figure and role model to students.
Responsibilities:
Residence Life (40%)
- Live in a fully furnished, assigned apartment in a campus residence hall to oversee the operations, staffing, and programming for assigned residence halls by maintaining a significant presence in assigned residence halls;
- Supervise assigned Resident Assistants (RAs) and assist RAs in the development and implementation of social, educational, recreational, diversity, health and wellness, and service programs;
- Assist in the recruitment, selection, and training of RAs and student workers;
- Serve on a 24/7 on-call rotation for the entire college (about 500 students);
- Review and process housing applications, contracts, room inspection forms, room change forms, keys, and other administrative tasks for residential students;
- Coordinate returning housing selection and room change processes. Maintains accurate housing rosters and reports, and communicates housing changes to the Business Office;
- Assist in the review, interpretation, and enforcement of policies and procedures;
- Serve as a student conduct hearing officer and hears first-level judicial cases;
- Works directly with Facilities to ensure timely reporting of building issues and long term care and maintenance of the residence halls;
- Check residence halls regularly for safety concerns and building improvements including coordinating and implementing Health & Safety inspections twice a semester;
- Coordinate building turnover with the Facilities Department to prepare for summer and academic year housing;
- Plan and implement returner housing selection;
- Place incoming students in housing;
- Support the Pre-College program;
- Support Orientation programs.
Student Activities & Retention (30%)
- Represent Student Life on College committees, at staff meetings, and at College-wide events such as Open Houses, Admitted Student Days, Family Weekend, and Commencement;
- Work closely with other Student Life departments including Disability Services and Counseling to support all student needs;
- Plan and implement campus-wide programs;
- Supports the START team and student retention initiatives including direct interventions;
- Oversee Student Government;
- Oversee student clubs and groups;
- Work with Café to plan and support food-related events.
Collateral Assignments (20%, Assigned Each Year By The Associate Dean of Student Life)
- Summer Housing:
- Recruit, select, and train summer Resident Assistants;
- Oversee summer housing;
- Pre-College Program:
- Recruit, select, and train Pre-College Resident Assistants;
- Recruit, select, train, and supervise Pre-College Program Coordinators;
- Work with Business Office to plan rates and occupancy for housing;
- Orientation:
- Develop Orientation for all 4 academic programs;
- Recruit, hire, and train an Orientation Leadership team;
- Coordinate Mail ME, the student’s first art project;
- Supervise Programming Assistants;
- Plan Academic Year RA Training for Fall & Spring;
- Managing the MECA van and authorizing drivers.
Administrative Responsibilities (10%)
- Other duties as assigned.
Required Qualifications & Experience:
- Bachelor’s degree;
- Valid driver's license;
- 3+ years of related work experience; applicable undergraduate roles apply.
Preferred Qualifications & Experience:
- Master’s degree in Higher Education: Student Affairs, College Student Personnel, or similar program highly desired;
- Experience managing student staff, especially Resident Assistants;
- Crisis intervention and student support experience;
- Solid foundation in student development theory;
- Demonstrated commitment to personal and departmental integrity, creativity, collaboration, initiative, and professionalism;
- Experience building an inclusive and welcoming campus environment.
Skills and Abilities:
- Strong advising, programming, problem-solving, and supervisory skills;
- A clear understanding of the importance of co-curricular programming to student learning;
- Enthusiasm and the desire to initiate improvements independently;
- Ability to adapt personal and professional schedule to the College's year-round calendar;
- Ability to make sound judgements and the ability to resolve problems with sensitivity Strong interpersonal communication skills and ability to adapt those skills to different campus constituencies;
- Effective written and presentation skills;
- Strong organizational skills;
- Ability to balance competing demands under pressure.
Other duties:
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
Equal Employment Opportunity:
MECA provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.
This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.
Application process:
Please email your letter of interest, current resume, and diversity statement to studentlife@meca.edu. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.