DIRECTOR OF RESIDENTIAL LIFE - USA

START DATE: JULY 2025

CLOSING DATE: UNTIL FILLED

The UWC-USA program – a two-year experience that integrates our Academic, Co-curricular, and Residential programs – prepares students to serve as catalysts for greater unity, peace and sustainability in the world. We support students in the practice of our mission during their two years on campus and challenge them to live our mission for a lifetime. The Director of Residential Life is a core member of the administrative team and works across departments to ensure the safety, well-being and success of our students. This role requires a keen eye towards risk management, dynamic problem solving, collaboration and flexibility.

Job description:

This role serves as the primary liaison between the daily life of students and the various departments/structures of the school. The Director of Residential Life is responsible for implementing policies, programs, and practices that enable a culture of healthy community living, responsible citizenship, and meaningful leadership in living the UWC mission. This role provides day to day support by coordinating residential life programming to enable a robust and outstanding student experience. The role requires the individual to live on campus in a boarding school environment. This position reports to the Dean of Students and works directly with students, faculty, and staff, supervising the Residential Coordinators and other residential team members. The Residential team works together to empower a student-led residential community based on UWC-USA’s mission and values.

Description of Duties:

• Proactively builds a culture of safety, respect, and responsibility in the student body and in cross-departmental collaboration

• Utilizes diversity, equity and inclusion framework in supporting student advocacy

• Integrates health and wellness protocols into all student programming

• Cultivates student empowerment and leadership while at the same time ensuring students have clear boundaries and consistent mentorship

Staff Management and Dorm Team Coordination:

• Supervises Residential Coordinators, holds staff accountable for tasking, report writing and other duties.

• Coordinates faculty to support dorm wellness

• Manages and coordinates professional development opportunities for Residential Coordinators:

• Maintains complex scheduling to ensure 24/7 student support

• Conducts regular check-ins with staff and performance appraisals

• Leads weekly residential team meetings, and ensures follow up from identified action items

• Rotates through an AOD on-call schedule with other administrators on duty

Student Supervision:

• Leads/coordinates Residential Assistant program and meetings

• Works with the Dean of Students to oversee the curriculum for the RA content areas

• Coordinates and posts residential staff and faculty assignments for coverage throughout the week, including weekend supervision

• Oversees planning for weekend campus activities, including special events

• Working with the Transportation Manager, helps organize and approve student travel needs, transportation to and from school for all vacations, along with student travel for college visits and for special visits home

• Assists Basecamp Coordinator with Get Away Family program and summer opportunities for students

Wellness:

• Attends weekly Health Team meetings and helps track and respond to emergent health needs

• Coordinates student care in collaboration with the Dean of Students, residential staff, counselors, Health Team, and faculty

• Ensures that appropriate adults are kept informed and/or involved in individual student issues

• Responds to changing needs of student body reflective of external factors such as seasonal changes and emergent concerns related to local environmental challenges

Restorative Justice and Disciplinary Matters:

• Supports school policy with regard to the Code of Conduct, including preventing and addressing substance use, developing a culture of restorative justice through consistent application of RJ processes

• Compiles violations of residential rules from Residential

• Coordinators, and keeps the Dean of Students informed of patterns in student behavior

• Documents meetings related to student misconduct or student concerns, including violations of school rules

Student Arrival and Orientation:

• Collaborates with faculty to design and support student orientation, including a 5-day Residential Assistant retreat

• Organizes, coordinates and supervises student arrivals, dorm check ins, and communication around dorm expectations

• Collaborates with Director of Admissions to communicate and transport admitted students

Student supervision and staffing:

• Supports residential staff to assure adequate supervision of student activities

• Reviews and approves student-led event proposals

• Encourages weekend activities to facilitate a relaxed learning and growth environment on campus

• Supports Residential Coordinators with roommate conflicts

• Coordinates safety checks, fire drills and other safety needs with Director of Security

Program Support:

• Participates in/helps lead Co-curricular activities as needed

• Coordinates Residential Life schedule and logistics in conjunction with Co-curricular and Residential Teams

• Supports documentation as needed for related program costs, contracts and invoices

• Leads one expeditionary learning week per year, provides on-call support for the other (Southwest Studies and Project Week)

Data Management:

• Leads Residential Team in conducting student housing assignments

• Maintains Student Master Information List details (dietary, allergy, gender, etc.)

• Documents and follows up with housing needs (room maintenance requests, room changes)

• Coordinates Student Life transportation

• Manages school-wide student management software (REACH).

• Trains staff and students on how to use the software.

• Event proposal processing & tracking

• Participates in Incident Debriefs as needed

• Works collaboratively with the Dean of Students to align daily execution and strategic objectives

• Maintains and implements residential policies and procedures

• Updates and maintains the Residential Life Staff Manual

• Manages and documents Residential Life spending, credit reports, disbursement requests, contracts and other Business Office related items

• Manages and documents facility needs, works collaboratively with the Director of Facilities and Senior Operations Manager to ensure safety of facilities and student well-being in residential halls

• Other duties as requested by the Dean of Students

  
  

Leadership:

• All UWC-USA employees are expected to provide varying levels of leadership in order to support the UWC mission. Examples include but are not limited to:

• Actively participating and contributing to committee or task force assignments, providing leadership in campus-wide events or initiatives, strategic planning efforts, in the experiential education program, the dormitories, dining hall, and/or in physical plant initiatives.

• Initiating strategic discussions and sharing thoughtful and innovative ideas with co-workers for carrying out the UWC mission and successfully completing day to day work assignments.

• Demonstrating a growth mindset by believing and acknowledging that intelligence, skills, learning and creativity can all grow with time and experience.

• In all interactions, upholding the UWC mission and values, and creating an environment that promotes and values diversity, equity and inclusion.

Position Qualifications:

Required Qualifications:

• Strong identification with the vision, mission and values of UWC-USA and ability to articulate and translate them in strategic and day to day implementation of programs

• Demonstrated interest and experience in supporting youth development and social emotional learning in cross cultural settings

• Experience in Residential Life and/or a boarding school environment

• Superior organizational and time management skills

• Superior interpersonal and communication skills, including ability to facilitate complex conflict resolutions

• Commitment to learning and modeling constructive engagement of conflict among colleagues and students

• Commitment to learning and modeling personal, communal, and environmental sustainability

• Ability to use good judgment in establishing priorities and assessing and engaging difficult situations

• Exemplary discretion and confidentiality

• Ability to collaborate with colleagues across the curriculum

• Program development, delivery and evaluation

• Skilled in logistical systems, written communication, data tracking

• High level of competency with Google suite

• Desire to contribute creatively and effectively to residential and co-curricular education program to best reflect the UWC-USA mission and values

• Comfort with a highly diverse residential living community and relevant experience with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives

Desired Qualifications:

• Masters degree in Social Work, Human Services, Education or related field

• Experience using REACH Boarding and Veracross data management software

• Experience in counseling or social work, and/or extensive experience with adolescents in a residential setting

• Training in First Aid, CPR, Youth Mental Health, Wilderness First Responder

• Knowledge of the UWC-USA program strongly preferred

  
  

Living conditions:

• Living on the UWC-USA campus required

• Evenings and weekends required, including on-call flexibility

This position description is intended to indicate the kinds of tasks and levels of work difficulty required of the position, and shall not be construed as declaring what the specific duties and responsibilities of any particular position shall be. It is not intended to limit or in any way modify the right of management to assign and direct the work of employees under supervision. The listing of duties and responsibilities shall not be held to exclude other duties not mentioned that are of similar kind or similar level of difficulty.

Please send your full CV and a cover letter to: hr@uwc-usa.org.

www.uwc-usa.org