Area Director

Position Summary:

Reporting to an Associate Director for Residential Life, Pratt’s four Area Directors are integral members of the Residential Life and Housing professional staff and responsible for the overall administration and supervision of RA staff in a residential area of 400-1000 students and multiple residence halls. They ensure community development, student development, and student learning in their areas. The position requires some evening, weekend, and holiday hours; on-campus residency; on-call 4 person duty rotation, and availability outside of regularly scheduled hours for emergencies. Flex time is applied for these requirements.

Position Responsibilities:

● Directly supervise Resident Advisor student staff of 9-15

● Serve as first responder to emergencies, employing mental health first aid and managing crisis response

● Advise Hall Council; help to develop student input and self-governance in the hall.

● Provide student leadership opportunities and training; and facilitate the educational, personal and social growth for a diverse resident population in an inclusive and equitable manner

● Implement community development and student support initiatives to create an environment conducive to student success, engagement and belonging (including office hours and outreach to be available to residents, wellness/student support checks, Starfish flag and referral follow-up)

● Oversee daily activities and program-related services for assigned residence halls; ensure operating standards are maintained; identify residential community and individual student needs. Develop and implement activities and programs to improve residence hall quality of life; develop strategies to support academic and developmental needs of students.

● Provide support and in-hall coordination for Living Learning Communities and Special Interest Housing

● Interpret and enforce Institute and Residential Life and Housing policies and procedures, facilitate mediations and resolve conflicts and make referrals for student conduct action including but not limited to hearing student conduct cases and assigning educational sanctions.

● Participate in the implementation of housing procedures and systems. Ensure student housing records are accurate and all processes are complete. Manage building keys/cores - ensure keys are regularly inventoried, cores are changed, and records are updated.

● Work in close collaboration with Campus Safety and Facilities Management staff in effective administration of residential areas.

● On an annual rotating basis as assigned, provide leadership for one of the departmental concentrations, such as: social media and RA inservice, RA training, housing administration, or RA staff selection

● Regularly communicate with campus partners, students, and student parents/families.

● Teach the spring semester Connections leadership course

● Coordinate the Art of Leadership conference

● Assist in student staff recruitment, selection, and training

● Assist in the room change processes each semester.

● Coordinate, in conjunction with and under the direction of the Associate Director, residential life staff orientation and training programs, including planning and organizing staff development programs

● Participate in the development, implementation and evaluation of on-going departmental strategic planning goals, objectives and initiatives.

● Provide on-site leadership for one of the summer programs (summer housing, conference housing or Pre-College Housing) based on academic year assignment location or on an annual rotating basis as assigned

Experience and Qualifications: Masters Degree and 3 years full-time Residential Life and Housing experience preferred, 2 years full-time required

Knowledge and Skills:

● Strong experience with crisis and counseling response ● Knowledge of and experience with best practices in student learning and development ● Excellent interpersonal skills ● Demonstrated leadership ability ● Demonstrated ability to work effectively