Working Title: Area Director - Residence Life

State Role Title: N/A

Position Type: Administrative & Professional (Non-teaching Faculty)

Position Status: Full-Time

FLSA Status: Exempt: Not Eligible for Overtime

College/Division: Student Life and Involvement

Department: 300000 - Residence Life Admin

Pay Rate: Pay Range

Specify Range or Amount: $60,000 - $60,500

Is this a JMU only position? No

Is this a grant-funded position? No

Is this a Conflict of Interest designated position? N/A

Beginning Review Date: 01/17/2025

About JMU:

Mission
We are a community committed to preparing students to be educated and enlightened citizens who lead productive and meaningful lives.

Vision
To be the national model for the engaged university: engaged with ideas and the world.

Who We Are
Located in the heart of Virginia’s beautiful Shenandoah Valley, the city of Harrisonburg is approximately 120 miles from Washington, D.C. and Richmond, VA. With a population of just over 53,000, Harrisonburg is one of the most diverse communities in the Commonwealth of Virginia. JMU is a selective, public institution with a growing national reputation for offering experiences that lead to an outstanding education and inclusive environment for students, faculty and staff. The student body includes approximately 20,000 undergraduate and 1,900 graduate students, with over 1,000 full-time instructional faculty.

JMU offers thriving programs in the liberal arts, science and technology, and professional disciplines at the undergraduate, master’s and doctoral levels. The university is committed to expanding diversity, fostering equity and inclusion, and supporting superlative teaching and scholarship. JMU has achieved national recognition for the high quality of its academic programs, focus on maintaining strong student/faculty interaction, and innovative faculty research.

General Information:

The Office of Residence Life at James Madison University is accepting applications for an Area Director of Residence Life. The Office of Residence Life is committed to designing and maintaining a caring environment that encourages academic success, respect, personal growth and responsibility to one’s community.

The Area Director of Residence Life reports to the Associate Director of Residence Life for Community Development. This person will be part of the Residence Life team that serves 6,700 residential students on a campus that is continuing to grow. We focus on making the students’ residential experience one filled with opportunities to engage and learn about themselves and others. We are a close-knit department with just over 30 full-time staff members and over 200 student staff members.

Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Leadership, Management, and Supervision – Directly supervise 4-9 Hall Directors including undergraduate, graduate and potentially full-time staff. Work directly with Hall Directors to manage hall staff performance, student development, student leadership, student conduct, and hall community engagement. Provide written performance evaluations twice per year for Hall Directors.
2. Student Conduct – Manage administrative processes related to documenting, processing, and follow-up for student behavior. Meet with students and staff to discuss and manage behavioral concerns (mental health, policy/community violations, roommate conflicts, etc.).
3. Crisis Management – Participate in on-call rotation for the residential campus. Provide support to staff during times of crisis.
4. Community Engagement – Using the Curriculum Model, monitor and support hall programming and community engagement efforts. Track and approve the use of hall programming funds. Support Hall Directors’ programming through the Community Learning Plan.
5. Collaboration – Proactively develop and maintain effective, supportive relationships with departmental partners (Housing, Business Operations, Learning Initiatives) as well as with other stakeholders (ie: Office of Student Accountability and Restorative Justice, Title IX, Dean of Students Office, etc.) where such relationships would promote efficiency/effectiveness in fulfilling your job description.
6. Student Staff Selection & Training – Provide active support of student staff selection (RA and HD) and training (pre-service, professional development, PSYC 100) efforts.
7. Committee Work – Serve on departmental and university committees as necessary.
8. Professional Development – Accumulate a minimum of 20 hours of professional development during each performance evaluation period. Obtain hours by attending university, divisional, and department training. Attend conferences, get a certification, or complete other job-related training. Use professional development opportunities to stay relevant to trends and best practices. 

Qualifications:

Required:

• Bachelor’s Degree
• 1+ years Residence Life experience
• 1+ years Supervisory experience
  
  

Preferred:

• Master’s degree in related field
• Direct experience in Residence Life and/or Student Affairs
• Experience supervising residence hall staff
• Experience managing student conduct
• Demonstrated experience managing crisis situations
• Experience with staff training
• Demonstrated experience managing a variety of tasks simultaneously

Additional Posting Information:

JMU’s Dual Career and Community Resources Program is available for candidates that will be relocating to the area. For more information, please visit https://bit.ly/2OTF1NG.

Conditions of Employment:  

Employment is contingent upon the successful completion of a criminal background check.

E-Verify Notice: After accepting employment, new hires are required to complete an I-9 form and present documentation of their identity and eligibility to work in the United States. James Madison University uses the E-Verify system to confirm identity and work authorization.

EEO Statement:

James Madison University is committed to creating and supporting a diverse and inclusive work and educational community that is free of all forms of discrimination. This institution does not tolerate discrimination or harassment on the basis of age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, genetic information, national origin, parental status, political affiliation, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or veteran status.

We promote access, inclusion and diversity for all students, faculty, staff, constituents and programs, believing that these qualities are foundational components of an outstanding education in keeping with our mission. The university is interested in candidates whose experience and qualifications support an ongoing commitment to this core quality.

Anyone having questions concerning discrimination should contact the Office for Equal Opportunity: (540) 568-6991.

Reasonable Accommodation:

If you are an individual with a disability and need assistance searching or applying for jobs please contact us at (540) 568-3597 or jobs@jmu.edu. You may also visit the JMU Human Resource Office, located at 752 Ott Street, Harrisonburg, VA 22807 and we will be happy to assist you.