Western Washington University, with over 15,000 students in seven colleges and the graduate school, is nationally recognized for its educational programs, students and faculty. The campus is located in Bellingham, Washington, a coastal community of 90,000 overlooking Bellingham Bay, the San Juan Islands and the North Cascades Mountain range. The city lies 90 miles north of Seattle and 60 miles south of Vancouver, British Columbia. Western has additional sites in Anacortes, Bremerton, Everett, Port Angeles, and Poulsbo. Western is recognized nationally for its successes, such as being named one of the top public master's-granting institutions in the Pacific Northwest for 25 years in a row by U.S. News & World Report.

Western Washington University is committed to achieving excellence through advancing inclusive success, increasing our Washington impact, and focusing on transformational education grounded in the liberal arts and sciences and based on innovative scholarship, research, and creative activity. Western's greatest strength is the outstanding students, faculty, staff, and alumni/ae who make up its community. Western supports an inclusive governance structure for all and provides a learning and working environment in which everyone can thrive. In pursuit of this excellence, individual employees are expected to establish and maintain productive and effective inclusive working relationships amongst diverse populations including staff, faculty, administration, student, and external constituents. Further, individual employees are expected to have the ability to operationalize sustainability concepts (economic, societal, environmental) into all aspects of performing their job duties.

The Care Specialist position is a unique live-in position focused on addressing resident needs related to critical issues that may present barriers to their personal and academic success. The Care Specialists are part of the Residence Life professional staff team and work collaboratively with housing staff and campus partners to successfully meet the needs of residents. The Care Specialist seeks to facilitate wellness in the residence halls through preventative and responsive initiatives and establishing a visible presence within the residential communities The Care Specialists provide critical support, case management, intentional referrals, education and consultation support. This position will report to the Assistant Director for Residence Life, Care and Conduct.

Position Responsibilities: As part of the Care Specialist team, the Care Specialist will:

• Provide case management to help individual residents develop immediate and ongoing action plans that are culturally and developmentally appropriate

• Provide support during crisis situations involving residents (during regular work hours and as part of on-call rotation)

• Provide intentional referrals and/or facilitate connecting residents to campus and community resources

• Provide education and consultation support to Residence Life and University Residences staff

• Serve in a collaborative capacity with critical campus partners (ad hoc and on-going basis)

This position works a Monday through Friday schedule with shortened business hours to allow flexibility in response to after-hours coverage needs. This position requires significant evening and weekend commitments throughout the year, and extended hours during peak times of the academic year (move-in).

• Master’s degree in higher education, social work, counseling, or closely related field.
• Two years of experience working in residence life, social work, counseling, crisis management, student wellness, or a related field; experience can include a practicum placement.
• Experience in and competency working with diverse populations with regard to race, ethnicity, ability status, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
• Demonstrated effective communication and interpersonal skills.
• Experience providing risk assessment, crisis response, and crisis follow up.
• Ability to work independently.

• Experience in or knowledge of student development and operations within student affairs.
• Experience providing outreach programming.
• Demonstrated experience training, supervising, or mentoring employees, students, or volunteers – 18-25 age range.
• Strong organizational and project management skills, with excellent attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines while responding to frequent interruptions.
• Knowledge of the JED Foundation’s Steve Fund framework.

This position requires a fingerprint background check.

Benefits Overview for Administrative Professional Position.

Application materials should address your experience related to the position responsibilities and the required and preferred qualifications.

1. In your cover/application letter and your resume, include how you meet the required and preferred qualifications. 

2. A separate inclusion statement (max. length one page) addressing your demonstrated commitment to equity and inclusion, in addition to the ability to create an inclusive residence hall community.  In the statement, please include examples of your past work that demonstrate your commitment to equity and inclusion in addition to describing how you will contribute to further implement these values at Western Washington University through the position responsibilities outlined above. 

3. Please include the names and contact information of three professional references including a current or past supervisor. 

Western Washington University (WWU) is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer committed to assembling a diverse, broadly trained faculty and staff. Women, minorities, people with disabilities and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply. In compliance with applicable laws and in furtherance of its commitment to fostering an environment that welcomes and embraces diversity, WWU does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex (including pregnancy and parenting status), disability, age, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status or genetic information in its programs or activities, including employment, admissions, and educational programs. See WWU’s Policy on Ensuring Equal Opportunity and Prohibiting Discrimination and Retaliation. Inquiries may be directed to the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance, Title IX and ADA Coordinator, Western Washington University, Old Main 126 (MS 9021), 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA 98225; 360.650.3307 (voice) or 711 (Washington Relay); crtc@wwu.edu

WWU is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities upon request. To request this document in an alternate format or to request an accommodation, please contact Human Resources Disability Services, 360.650.3751 or 711 (Washington Relay).

Annual Security and Fire Safety Report: This report is provided pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act ("The Clery Act"). It includes statistics for the previous three calendar years concerning reported crimes that occurred on Western's campus; in certain off-campus buildings or property owned or controlled by Western; and on public property within, or immediately adjacent to and accessible from, the campus. The report also includes institutional policies concerning campus security, such as policies concerning alcohol and drug use, crime prevention, the reporting of crimes, sexual assault, and other matters. You can obtain a copy of this report in printed or alternate formats by contacting the Office of the Vice President for Enrollment and Student Services at vpsa.office@wwu.edu. The report can be found at: Annual Security and Fire Safety Report.

All new employees must comply with the immunization policy and show employment eligibility verification as required by the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Service before beginning work at WWU. A thorough background check will be conducted on all new hires which includes a sexual misconduct background check.