The Residence Life Office is looking for a dynamic and energetic individual to join the team. The Residence Life Office is committed to the development of a safe and inclusive living-learning community that fosters academic, social, cultural, and personal growth. We strive to enable residents to develop respect and responsibility for themselves and their community.

The Senior Associate Director of Residence Life provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for designated areas within a comprehensive, multi-campus Residence Life program serving 20,000 residential students on twelve campuses. This position supports the development of residential communities that promote student success, wellbeing, and belonging, through the supervision of professional staff, coordination of student support practices, and collaboration with campus and divisional partners.  

The Senior Associate Director serves as a member of the Residence Life leadership team and works collaboratively with Housing and Food Services, other Student Affairs departments, Commonwealth Campus leadership, and University Park partners to support high-quality residential environments and student-centered operations. This position provides leadership and supervision to crisis response, organizational initiatives, human resource development, student support systems, and operational effectiveness across all residential campuses and targeted functional areas.  

This position is not a live-in role and requires routine travel to campuses as well as the ability to respond to emergencies or critical incidents. Living within a minimum radius of Penn State University Park campus will be necessary for Residence Life emergency response. 

In addition to the above information, specific responsibilities of the Senior Associate Director include:  

Student and Community Development 

• Oversee the planning, implementation, and evaluation of case management within the residential communities, including student conduct, conflict response, coordinated CARE and BTMT support, follow-up interventions, and the day-to-day needs of residential students 

• Oversee the residential climate reporting system, ensuring timely review, coordinated follow-up, and consistent reporting processes that support institutional compliance and operational effectiveness 

• Foster meaningful faculty and staff engagement in residential communities through collaborative initiatives that enhance student learning and community development 

• Participate in the evening and weekend senior Residence Life on-call rotation and respond to crises, emergencies, and critical incidents affecting residential communities across twelve residential campuses 

Supervision 

• Supervise and lead professional staff, including the Senior Assistant Director for Commonwealth Campuses and Residence Life staff located at eleven Commonwealth Campuses 

• Plan and provide training and professional development and evaluate job performance 

• Plan and facilitate staff meetings 

• Provide system-wide leadership and support for professional staff and student leaders 

Administration 

• Serve as the primary Residence Life liaison for residential commonwealth campuses and collaborate closely with campus leadership, Housing and Food Services, Student Affairs partners, University Police and Public Safety, and Behavioral Threat Management teams to support day-to-day operations and student wellbeing efforts 

• Coordinate Residence Life and Housing and Food Services operational initiatives, including apartment renovations, building projects, office renovations, furnishings updates, facilities coordination, and emergency response planning across residential campuses 

• Provide leadership and consultation related to complex case management. Assist in the development, implementation, and revision of emergency response protocols, policies, and procedures 

• Leader department-wide human resource development initiatives, including recruitment, hiring, and onboarding processes, staff training, professional development programs, Workday coordination, and policy and procedure implementation 

• Assist Senior Director in developing and managing the budget 

• Assist the Senior Director in the development and implementation of departmental goals, policies, guidelines, and procedures  

• Assist with oversight of summer school residential operations at PSU University Park and provide routine travel and operational support to residential commonwealth campuses

The successful candidate will demonstrate:  

• Experience in supervision, organizational leadership, human resource management, financial stewardship, and administration within Residence Life, Housing, or Student Affairs  

• A demonstrated ability to manage complex student situations and collaborate effectively with campus partners to support student success and wellbeing 

• Experience leading multi-campus initiatives, operational systems, staff development programs, and organizational change efforts  

• Strong interpersonal, communication, and conflict resolution skills  

• A high level of cultural competence and the ability to work effectively with diverse student and staff populations 

• Represent the Senior Director on University and Student Affairs committees when they are absent or unavailable 

• Perform other duties as assigned