Career Center

Swarthmore College is a highly selective liberal arts college located in the suburbs of Philadelphia, whose mission combines academic rigor with social responsibility. Swarthmore has a strong institutional commitment to inclusive excellence and nondiscrimination in its educational program and employment practices and encourages candidates who will further advance the goal of fostering a diverse and inclusive community. As one of the nation’s finest institutions of higher learning, Swarthmore College is global in outlook and draws students from around the nation and world. The 425‐acre campus is a designated arboretum, complete with gardens, rolling lawns, a creek, wooded hills, and hiking trails in the Crum Woods. Swarthmore College was recently ranked number 3 in the 2021 US News Best National Liberal Arts Colleges rankings - https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/swarthmore-college-3370.

Who We Are:

As a residential college with over 96% of its students living in campus-owned housing, the Office of Student Engagement supports the mission of Swarthmore College by fostering living environments that value shared responsibility, consensus decision making, and personal accountability. The Office of Student Engagement aspires to create and support an engaged, evolving, and inclusive campus community by fostering holistic student development and success. Combining the Office of Residential Life with the Student Activities & Leadership office in 2014, the Office of Student Engagement aims to link learning inside the classroom with learning outside of the classroom. The OSE expects that students will actively participate in their residential co- curricular experience and will take ownership for creating the communities in which they want to live.

The opportunity:

Reporting to the Associate Dean and Director of Student Engagement, the Director of Residential Communities (DRC) is a full-time, exempt position responsible for the leadership and direction of the College’s residential experience. The DRC, in close partnership with the Director of Student Activities, oversees a team of four full-time area coordinators, two graduate assistants and over 50 student paraprofessional staff. The Director oversees residential community initiatives that promote and support student learning and development, academic success, community engagement, leadership development, and inclusive excellence.

Essential responsibilities fall into five main categories:

Residential Education

• Provide day to day leadership and direction of the Residential Communities team while ensuring a high quality, co-curricular residential experience for the 1,600+ students residing in the College residence halls.
• Oversee residential community initiatives that promote and support student learning and development, academic success, community engagement, leadership development, and inclusive excellence.
• Provide oversight for staff training and on-going professional development initiatives for both professional staff and student staff.
• Facilitate the selection, hiring, onboarding, and evaluation of Area Coordinators (AC).
• Produce and provide ongoing review of staff training manuals including the AC professional staff manual and RA student staff manual.

Emergency Response and Case Management

• Serve in an on-call rotation of four Student Life supervisors. Respond in person, when appropriate, to support the AC on-call and students in need.
• Provide leadership and manage emergency and crisis situations involving students and/or residential facilities. Serve as essential staff during campus emergencies and participate in the College’s Emergency Response Team.
• Collaborate closely with the Senior Associate Dean of Student Life to deliver residential based conduct processes that are educational, fair and grounded in current practices, and result in high levels of consistency of accountability.
• Serve as hearing officer and appeals officer for residential policy violations and allegations of student conduct violations. Adjudicate conduct allegations for commuter and off-campus students.
• Problem-solve interpersonal, operational, and other issues with all residential students as needed.
• Provides annual review and updates to Residential Life policies and procedures.

Deputy Title IX Coordinator for Students

• Responsible for attending substantial training on sexual assault response, Title IX compliance measures, and report assessment.
• Able to perform intake of Title IX related reports and assess for possible interim measures.
• In coordination with Title IX coordinator, ensure residential based interim measures are met in real time and through the housing selection process.
• Consults with Title IX coordinator on Title IX reports involving students for determination of ongoing support and remediation efforts.

Operations, Systems and Facilities Management

• Lead all aspects of housing operations, residential education, residential budget management, student summer housing operations, and off-campus housing support.
• Provide annual review and updates to the College catalog, College bulletin and Student Handbook.
• Oversee the semester room and board billing process.
• Supervise all logistics and communication plans for opening and closing procedures.
• Supervise and administer the annual returning student housing lottery.
• Oversee the new student housing process.
• Utilize and administer residential student conduct (Maxient) and housing/dining software systems (Adirondack).

Community Partnerships and Collaborations

• Partner with the Director of Student Activities and Leadership in the strategic planning and implementation of Student Life programming.
• Collaborate with the Black Cultural Center, Inter-Cultural Center, Interfaith Center and International Student Center to ensure that OSE residential programming fits within a larger institutional vision and goals related to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
• Maintain effective partnerships with key departments including, but not limited to, Facilities Management, Public Safety, Dining Services, and Student Health and Wellness and Counseling and Psychological Services.
• Coordinate all interoffice processes with other campus stakeholders, including but not limited to Admissions, Advancement, Athletics, Summer Programs, and the Office of Sustainability.
• Attend and participate in College-wide special events such as Halloween Party, Winter Formal, Large-Scale Event, Worthstock, Orientation, Commencement, Swatstruck and other all-call functions for Student Life staff.

Who you are:

• You are an enthusiastic, energetic, and organized self-starter who is capable of working independently and in a team environment, and prepared to work in a fast-paced environment where processes and needs are changing and developing regularly.
• You possess the ability to make critical decisions in emergency and crisis situations, and provide support and consultation to other members of the Student Life on-call team.
• You are detail oriented to effectively and efficiently oversee all aspects of the Colleges residence life programs, including: opening/closing of the residence halls, housing selection, and building maintenance.
• You value a robust and intentional co-curricular liberal arts based residential experience for students. 
• You are solutions oriented and have the ability to problem-solve and engage in collaboration with campus partners and College leadership.

What you bring:

• Master’s degree in Higher Education, Educational Leadership, College Student Affairs or a related field.
• 5-7 years of progressive leadership experience in student affairs.
• Experience with Maxient, Adirondack, Banner, Acalog, and/or other housing software.
• Experience overseeing and managing professional staff hiring, development, and performance management.
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal, written, and listening skills, including the ability to communicate effectively with students, faculty, staff, and parents.
• Demonstrated commitment to the principles of inclusive excellence.

What You Will Get:

You’ll work at one of the world's most renowned liberal arts Colleges, with incredible benefits, a stunning 420-acre campus, and a collaborative work environment. You will also play a key role in establishing the vision for enhancing the student experience through two existing projects:  the College’s Accelerated Residential Facilities Renovation project (a comprehensive facilities renovation project set to begin in Summer of 2022) and the opening of the Dining and Community Commons Project (DCCP). Scheduled to open phase 1 in Fall 2022 and phase 2 in Fall 2023, the Community Commons project will include new office space for the Office of Student Engagement, flexible meeting and social space for students, and provide indoor and outdoor programmable space options for the Swarthmore community. More information on DCCP can be found here.

If you are excited about this role, we want to hear from you!

For full consideration, submit applications including resume and cover letter with pay expectations by May 20, 2022.

Swarthmore College actively seeks and welcomes applications from candidates with exceptional qualifications, particularly those with demonstrable commitments to a more inclusive society and world. Swarthmore College is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply.