MISSION

For more than 150 years, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) has been a leader in educating the world’s most influential artists, designers and scholars. Located in downtown Chicago with a fine arts graduate program consistently ranking among the top four graduate fine arts programs in the nation by U.S. News and World Report, SAIC provides an interdisciplinary approach to art and design as well as world-class resources, including the Art Institute of Chicago Museum, on-campus galleries and state-of-the-art facilities. SAIC’s undergraduate, graduate and post-baccalaureate students have the freedom to take risks and create the bold ideas that transform Chicago and the world-as seen through notable alumni and faculty such as Michelle Grabner, David Sedaris, Elizabeth Murray, Richard Hunt, Georgia O’Keeffe, Cynthia Rowley, Nick Cave, and LeRoy Neiman.

We offer a competitive, comprehensive benefits package:

• Generous paid time off
• Paid holidays (up to 14 days)
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Generous parental, caregiver, and medical leave benefits
• Competitive retirement plan
• Tuition remission and Tuition Exchange Program
• Great employee discounts
• Complimentary general admission to participating cultural institutions

Salary Grade 10

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT

The Office of Student Affairs’ mission is supported by a developmentally based philosophy responding to the needs and concerns of the student as a whole person, attending to the individual differences and challenges of each student, and working with each student at their individual level of development.

As a member of the Office of Student Affairs, Residence Life provides a living-learning community in well maintained downtown facilities designed for the student artist. Working with approximately 1000 residents, student and Professional staff engage in community development, offer fun & educational events and programs, connect students with campus resources and provide 24hr on call support.

ABOUT THE POSITION

Lead all aspects of the 1000+ bed Residence Life program including hiring, training and providing leadership for the Residence Life professional staff and approximately 100 student employees. Manage all operations relating to two SAIC owned facilities and leased spaces as appropriate, including: facilities management, policy development, revision and enforcement, and the conduct process, residence education, student development, and crisis management. Serve as the senior residence life administrator offering 24-hour on-call support for the professional staff and managing student crises/conduct in the residence halls. Coordinates the Deans on Call Team and serves in the Deans On Call rotation to provide 24-hour support for students, parents, faculty and staff. Manage and provide leadership and coordination for student crises for both on and off-campus students. In partnership with the Dean of Student Life, provides leadership for all-school Student Conduct including chairing Title IX, DHR and other conduct boards, assisting the Director of Residence Life & Student Conduct in student conduct board and administrator training, and sets vision and direction for Student Conduct & Student Conflict resolution processes on campus. Work with the retention team to research and develop a cohesive plan to provide support to students throughout their entire tenure at SAIC. Responsible for revenue exceeding $14 million dollars and manages 3 operating budgets and Residence Hall Capital Asset budget. Liaison with important support services on campus, such as Security, Operations, Information Services and the Early College Program to support our resident population. As assigned and in the absence of the Vice President/Dean of Student Affairs and the Dean of Student Life, serve as the senior student affairs administrator on campus. Evening and weekend commitments are expected.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Manage overall occupancy and operations of 1000+-bed residence life program for SAIC students - Provide leadership and direction for a vital and active residence life program, including but not limited to: housing process (e.g. contracts, room assignments, billing), professional and student staff selection & training, summer housing programs including Early College Program Summer Institute (ECPSI) and the Summer Intern Program and the community development model. Directly manages the department’s student support response, assessment of programs, budget oversight, policy review, and record retention policies and procedures.

Manage overall occupancy and operations for Summer Housing - Provide leadership for summer housing of residence hall populations including SAIC students, Early College program high school students, summer intern populations, and affiliated summer programs. Work closely with the Dean of Continuing Studies to manage risk and liability related to housing minor age students on campus for up 7-8 weeks during the summer.

Professional Staff Selection, Supervision and Development - Hire, train, and supervise the Director of Residence Life and the Assistant Director of Residence Life for Housing and Summer Programs. Provide oversight for the Director regarding full time staff searches, hiring, training, and supervision. Oversee the ongoing professional development plans for res life staff and regular training/enrichment regarding: student concerns and crises, residence life policies and procedures, and best practices within the field. Conduct staff meetings to ensure staff have the most up to date information on institutional policies and initiatives. Complete annual performance evaluations for all direct reports as directed by HR.

Oversee the School’s Student Conflict Resolution & Student Conduct Processes - Provides leadership and direction for institutional student conduct and conflict resolution efforts including but not limited to: assisting with maintaining compliance with federal and state laws, reviewing and writing the Student Handbook, serving as board chair for Title IX/DHR and other conduct meetings, coordinate the School’s bi-annual Drug Free School review and liaise with other deans, Dean of Student Life and General Counsel’s office to implement the conduct process.

Dean on Call/Student Issues and Crisis Management - As part of case/care management responsibilities, manage and follow up on crises impacting both on and off-campus students. Liaison with faculty, staff, parents and other related constituencies to support students and facilitate the resolution of crises. Be available on evenings and weekends. Serve in the Dean-on-Call rotation to provide 24-hour support for staff and students (apx 1 week a month including holidays). Serve as the Daytime-Dean-on-Call apx. one day per work week to respond to urgent issues that may arise during the day. Serve as an integral member and liaison with both the Student Support Group and the Threat Assessment Team. Communicate effectively and consistently to the Dean of Student Life and Student Affairs staff about student concerns and/or crises, including identifying students at risk and connecting students to resources. Appropriately communicate and document response to student concerns and crises and utilize software programs such as Advocate/Symplicity in these efforts.

Coordinate Deans on Call Process - Responsible for all Deans on call protocols, training and coordination. Including but not limited to: revising and developing Deans on Call protocols; providing training for new Deans on Call and updated training for all current Deans on Call; managing Deans on all telephone and email numbers (technology); and scheduling Deans on call for 24/hours a day, 365 days a year coverage.

Budget Management - Manage three operating budgets totaling apx. 14 million in revenue and 1.4 million in expenses. Develop and oversee the Capital Asset budget. Collaborate with the Dean of Student Life, the VPSA and the Vice President of Finance to monitor and set occupancy and revenue expectations, as well as to meet goals set by the Board of Governors and the President’s cabinet.

Coordinate Professional Staff on Call Process - Responsible for all Professional Staff on Call protocols, trainings and coordination. Including but not limited to: revising and developing Prostaff on Call protocols; providing training for new Professional Staff on Call and updated training for all current Professional Staff on Call; managing Professional Staff on Call telephone and scheduling professional staff on call 24/hours a day, 365 a year coverage.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion/Anti-Racism (DEI) - Foster an inclusive environment within staff team and the residence halls. Provide leadership to team in responding to the needs of a diverse student body/staff. Participate and assist in DEI/Anti-racism initiatives within SAIC and the OSA department, including programming, education and training.

Risk Management - Assess and manage short-term and long-term risk related to residence life and student conduct. Develop and revise policies and protocols related to residence life including programming, rules of conduct and facilities management. Consult with the Dean of Student Life and General Counsel’s office to assist in managing risk.

Learning Outcomes & Mission - Lead the development and revision of Residence Life mission and learning outcomes. In Collaboration with Dean of Student Life and Director of Residence Life & Student Conduct, develop and revise Student Conduct mission and learning outcomes.

Student Success, Retention and Assessment - Attend to the individual needs of students, impacting retention both on the student and campus level. Develop a holistic plan to assessing the residence life program and its impact on the student experience, student learning and satisfaction. Assistant Dean will organize, administer, and provide detailed reports of the outcomes of the assessments.

Committee/School involvement - Serve as a Student Affairs representative on a number of campus committees, L e.g., RRB and ARB, the Retention Committee, Threat Assessment Group, and the Student Support Group). Serve as a member of SAIC’s COVID-19 Case Management Team.

Assist with Departmental/School programs & initiatives - Regularly assist with and attend Student Affairs functions such as Orientation, Graduation and all-school programs. Assist with SAIC Admissions events, serving as a representative of OSA both at SAIC and at events on the road. Evaluate, purchase, & coordinate recruitment and retention items for Residence Life & Office of Student Affairs

Record Retention - Oversee accurate and timely maintenance of student records in accordance with SAIC policy. Ensure that these records are stored properly and disposed of properly after the appropriate amount of time.

Technology - serve as SAIC’s expert in Mercury’s, SAIC;s housing software system. Become a proficient user in peoplesoft, Navigate, Symplicity and other relevant systems. Provbide support for technology to the Residence Life team.

OSA Leadership - Serve as the senior student affairs administrator in the absence of the VP/Dean of Student Affairs and Dean of Student Life as assigned. Work with Vice President of Student Affairs, Dean of Student Life, and other Assistant Deans to provide overall direction of OSA related to projects and activities such as assessment, accreditation, staff training and development (including retreats), OSA communication and collaboration

Other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

• A Master's degree in college student personnel, counseling, art education or related field required
• Minimum of 7-10 years of progressively responsible experience in Student Affairs and/or Residence Life in Higher Education required
• Minimum of 3-5 years of experience supervising staff (not including student employees), including staff that work in crisis management in a higher education environment required
• Min 2-4 years experience managing student conduct, including individual student meetings, chairing student conduct boards and adjudicating T9 and DHR conduct;
• Substantial experience working with students who have significant personal, academic and emotional challenges. Must have considerable experience in managing staff who support these students;
• Experience serving on call, preferably in a Deans on Call Rotation:
• Possess strong interpersonal skills and substantial experience working with students in a variety of situations, including management of student conduct and student crises. Must be sensitive to the needs of a diverse, urban, artist population;
• Demonstrate excellent decision-making abilities and the ability to exercise sound judgment, exhibit leadership, and manage complex and sensitive crisis situations;
• Experience providing high-level customer service within a demanding environment to a variety of constituencies, including but not limited to: students, parents, faculty, staff, campus leadership, and external entities;
• Experience working within a highly-collaborative environment and ability to effectively create dynamic and strong teams;
• Demonstrate superb written and verbal skills. Ability to effectively communicate in a dynamic and fast-paced environment;
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to prioritize their own work and that of their team;
• Demonstrated understanding of the most current issues in Student Affairs and higher education; including but not limited to: student development strategies and theories; student conduct issues; residence life current trends and legal and risk-management issues
• Successful candidate is likely to have significant experience with computer programs/apps including Symplicity, Microsoft Office Suite, RMS/Mercury, Google

Evening and weekend commitments and some travel is required.

CLOSING STATEMENT

The Art Institute of Chicago is an Equal Opportunity Employer that recruits, hires and promotes qualified individuals without regard to race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, ancestry, veteran status or citizenship. The Institute complies with federal and state disability laws and makes reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact the Department of Human Resources at apply_help@artic.edu.