Position Overview

Duke Kunshan University (DKU) is a Sino-American partnership of Duke University, Wuhan University, and Kunshan, Jiangsu, China. We seek to be a world-class liberal arts and research university, offering a range of academic programs for students from China and throughout the world. Granted accreditation approval by China’s Ministry of Education in September 2013, we welcomed graduate students in August 2014, and degree-seeking undergraduate students in August 2018. Undergraduate enrollment has grown to over 2,200 students and continues to expand in the coming years. Residence Life is an office within the Office of Student Experience. The Assistant Director of Residence Life leads the residence life program on campus, overseeing the residential experience for all undergraduate and graduate students. A highly collaborative leader and a key member of the Student Experience team, the Assistant Director works closely with the Residence Life staff, colleagues across the Office of Student Experience, and a wide range of stakeholders throughout the university to create a vibrant living and learning community. The Assistant Director supervises the department’s full-time professional staff, develops and implements effective policies and procedures, manages occupancy systems for our nearly 2,400 beds, and shapes inclusive living and learning communities, student worker programs, and student development initiatives. The Assistant Director facilitates training to ensure staff are well prepared and supported in their roles, and assumes senior responsibility for proactively identifying and addressing problems and for continually developing the department and the living and learning experience on campus. Building positive relationships and remaining visible and accessible to students, the Assistant Director serves as a steady, trusted presence within the residential community. This is a full-time, live-off position. In the event of a campus emergency, the role is considered “essential personnel” and may be called upon to work unconventional hours. Responsibilities will expand in scope and depth as DKU grows in size and complexity.

Reports to

Associate Dean of Student Life

Essential Duties

Staff Supervision & Departmental Leadership

• Hire, train, supervise, and evaluate the department’s Residence Life Coordinators, fostering a professional team culture of growth, accountability, and care.
• Oversee the day-to-day operations of the Residence Life department.
• Develop and manage the department’s budget and finances.
• Create policies and guidelines that promote an environment of learning, growth, and student success.
• Build strong, collaborative relationships and shared initiatives with the Residence Life staff, colleagues across the Office of Student Experience, and stakeholders throughout the university.
• Facilitate trainings and ongoing professional development to ensure staff are well prepared, confident, and supported in their roles.
• Assume senior responsibility for proactively identifying and addressing problems and for advancing the department and the living and learning experience on campus.
• Remain visible and accessible to students as a key member of the Student Experience team, building positive relationships and a trusted presence within the residential community.

Occupancy & Facility Management

• Supervise/oversee the room assignment process and system in coordination with staff as they relate to Residence Life functions.
• Develop and communicate policies and guidelines for room assignments, reassignments, special accommodations, and the related student notification and billing.
• Collaborate with the Housing Services departments to ensure facilities are safe, secure, clean, and well-maintained.
• Develop safety and space-usage policies for the residential facilities.

Community Development

• Cultivate Rooted Globalism and a strong sense of belonging across the residential community.
• Build an environment that embraces our values: mutual respect, individual and social responsibility, interdependence, understanding, wellness, and resilience.
• Create policies and guidelines that give students opportunities to engage with one another and develop a sense of community at DKU and within the residence halls.
• Collaborate with faculty to stimulate and cultivate students’ intellectual interests and programming.
• Oversee the assessment of residential initiatives and use findings to guide improvement.
• Manage residential conduct in partnership with the Office of Student Conduct.

Emergency Response & On-Call Support

• Develop and maintain crisis and emergency response plans for the residential community.
• Oversee and support the Residence Life Coordinators’ on-call duty rotation, ensuring students have access to trained staff during evenings, weekends, and emergencies.
• Coordinate ongoing training that builds staff skills and confidence to respond calmly and effectively to a variety of situations.
• Serve as senior staff support and a point of escalation for complex or high-acuity incidents within the residence halls.

Student Worker & Leader Initiatives

• Lead the development of the department’s student worker positions and the students who fill them.
• Create policies and guidelines that promote student self-management whenever appropriate.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to ensure student leaders are well informed about campus resources and processes as they take ownership of their experiences.
• Work toward achieving assigned annual objectives and KPIs, demonstrating accountability for performance and results.
• Perform other duties as assigned.
• University employees’ job responsibilities will continue to expand in scope and depth as the University grows in size and complexity in its programs.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field such as education, student personnel, counseling, or a related program.
• Five years of full-time work experience, including experience in Residence Life or a related student-facing field.
• Experience supervising and developing professional staff.
• A genuine commitment to student growth and to building residential communities where living and learning come together and every student is supported to develop their character, wellbeing, and full potential.
• Superb interpersonal skills, with a desire to work hard in a team-oriented, dynamic, fast-paced environment.
• Intercultural competency demonstrated by having lived, worked, or studied in an international, cross-cultural setting.
• Strong organizational, planning, and English communication (verbal and written) skills.
• Experience and/or training in crisis management or emergency response.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in a relevant field such as education, student personnel, counseling, or a related program.
• Three or more years of progressively responsible Residence Life experience, including the supervision of professional staff.
• Understanding of university student development theory.
• Effective Chinese communication (verbal and written) skills.
• Knowledge of the differences between Chinese and Western higher education systems.

Education

Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field such as education, student personnel, counseling, or a related program is required. Master’s degree in a relevant field such as education, student personnel, counseling, or a related program is preferred.

Years of Related Working Experience

Five years of full-time work experience, including experience in Residence Life or a related student-facing field is required. Three or more years of progressively responsible Residence Life experience, including the supervision of professional staff is preferred.