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.

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 (OSE) 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:

The Office of Student Engagement is seeking a Director of Residential Communities (DRC) to join the Student Life team. The Swarthmore College Student Life Team includes Student Activities & Leadership, Residential Communities, Case Management, the Inclusive Excellence Fellows Initiative, and Student Conduct.

The DRC is a full-time, exempt position reporting to the Associate Dean and Director of Student Engagement. The DRC oversees a team of one associate director, four full-time area coordinators, and over 50 unionized student paraprofessional staff. This is a 12-month live-on position, with a partially furnished College owned residence, and on-call responsibilities that may include evening, holiday, and weekend commitments.

The Director of Residential Communities directs and manages all aspects of residential education and housing operations at the College. Typical responsibilities will include multiple housing projects with tight timelines, residentially focused programs, challenging housing operation requests, and fixed budgets. This position represents Swarthmore College to internal and external constituencies, including students, faculty, staff, vendors, comparable institutions, and parents. The Director must exercise high levels of discretion, independent judgment, and the ability to work collaboratively with a large number of College community members and offices.

Essential Responsibilities

Residential Education

• Provide day to day leadership and direction of the Residential Communities program 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 leadership for a strategic vision of residential life that values professional, positive, and transformational relationships with and for students.
• Recruit, train, supervise, and support the development of one (1) Associate Director for Housing Operations, four (4) Area Coordinators, and a unionized Residence Advisor (RA) student leadership team.
• Produce and provide ongoing review of staff training manuals, including the AC professional staff manual and RA student staff manual.
• Develop systems and practices that are transparent to students while providing entry points to students' development of accountability and life skills.
• Evaluate departmental and institutional needs when assigning summer and/or collateral duties to professional staff members. Ensure proper supervision and equity in summer assignments.

Emergency Response and Case Management

• Serve in the Tier 2 On-Call rotation, providing crisis intervention in emergency situations and collaborating with Public Safety and Health Services. Respond in person, when appropriate, and provide support to the Tier 1 On-Call staff.
• Remain calm in crisis situations, act decisively, and apply sound judgment in determining appropriate action regarding interventions, assistance and referral of students to other College staff members.
• Collaborate closely with the Associate Dean and Director of Student Conduct 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/or 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.

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 student-facing aspects of housing operations, residential education, residential budget management, student summer housing operations, and off-campus housing support.
• Review, revise, and enhance all housing and residential policies and procedures applicable to students as well as brochures, reports, handbooks, etc. for effective and efficient administration.
• In partnership with the Student Accounts Office and Business Office, oversee the semester housing and meal billing process. Ensure accurate and timely billing for all students receiving or canceling College housing.
• Supervise all logistics and communication plans for residence hall opening and closing.
• Supervise and administer the annual returning student housing lottery, winter housing lottery, and room change process.
• Oversee the new student housing process, and partner with Student Activities & Leadership on First-Year Orientation programming in-residence.
• Utilize and administer residential student conduct (Maxient) and housing/dining software systems (Adirondack).
• Partner with the Associate Director of Housing Operations to ensure that campus residence halls are being appropriately maintained, that assignments are being managed effectively, and that facility issues are being addressed in a timely and effective manner.

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 Inclusive Excellence.
• Maintain effective partnerships with key departments including, but not limited to: Facilities Management, Public Safety, Dining Services, Academic Departments, Athletics, Student Health and Wellness, and Counseling and Psychological Services.
• Coordinate all interoffice processes with other campus stakeholders, including but not limited to Admissions, Academic Departments, Advancement, Athletics, Summer Programs, and the Office of Sustainability.
• Work effectively as a member of Student Life, where cooperation and teamwork are essential.

Required Qualifications

• 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 responding to and managing student incidents and crises.
• Experience with Maxient, Adirondack, Banner, and/or other housing software, including experience being the data steward or administrator for operations.
• Substantial 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.
• Must be 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.
• Demonstrated commitment to the principles of inclusive excellence.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working at a highly selective residential liberal arts institution.
• Experience with capital planning and long-term residential planning.
• Previous experience implementing a residential curriculum.
• Experience working with unionized student employees.

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. Join a team of passionate, creative people who work hard and have fun supporting the College students, faculty, and staff.

We want to hear from you if you are excited about this role! For full consideration, submit applications with an uploaded resume, including a cover letter indicating how your qualifications and experience have prepared you for this position. If you have experience that meets any of the preferred qualifications, please include a detailed explanation of any such experience in your cover letter and how it meets the preferred qualification(s).

PA Criminal Required

Swarthmore College requires a PA Criminal background check for all staff positions prior to the start of employment.

Education Verification Required by Position

An education verification is required for this position because a college degree is a required qualification for this position.

Preview our Benefits Flyer. We offer benefit plans starting at zero cost! Upon benefit eligibility, the College contributes 10% of an employee’s salary to their retirement account. Employees are 100% vested in their accounts on the date participation begins.

2025 Swarthmore Benefits Guidebook

Retirement Plans

Tuition Grant Program

Tuition Reimbursement Program

Paid Time Off (Staff)

Holiday Schedule

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.