Area Coordinator

We are pleased to announce openings for two Area Coordinators, who will be responsible for supporting students’ residential experience on campus, as members of the Residential Life & Housing (RLH) team within the Office of Campus Life (OCL). These positions, as well as the college’s recent initiatives around TAPSI Housing (theme/affinity/program/special interest), are in response to Williams’ strategic planning process, specifically in the areas of Learning Beyond the Classroom and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Williams College is a coeducational liberal arts institution located in the Berkshires of northwestern Massachusetts with access to Albany, Burlington (VT), Boston, New York City, and Montreal. Distinguished by a reputation for outstanding, inclusive teaching and scholarship, academic excellence, and exceptional alumni loyalty, the college is committed to building and supporting a diverse learning community of approximately 2,100 undergraduates.

Williams is committed to enriching its educational experience and its culture through the diversity of its faculty and staff. Our expectation is that the successful candidates will excel at working in a community that is broadly diverse with regard to race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, and religion.

Responsibilities

The Area Coordinators are front-line, highly-visible, student-facing roles focused on supporting students and student residential leaders through a four-year developmental arc of residential living and learning at Williams. 

The positions require significant interaction with students as well as with colleagues in several departments across campus, including but not limited to Facilities, Accessible Education, Dining Services, the Davis Center (multicultural/intercultural center), Campus Safety Services, and the Dean of Students’ Office.

Specific responsibilities include (but are not limited to):

• assist in training, advising, and mentoring residential student leaders;
• create and execute a set of developmental residential programs that focus on 1) health & wellness, 2) community building, and 3) personal development;
• support and advise residential student leaders on community building initiatives and programming
• support and advise residential student leaders  and students with conflict resolution using restorative practices and mediation;
• work closely with residential student leaders to help them build community within first year entries and/or upperclass houses, identify student trends and needs, and support overall efforts to develop sense of belonging and identity within the residence halls and houses;
• track all aspects of residential operations, including administrative tasks and housing plans and expectations in collaboration with the OCL housing team;
• meet regularly with the residential student leaders,  individually and as a group, to build & maintain positive collaborative relationships with the Area Coordinator and across the team;
• escalate issues as needed, to be followed up on by OCL staff or the correlated Class Dean (or by CSS in emergencies);
• support and assist the Assistant Director for Housing Operations with housing check-in & check-out, including key distribution/collection and room condition reports; following up on area damages; housing assignment/lottery processes; housing accommodation requests; student storage program logistics;
• serve in the Area Coordinator On-Call Rotation for after-hours & weekend support, to help resolve situations and provide emergency and crisis support for a variety of situations, including mental health distress, health issues, noise complaints, maintenance issues, etc.; will involve coming to campus as needed;
• assist with and support programming efforts of the broader OCL team.

Qualifications

The successful candidate will possess:

• experience in leadership development, collaborative dynamics,  and team building;
• experience in student crisis response and support;
• conflict resolution, mediation, and dialogue facilitation skills;
• experience with and commitment to supporting diverse, equitable, and inclusive communities; direct experience in DEI work is desirable;
• innovative programming experience in the areas of wellness, community building, and personal development is desirable;
• strong people skills, a friendly and approachable demeanor, and the ability to calmly de-escalate difficult situations;
• the ability to work independently with self-motivation & flexibility while at the same time the ability to work positively & collaboratively as a member of a highly-developed, enthusiastic professional team;
• proficiency in Microsoft Office and Google Suite; understanding of internet for marketing and website updating (WordPress desirable); ability to quickly learn additional specialized college software/databases, including StarRez;
• strong attention to detail & strong organization skills;
• experience and/or education in residential life, orientation, or a related student affairs area; knowledge of college student development theory and practice is desirable;
• bachelor’s degree and a minimum of 2 years related experience required, or equivalent education & experience. Master’s degree preferred. Recent grads with undergraduate RA experience will be considered. 

Employment & Application Information

These are year-round, live-on, administrative positions. In addition to the college’s excellent benefits package, each Area Coordinator is provided with a furnished apartment adjacent to campus, as well as a meal plan during academic periods.  Pay range is from $40,000 to $47,000 commensurate with experience. Job band 3-A.  Please visit https://staff-careers.williams.edu/ to apply. 

We especially welcome applications from members of groups traditionally underrepresented in the field.  

Office space, shared with student residential leaders, is provided within the correlated residential area; standard office hours are Monday - Friday 1pm - 8pm, some flexibility and additional hours will be required for central office meetings, programming, etc., and hours may change during academic break periods.  There will be overtime needed at certain points throughout the year, including evenings & weekends.

Conditions of Employment

Employment at Williams is contingent on the verification of background information submitted by the applicant, including the completion of a criminal record check, and education when applicable. COVID-19 vaccination with booster or approved exemption and participation in our testing program is required as a condition of employment at Williams.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Beyond meeting fully its legal obligations for non-discrimination, Williams College is committed to building a diverse and inclusive community where members from all backgrounds can live, learn and thrive. As part of this commitment, we will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process please feel free to contact us via phone at (413) 597-2681 or email at hr@williams.edu.