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Residential Life Associate

Basic Function and Responsibility
The Residential Life Associate - (RLA) at MIT offers resources, skills, and energy in the areas of crisis response, event planning, activities support, training, and effective communication between MIT’s student life administration and undergraduate residence halls. The RLA will work collaboratively with Housemasters, student residents, Graduate Resident Tutors (GRTs) and the Residential Life Programs (RLP) staff to each serve a specific zone of 2-3 residence halls. RLAs are responsible for supporting the MIT EHS Management System in their areas. Residential Life Associates live on campus and serve to enable the work of the house teams and students within the residential system.

Characteristic duties and responsibilities
• Serve on the Dean-on-call team, providing after hours and weekend emergency response to the entire MIT campus

• Provide administrative, program, and logistical support to Housemasters, Graduate Resident Tutors, and House Governments.

• Serve as a liaison, resource, and referral link between each residence and Residential Life Programs office when issues arise. Serve as an advocate for student resident and Housemaster concerns. Work to improve communication between the House Teams, the office of Student Life Programs, and a variety of resource offices on campus.

• Attend weekly/monthly tutor or house team meetings as requested by Housemaster

• Assist and advise the residential house governments on: new officer training, event planning, logistics, event registration, and working with the City of Cambridge on licensing issues. Advise house governments.

• Supervise the on-site work of the Resident Associate Advisors as part of the Residence Based Advising program. Work together with the Academic Resource Center to assess, evaluate, and improve the program.

• Serve as a repository of programming ideas, both documenting what is done and to what effects, and keeping records about how to do things at MIT

• Assist residential governments with funding issues and acquiring resources for initiatives.

• Provide administrative support for the selection of GRT's by hosting on-campus information sessions, disseminating information to potential applicants, and answering general questions about the program

• Help coordinate, under the advisement of the Housemaster, the Graduate Resident Tutor evaluation process in each residence.

• Assist in the coordination of the central House Team training and with individual trainings within each residence.

• Assist in education of students and other residential life staff on issues of fire safety and EHS compliance, including fire evacuation and other emergency procedures and fire safety standards. Provide assistance to RLP and Housing staff in ensuring EHS requirements for residential areas are met. Work with DSL's EHS Coordinator to review proposed events, space uses, programs, and other activities that may impact MIT's EHS management.

• 15-20% of position will require cross-institute work, either within Student Life Programs or connecting Residential Life Programs with other administrative offices.

Supervision:
The Residential Life Associate will report to the Assistant Dean for Residential Life Programs, and will work with Housemasters, GRTs, and students for specific work in the residences.

Qualifications:
This is a live-on position. Masters degree in education or counseling is strongly preferred, 2-4 years of full time experience in student service/residential life and bachelor’s degree required. Knowledge of and ability to work within a non-traditional residential system is essential. Experience in living and working with highly motivated undergraduate student populations is preferred. Demonstrated experience in counseling, crisis response, and mediation is required. Strong writing, speaking, organizational, and event planning skills are essential. Our ideal candidate must possess good judgment and sensitivity in understanding and relating to students of various backgrounds. The ability to be flexible and adaptable in understanding and working within the MIT culture is essential. Creativity, enthusiasm, and the ability to handle challenging situations with tact are essential. Must possess solid teamwork skills and be able to demonstrate collaboration. Proficient in computer and web applications, or the willingness to learn new systems, is preferred. Experience in a high-pressure, academic setting, such as MIT, is desirable. Evening, night and occasional weekend work is required, as is ability to manage a flexible work schedule. This is a 12-month contract, renewable based on yearly evaluation. One bedroom furnished apartment and small meal stipend provided.