Associate Director of Staff Experience

The Division of Student Life consists of 36 departments that provide student support and services dedicated to helping students become successful, curious, competent individuals during their time at CU Boulder.

Residence Life

Residence Life provides residential communities that support student success and enrich the learning experience outside the classroom. By supporting students, engaging them in the community, and effectively managing the residential environment, we create spaces where students connect with others, explore new perspectives, and grow throughout their time at CU.

Organizational Effectiveness

• Serve as a member of the Residence Life Leadership Team, contributing to departmental vision, strategic planning, organizational priorities, and operational decision-making.
• Provide leadership for departmental committees, task forces, and cross-functional workgroups to advance critical initiatives and organizational effectiveness.
• Facilitate leadership meetings, retreats, and department-wide meetings that promote communication, collaboration, and shared accountability.
• Lead norming conversations that promote consistency in supervisory practices, staff expectations, and decision-making across Residence Life.
• Guide the development and continuous improvement of departmental systems, structures, and standard operating procedures that support organizational effectiveness.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, collaboration, innovation, and employee engagement throughout the department.

Recruitment and Onboarding Administration

• Provide strategic leadership for all professional and student staff recruitment, selection, onboarding, transition, and offboarding efforts within Residence Life.
• Design and continuously improve recruitment and selection processes that attract exceptional candidates while ensuring equitable, timely, and welcoming candidate experiences.
• Lead the development of recruitment strategies that strengthen applicant pools and advance the department's dedication to inclusive excellence.
• Oversee comprehensive onboarding experiences that prepare new employees for success while fostering early connection, belonging, and engagement.
• Develop systems that effectively support both annual and off-cycle onboarding of professional and student employees.
• Coordinate Residence Life's intern recruitment, selection, and development processes.
• Ensure compliance with all federal, state, university, and departmental employment policies and hiring procedures.
• Serve as the primary departmental liaison to Human Resources on staffing initiatives, policy implementation, and employment practices.
• Assess staffing models, recruitment outcomes, and onboarding practices to find opportunities for continuous improvement.

Staff Learning & Professional Development

• Provide strategic leadership for the department's professional staff learning and development philosophy.
• Design and implement comprehensive learning opportunities that support employees throughout their career lifecycle, from onboarding through advanced leadership development.
• Develop intentional multi-year professional development pathways that prepare staff for increased responsibility and career advancement.
• Expand the use of engaging online and blended learning experiences that increase accessibility, consistency, and learning effectiveness.
• Oversee required compliance and institutional trainings while ensuring meaningful integration into broader professional development efforts.
• Coordinate departmental participation in conferences and other professional development opportunities.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of training initiatives and implement improvements based on assessment data and participant feedback.
• Develop annual budget recommendations that support departmental training, professional development, conferences, and staff development initiatives.
• Allocate and manage resources to improve the impact of professional development investments.

Personnel Administration & Compliance

• Supervise, coach, develop, and evaluate an Assistant Director and Coordinator while fostering a culture of accountability, professional growth, and continuous learning.
• Provide oversight for employment-related administrative processes, including hiring and appointment actions, position management, onboarding documentation, and employee transitions, ensuring processes are completed accurately and in a timely manner.
• Ensure compliance with university policies, employment regulations, and departmental standards.
• Oversee departmental recognition programs that celebrate employee contributions and reinforce organizational values.
• Monitor employment trends, staffing metrics, and workforce needs to inform planning and decision-making.
• Develop and maintain documentation, procedures, and resources that support consistent personnel practices across the department.

Department Leadership & Crisis Response

• Serve as a senior departmental leader supporting major operational initiatives including opening, closing, occupancy transitions, and other departmental priorities.
• Participate in the departmental leadership on-call rotation, providing leadership during emergencies and complex situations.
• Support the implementation of departmental emergency response, business continuity, and crisis management protocols.
• Serve as acting departmental leader in the Director's absence, as appropriate.
• Promote a culture of care, safety, accountability, and student-centered decision-making throughout the department.
• Perform other duties as assigned to support the effective operation of Residence Life.
• Serve as the department's strategic lead for the Residence Life staff experience by using assessment, employee feedback, and organizational data to continuously improve recruitment, onboarding, learning, recognition, engagement, and retention initiatives.

Partnerships & University Collaboration

• Build and maintain collaborative relationships with Human Resources, University Housing, Finance, Student Life Employee Experience, Career Services, and other campus partners.
• Represent Residence Life on university committees, workgroups, and collaborative initiatives related to employee experience and organizational development.
• Partner with campus collaborators to align staffing practices, professional development, and employee support initiatives.
• Develop and sustain partnerships that enhance recruitment, retention, and employee engagement across Residence Life.
• Collaborate with campus partners to implement new initiatives, policies, and organizational priorities.

This position has the ability to work in a hybrid modality, with at least four days per week in the office. The anticipated work schedule is Monday through Friday during regular business hours, with occasional evening and weekend hours. The position is also expected to participate in on-call coverage and respond as needed, including on days when the employee is scheduled to work remotely.

• The annual salary for this position is $88,000.
• Onboarding assistance may be available per Student Life guidelines.

• Master's degree in Student Affairs and Higher Education, Human Resources, Organizational Development or related field. Equivalent combination of education and experience may substitute on a year-for-year basis.
• 3+ years of experience working in Residence Life or Housing.
• 5+ years of experience that demonstrates progressively responsible organizational authority in higher education.
• 2+ years of experience supervising full-time professionals.
• Experience leading employee recruitment, onboarding, training, and professional development initiatives.

• Demonstrated dedication to Residence Life's values of Safety, Resident- focused care, Responsibility, Inclusive Communities, and Development.
• Proven ability to build collaborative partnerships across complex organizations.
• Demonstrated dedication to inclusive hiring, equitable employee development, and belonging.
• Excellent project management and organizational leadership skills.
• Strong facilitation and presentation skills.
• Ability to analyze data and use assessment to improve programs and processes.
• Ability to balance strategic planning with operational execution.

• Experience working with other student affairs departments or committees; including developing partnerships for joint initiatives.
• Proven ability to lead organizational change, facilitate collaboration, resolve conflict, and build high-performing teams.
• Experience with strategic planning and program development.