Associate Director of Occupancy, Communication and Admin Services (OCAS)

About the University

Western Washington University, with over 16,000 students in seven colleges and the graduate school, is nationally recognized for its educational programs, students and faculty. The campus is located in Bellingham, Washington, a coastal community of 90,000 overlooking Bellingham Bay, the San Juan Islands and the North Cascades Mountain range. The city lies 90 miles north of Seattle and 60 miles south of Vancouver, British Columbia. Western is the highest-ranking public, master's-granting university in the Pacific Northwest, according to the 2022 U.S. News & World Report rankings. Western Washington University is committed to achieving excellence through advancing inclusive success, increasing our Washington impact, and focusing on transformational education grounded in the liberal arts and sciences and based on innovative scholarship, research, and creative activity. Western's greatest strength is the outstanding students, faculty, staff, and alumni/ae who make up its community. Western supports an inclusive governance structure for all and provides a learning and working environment in which everyone can thrive. In pursuit of this excellence, individual employees are expected to establish and maintain productive and effective inclusive working relationships amongst diverse populations including staff, faculty, administration, student, and external constituents. Further, individual employees are expected to have the ability to operationalize sustainability concepts (economic, societal, environmental) into all aspects of performing their job duties.

About the Department

University Residences supports Western's mission, which states that together with our students, staff, and faculty, we are committed to making a positive impact in the state and the world with a shared focus on academic excellence and inclusive achievement. We encourage applications from women, people of color, people with disabilities, veterans, and other candidates from underrepresented backgrounds and with diverse experiences interested in this opportunity.

About the Position

Provide primary assistance to the Executive Director of University Residences in the provision of overall direction and coordination of Occupancy, Communication and Administrative Services (OCAS) for University Housing and Dining. The scope of responsibilities includes overseeing all aspects of campus housing occupancy; the maintenance, efficiency, and regular assessment of the university’s student housing systems; University Residence communications and marketing efforts; and the operating budget for the OCAS unit.

Position Duties and Responsibilities

25% - Occupancy and Data Management

• Direct all occupancy processes and timelines.
• Direct housing research for projection trends for occupancy and retention, including liaison with Enrollment Management and Admissions targets, projection model analysis, and historical comparisons.
• Ensure highest level of data accuracy to properly process assignments, billing, and student directory information.
• Provide direction for StarRez Housing software system related to occupancy, housing data, reports, and data integrity.
• Ensure programs work properly and support departmental goals and objectives.
• Effectively manage applicants and beds, inclusive of affinity, Honors, and other special population communities.
• Serve on campus committees to ensure Housing data is available and used appropriately.
• Assist with department staff training for Banner Student Information System.
• Prepare Housing statistics ensuring Peak Reports contain necessary Housing data.
• Ensure data/contracts align with Dining Services.
• Oversee department reporting needs.

20% - Information Systems

• Oversee the maintenance and efficiency of university's student housing systems.
• Provide direction and leadership for Systems staff.
• Adhere to federal, state, university, and department policies and procedures, and bargaining unit contract language regulating employment practices.
• Ensure technology projects, database development and web applications are consistent with departmental goals and objectives.
• Coordinate StarRez and Banner Location module integration, ensuring subsidiary application data uploads are accurate and updated.
• Provide leadership for StarRez Housing software implementation, serve as primary data custodian for StarRez, work with functional user stakeholders to ensure software is robust and provides excellent support/service.
• Initiate and coordinate improvements to Web applications with department technology staff.
• Initiate innovation helping Occupancy Management and Assessment Program and University Residence reach the goal of web-enabled services.
• Develop goals with technology team for upcoming year.

20% - Leadership and Supervision

• Lead effort of significant incorporation of diversity, equity, and inclusive perspectives throughout functional areas, ensuring processes address systemic bias.
• Supervisory responsibilities for two exempt staff: OCAS Manager, Systems Manager, Indirect reports include Program Support Supervisor 2, Communications Consultant 2, Office Assistant 3, 5 Housing Information Desk student staff, 20 Housing Ambassador student staff, 4 Graphic Design student staff.
• Adhere to all federal, state, university, and department policies and procedures, and bargaining unit contract language regulating employment practices.
• Serve as department representative in the executive director’s absence when needed.
• Prepare annual report.
• Serve on University Residences Senior Leadership Team.
• Participate in the development of department strategy.
• Ensure job documentation is current for all occupancy staff.
• Ensure program support for campus initiatives, such as international students on campus or study abroad.
• Facilitate continuous improvement using input from students, data, and best practices among Washington state, regional, and national (i.e., ACUHO-I) resources.
• Direct team ensuring mission-based goals, data driven decisions, and outcomes alignment.
• Plan and oversee budget.
• Work collaboratively with department, division, and university partners.
• Review standard department operating procedures to ensure best practices.

15% - Marketing and Communication

• Collaborate with other division departments to ensure publication continuity and accuracy.
• Direct department communications.
• Supervise Housing social media efforts ensuring department message is clear and information is student centered and helpful.
• Oversee Housing communications, including standard and emergency information.
• Oversee Housing customer service staff, ensuring communication is accurate, timely and informative.
• Ensure department has representation at new student recruitment fairs and off-site events.

10% - Financial Management

• Responsible for ensuring $52 million billing for room and board charges are set up into Student Information System and levied to student accounts.
• Liaison with Housing Business Services and Student Business Office to ensure stakeholders are included in the billing process.
• Budget Authority for four operating budgets:  Occupancy/Assignments $750,000; Communications $50,000; Operations $75,000; Conferences $160,000; Technology $650,000.
• Prepare budget requests and monitor expenses.
• Project needs for staff and equipment for each fiscal year and submit for approval from director.
• Track changes in current expenditures and adjust spending accordingly.
• P Card approver as needed.

10% - Assessment

• Manage assessment including external satisfaction benchmarking and/or internal quality of life assessment.
• Use Banner and the Data Warehouse to create Assessment database for University Residences, create historical tracking records.
• Track and assess system for University Residences to ensure breadth and quality of data, stay abreast of trends in housing and web applications.
• Serve on department team advancing University Residences current goals and objectives from Division of Enrollment and Student Services, University Residences, and Western Washington University, using these guiding principles and infusing student learning outcomes.
• Support and create business models using evidence-based decisions.
• Develop goals for Occupancy Management and Assessment Program consistent with department, division, and University strategic plan.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree
• Five years of progressively responsible experience and demonstrated competence in directing a high impact customer or student centric program based on data and mission-based planning.
• Demonstrated competence to collect, organize, and analyze data; prepare and interpret reports; and create assessments.
• High level of competency working in a variety of data management tools and databases
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Outlook, Excel, Word, Power Point, Teams).
• Evidence of strong communication (written, oral, web based) and problem-solving skills.
• Proven ability to work in a setting with individuals of diverse backgrounds.
• Experience working in an environment where ADEI values are continuously nurtured.
• Experience supervising staff, with full scope of responsibility (hiring, training, evaluation)
• Proven ability developing and monitoring budgets more than $100,000.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in a related field
• Experience working in Higher Education
• Experience working in management and reporting systems like StarRez, Banner, and Millennium Fast.
• Experience working with housing data management tools and general database.
• Experience effectively communicating with students and parents from a variety of demographic and ethnic backgrounds,
• Experience developing marketing tools and publications.
• Experience working in a university housing environment.

Salary

Hiring range for position is $91,981 - $105,778/year.  Through longevity position tops out at $119,575/year.