Overview
The Director of Residential Life is the leader of the residential life team, reporting directly to the Head of High School. The incumbent must understand fully and support enthusiastically the stated mission, values and keystones of the Academy, in speaking, writing and action.
The Director is expected to model behavior which supports the five shared values of the Academy: Justice, Wisdom, Compassion, Honesty and Respect.
The Director will have the experience to address crisis or conflict calmly and appropriately, with good situational judgment.
Residential leadership or equivalent experience is strongly preferred. The Director will have a deep working knowledge of the best practices at top boarding schools in the U.S. and globally. The position carries a reduced teaching load.
Roles and Responsibilities
The Director of Residential Life will：
- Lead all matters relating to life in the student dormitories, and all residential life activities, in consultation with the Head of High School.
- Create a safe and inclusive living community which aligns with the mission and values of Keystone Academy.
- Serve the residential community with vision, compassion, clarity and positivity.
- Continually seek to enhance the residential life programme so that it is joyful, uplifting, character-forming and meaningful.
- Develop and maintain a residential life experience with justifies its place as one of the three keystones of the Academy, and as one of the best boarding communities globally.
Vision, Initiative & Future Thinking
The Director of Residential Life will be required to identify, voice and implement a vision of Residential Life which serves the needs of all students, and brings meaning and joy to their lives. To achieve this, they will:
- Build strong, sustainable connections between academic and residential life.
- Instill in all students a sense of purpose, self-hood, direction and meaning.
- Identify and implement a vision of enhanced community to which all students feel they belong.
- Ensure the full integration of international and faculty students into residential life.
- Guide the strategic planning process for the Residential Life space
Serve and Support the Residential Lives of Students
The Director of Residential Life is accountable for the day-to-day management and support of students and systems within the Residential Life programs. These responsibilities include:
Student Arrival and Orientation:
- Coordinate residential life orientation days and onboarding of new boarding students, in collaboration with the High School Dean of Student Life and the Head of High School.
- Coordinate student arrivals, dorm check-ins and dorm expectations.
Day-to-Day Coordination of Residential Life:
- Oversee the formation and management of structured study hall, including the creation of residential life duty rosters.
- Oversee the supervision of Dorm Proctors and student leadership training.
- Ensure the appropriate and efficient use of the Reach platform to ensure student safety, student passes and weekend supervision are functioning at the highest level.
- Lead meaningful and efficient Dorm Head meetings.
- Serve as an additional evening/weekend on-call admin. support at all times.
- Be available on weekends as needed for student recreation, entertainment, service and other activities, as well as emergencies when necessary.
- Complete evening dorm walk-throughs to gauge the “pulse” of the floors and to understand the daily needs of students, Proctors, Dorm Parents and Dorm Heads.
Design and Implementation of Residential Life Curriculum:
- Oversee the student life curriculum and weekly dorm meeting plan.
- Coordinate the weekend program, including faculty duty rosters, weekend activities, coordination of buses and duty assignments.
- Contact parents as needed, including reading and responding to residential life emails on weekends.
- Ensure appropriate adults are kept informed and/or involved in student wellness issues.
- Work closely with facilities, transportation, nurses, and food services departments on all matters relating to residential life.
Restorative Justice & Disciplinary Matters:
- Address student behavioral needs which come to light during residential hours and collaborate with the High School Dean of Students to determine appropriate responses.
- Support school policy in alignment with the student handbook.
- Compile violations of residential rules from Dorm Parents, Dorm Heads and Proctors, and keep the HS Dean of Students informed of patterns in student behavior.
Serve and Support the Unique Needs of International Students
In addition, the Director of Residential Life is responsible for ensuring the full integration of international students into the Keystone residential community. To achieve this, the Director
will:
- Liaise with the Director of Admissions to ensure a seamless and ‘invisible’ process for managing the financial needs of international students.
- Manage, enhance and grow the Host Families programme.
- Develop a sustainable ‘Language & Culture’ Programme for international students, in consultation with the Head of High School.
- Continually monitor the needs of international students, anticipate their requirements, and act swiftly when unforeseen needs arise.
- Ensure international students are represented in student leadership structures within residential life.
Serve, Supervise and Support Residential Middle Leaders and Faculty
- Serve, supervise and support dorm parents, dorm heads and duty teachers to ensure they meet the highest professional standards in their residential life work.
- Monitor and support the professional growth of Dorm Heads, Dorm Parents and duty teachers, according to identified needs.
- Be visible and available on evenings and weekends to support the ongoing needs of Dorm Heads, Dorm Parents and duty teachers
Exercise Flexible, Collaborative Leadership
The Director of Residential Life will recognize when to initiate, when to lead, when to delegate and when to collaborate. To achieve this, they will:
- Work with the Dean of Student Life to coordinate and integrate the Advisory and Residential Life curricula.
- Support the Assistant Director of Residential Life by bringing clarity to their role and responsibilities.
- Build a strong working relationship with the Residential Life team, including the Assistant Director of Residential Life, Dorm Heads, Dorm Parents, and Residential Life office
assistants. - Collaborate with other school leaders wherever the Residential Life programme intersects with other areas – including the advisory programme, student behavior and after school academic support.
Interested applicants should submit a cover letter, CV and statement of educational philosophy to hr@keystoneacademy.cn. Position will be posted until filled.
The full job description can be downloaded here.
More information on working with Keystone Academy can be found here.
