Associate Director of Staff Experience

Job Summary

ResidenceLife encourages applications for an Associate Director of Staff Experience! This role is a full-time, twelve-month, live-out, exempt professional position and a senior leader within Residence Life. This position provides strategic leadership for the department's staff experience, ensuring that every stage of the employee lifecycle, from recruitment through offboarding, is intentional, engaging, and aligned with the department's mission and values.

The Associate Director leads the department's staff experience strategy, including professional and student staff recruitment and selection, onboarding, training, professional development, recognition, and offboarding. This role is responsible for continually improving these programs to create efficient, welcoming, and high-impact experiences that attract, develop, and retain exceptional staff. The position supervises an Assistant Director and Coordinator who support this work.

Success in this role requires exceptional collaboration. The Associate Director partners closely with colleagues across Residence Life, University Housing, Student Life, Human Resources, and Finance to coordinate complex processes, implement new initiatives, and ensure compliance with university policies and practices. The position also provides leadership to multiple departmental committees and cross-functional workgroups responsible for advancing strategic priorities related to staff development and organizational effectiveness. The successful candidate will bring a strong sense of accountability and follow-through, including the ability to be present and engaged during critical periods for the department. They will be a strategic and collaborative leader who can establish vision and direction while remaining connected to the day-to-day work of the department. They will be comfortable moving between long-term planning and hands-on execution.

As a member of the Residence Life Leadership Team, the Associate Director helps guide the daily operations and long-term direction of a comprehensive residential program serving more than 10,000 residents across 24 residence halls and apartment communities. The department includes more than 47 professional staff and over 500 student employees working within Residence Life's areas of engagement, support, and operations.

What Your Key Responsibilities Will Be

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.

What You Should Know

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.

What We Can Offer

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

Benefits

At the University of Colorado Boulder , we are committed to supporting the holistic health and well-being of our employees. Our comprehensive benefits package includes medical, dental, and retirement plans; generous paid time off; tuition assistance for you and your dependents; and an ECO Pass for local transit. As one of Boulder County's largest employers, CU Boulder offers an inspiring academic community and access to world-class outdoor recreation. In fact, CU Boulder has been named one of Forbes' America's Best Large Employers , ranking #4 among large employers in Colorado and #28 among universities nationwide. Explore additional perks and programs through the CU Advantage program.

Be Statements

Be adaptable. Be game-changing. Be Boulder.

What We Require

• 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.

What You Will Need

• 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.

What We Would Like You to Have

• 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.

Special Instructions

To apply, please submit the following materials:

1. A current resume.
2. A cover letter that specifically tells us how your background and experience align with the requirements, qualifications, and responsibilities of the position.

We may request references at a later time.

Please apply by October 11, 2026 for consideration.

Note: Application materials will not be accepted via email. For consideration, please apply through CU Boulder Jobs .

Essential Services

This position is designated "essential services." The incumbent is required to respond to requests for work during campus emergencies (snow, wind, rain, flood and any other natural or man-made event) and report to work for his / her regularly assigned shift during emergency campus closures.