Director, Student Services

Announcement

Details

Open Date
09/21/2026

Requisition Number
PRN46264B

Job Title
Director, Student Services

Working Title
Executive Director, Housing Operations

Career Progression Track
G

Track Level

FLSA Code
Executive

Patient Sensitive Job Code?
No

Standard Hours per Week
40

Full Time or Part Time?
Full Time

Shift
Day

Work Schedule Summary

VP Area
President

Department
00307 - Housing and Dining Program

Location
Campus

City
Salt Lake City, UT

Type of Recruitment
External Posting

Pay Rate Range
$125,000-$135,000

Close Date
01/31/2027

Priority Review Date (Note - Posting may close at any time)

Job Summary

The University of Utah (the U) seeks an accomplished, strategic, and collaborative leader to serve as its next executive director of housing operations within Housing & Dining Programs (HDP). Reporting to the associate vice president for Housing & Dining Programs and serving as a member of the Executive Leadership Team, the executive director will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of campus housing, informing enrollment and student success strategies, and providing strategic leadership for critical business and operational functions within a large, complex, and evolving university environment.

The executive director provides strategic leadership for a broad portfolio that includes Occupancy Management, Budget and Finance, Communications and Assessment, Technology and Housing Systems, and Living-Learning Programs. A central focus of the position will be developing and implementing strategies to strengthen demand for campus housing, optimize occupancy and revenue, enhance the residential student experience, and ensure that housing strategies align with the University's broader enrollment, academic, and student success priorities. The executive director will bring a data-informed, forward-thinking approach to these efforts, identifying opportunities to strengthen operations, improve effectiveness, and position HDP to respond successfully to evolving student needs and market conditions.

The executive director will join a highly collaborative leadership team committed to innovation, thoughtful decision-making, continuous improvement, and the long-term success of Housing & Dining Programs. The position offers the opportunity to work across institutional boundaries, build strong partnerships with key University stakeholders, and play an important role in advancing both the department's priorities and the University of Utah's broader strategic goals.

The executive director manages a dynamic team of 19 professionals, including four direct reports, and administers an annual budget of approximately $5 million.

Responsibilities

Occupancy, Enrollment, and Housing Strategy

• Provide executive leadership for the U's housing occupancy strategy, including demand forecasting, application and contracting processes, room selection, assignments, and strategies designed to maximize utilization of the U's residential inventory.
• Leverage enrollment, occupancy, market, and historical data to develop projections and identify opportunities to strengthen housing demand and achieve consistently high occupancy.
• Partner closely with Enrollment Management, Admissions, academic colleges, Athletics, International Student Programs, and other institutional stakeholders to position housing as an important component of student recruitment, enrollment, retention, and success.

Business and Financial Leadership

• Identify, research, and analyze strategic opportunities and evaluate their operational, fiscal, and policy implications in conjunction with centralized fiscal operations.
• Provide recommendations to executive leadership that support sound decision-making and the long-term financial sustainability of Housing & Dining Programs.

Technology, Data, and Assessment

• Maintain strategic oversight of housing technology and information systems, including the department's StarRez housing management platform, technology integrations, and systems supporting housing operations.
• Champion a data-informed culture by ensuring that occupancy information, student feedback, assessment results, financial data, and institutional metrics translate into actionable strategies for continuous improvement.
• Oversee the departmental assessment planning, data collection, analysis, reporting, and integration of findings into strategic and operational plans.

Communications, Marketing, and Outreach

• Guide the strategic planning and implementation of departmental communications, marketing, outreach, and recruitment efforts.
• Ensure that Housing & Dining Programs communicates effectively with prospective and current students, families, campus partners, and other stakeholders, and develops marketing and outreach strategies that support occupancy and enrollment objectives.

Living-Learning Programs

• Set strategic priorities and provide executive oversight for the university's living-learning and themed residential communities.
• Partner with academic colleges and other campus organizations to ensure residential programs support institutional priorities while creating meaningful opportunities for student engagement, belonging, and academic success.

Organizational Leadership

• Recruit, develop, supervise, and evaluate professional staff while creating a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and professional growth.
• Serve as a strategic advisor to the associate vice president and contribute broadly to the success of Housing & Dining Programs beyond the assigned portfolio.
• Provide leadership through influence as well as positional authority, effectively navigating complex organizational environments and building productive relationships across the U.

University & Professional Engagement

• Develop collaborative relationships and key partnerships across organizational and divisional boundaries, including, but not limited to, Enrollment Management, Admissions, Orientation & Transition, Athletics, International Student Support Services, academic colleges, Honors, Disability and Access, Commuter Services, General Counsel, University Guest House, University Marketing & Communications, and University Computing Services.
• Represent Housing & Dining Programs on departmental, divisional, and university-wide committees.
• Serve as an active connection to the broader collegiate housing profession through engagement with Big 12 institutions, the Association of College and University Housing Officers-International (ACUHO-I), and other relevant professional networks, while supporting team members in developing and strengthening their own professional connections.
• Participate in departmental emergency and crisis response and, as appropriate, serve within the escalation and reporting structure for significant incidents occurring outside normal business hours.

Minimum Qualifications

The successful candidate will possess a bachelor's degree in business administration or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience. A master's degree in higher education, student affairs, business administration, or a related field is preferred. Candidates should also bring at least eight years of progressively responsible professional experience, including significant management and leadership responsibilities within university housing, student affairs, enrollment management, auxiliary services, or a comparably complex organization to the role. Other requirements include demonstrated success in supervising, developing, and leading professional staff; managing budgets and complex initiatives; and guiding organizational change. Additionally, the executive director must possess strong analytical and project-management capabilities, including the ability to use data to inform strategy and decision-making, as well as excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills.

Competitive candidates will demonstrate several of the following qualifications:

• A sophisticated understanding of the interrelationship among housing, enrollment management, student recruitment and retention, and broader institutional strategy.
• Proven ability to develop housing demand and occupancy projections using enrollment trends, historical performance, market conditions, and operational data.
• A record of developing and executing strategies that achieve and sustain housing occupancy of 95 percent or greater in highly competitive markets.
• Expertise in managing occupancy throughout the full recruitment and assignment cycle, including early-, mid-, and late-cycle strategies.
• Familiarity with housing management platforms; knowledge of StarRez is particularly desirable.
• Leadership of housing application, contracting, assignment, and occupancy-management processes.
• The ability to synthesize data, assessment findings, stakeholder feedback, and industry practices into actionable strategies and meaningful organizational change.
• Skill in navigating, negotiating, and resolving complex or sensitive matters involving students, families, campus stakeholders, and institutional partners.
• Knowledge of federal and state laws, regulations, and compliance requirements affecting university housing, including privacy, disability accommodations, emotional support animals, and landlord-tenant considerations.

Preferences

In addition to the qualifications stated above, key stakeholders identified the following capabilities and attributes of a successful candidate:

• Extensive collaboration skills at all levels, with the ability to understand the vital importance of interconnectedness and solid relationships, while also serving as a strategic and visionary risk-taker who promotes creativity in every area of the position.
• A compassionate, empathetic leader with the proven ability to make difficult decisions, quickly resolve issues before they escalate to become problems, conduct difficult conversations when pertinent, work effectively with staff members at various levels of development and knowledge, listen actively to all sides of an issue, and be willing to change directions as necessary.
• The ability to navigate complex stakeholder environments and juggle multiple priorities, while maintaining a strategic vision of how all the various pieces fit together effectively.
• Strong organizational development abilities, including emotional intelligence, transparency, excellent listening skills, an orientation to detail, and empathy that inspire and unify staff, provide professional and personal growth opportunities, and promote teamwork throughout the operation.
• An innovator with a futuristic orientation and a willingness to try new opportunities, remain informed on recent trends and best practices, and drive significant change processes.

Type
Benefited Staff

Special Instructions Summary

The University of Utah has partnered with Spelman & Johnson to conduct this search, to learn more or apply for this role please use this link.

Additional Information

The University is a participating employer with Utah Retirement Systems ("URS"). Eligible new hires with prior URS service, may elect to enroll in URS if they make the election before they become eligible for retirement (usually the first day of work). Contact Human Resources at (801) 581-7447 for information. Individuals who previously retired and are receiving monthly retirement benefits from URS are subject to URS' post-retirement rules and restrictions. Please contact Utah Retirement Systems at (801) 366-7770 or (800) 695-4877 or University Human Resource Management at (801) 581-7447 if you have questions regarding the post-retirement rules.

This position may require the successful completion of a criminal background check and/or drug screen.

The University of Utah values candidates who have experience working in settings with students and possess a strong commitment to improving access to higher education.

Veterans' preference is extended to qualified applicants, upon request and consistent with University policy and Utah state law. Upon request, reasonable accommodations in the application process will be provided to individuals with disabilities.