Position Descriptions, University Residential Life, Student Affairs, Northwestern University

Each Community Assistant plays an essential role in the success of NU’s residential communities. CAs are responsible for getting to know their residents and helping all residents get to know one another. CAs provide support, encouragement, and programs and services to engage and educate residents. CAs must be friendly, mature, responsible, and articulate. It is also important for CAs to exhibit a positive attitude and high level of personal integrity in order to serve as positive role models for their residents. In addition to their roles with residents, CAs must be comfortable interacting with University officials, faculty, parents and guests.

Three areas of responsibility for CAs:

Community Development: Plans activities, supports and/or advises hall government officers. Relevant experience: Community organizing, events planning, effective communication, mediation and negotiation.

Resident Education: Ensures residents are aware of and using university resources and are informed of university policies and procedures. Encourages social responsibility and healthy living. Relevant experience: Demontrated ability to be sensitive to others, persuasive, resourceful, engaging, self-motivated, and able to work well in teams.

Safety and Security: Responds to emergency situations and confronts and refers violations of university policy. Relevant experience: Demontrated ability in having sound judgment, analytical thinking, impartiality, composure under pressure, and respect for confidentiality.

We understand that not every CA candidate will have experience in each of these areas. Residential Life encourages student to apply who demonstrate strong skills in some areas and are willing to develop the areas where they may not be as experienced. Our staff orientation and training programs and on-going staff supervision will assist CAs in strengthening their abilities in all areas.

Hall Monitor Position Description

The Hall Monitor works with University Residential Life to provide daytime, evening and weekend supervision of a temporary housing facility for NU students who are experiencing H1N1 symptoms. This position provides limited services to students staying in the facility. Duties include:

Issuing and collecting keys
Arranging for the cleaning of rooms
Completing occupancy reports
Making referrals to appropriate resources
Other duties as assigned

The duties of this position do not include providing any medical assistance or advice or personal care for students residing in the facility.

Students must be in good disciplinary standing.

NOTE: We are not currently accepting applications for this position. If we begin accepting applications again, we will post an updated message here.

Part-time
$15 per hour

Mail Clerk Job Description

The mailroom clerk is a student leadership position intended to serve the residents in one of the eight (8) residential mailrooms. The mailroom clerk will:

Work 8-12 hours per week;
Sort, deliver, and forward mail for residents;
Receive and log in packages as they are delivered and log out packages as they are picked up;
Use the highest level of professionalism and professional standards when addressing students, guests, or others who utilize the mailroom services;
Work with the mailroom manager for the assigned mailroom to resolve issues, respond to complaints, and improve the overall efficiency of the mailroom;
Attend all scheduled mailroom trainings and meetings;
Meet regularly with the mailroom manager for the assigned mailroom;
Accurately record all hours worked by the assigned deadlines as directed by the Work-Study Program; and
Complete other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS:

The mailroom clerk must be:

A Northwestern University undergraduate student;
Work-study eligible for the academic year; and
In good disciplinary standing with Northwestern University.

Note: any mailroom clerk applicant with a judicial history at Northwestern University might need to meet with the Assistant Director of University Residential Life to discuss that history and the potential impact that may have on the applicant’s candidacy.

PAY RATE: $7.25/hr.

Residence Hall Coordinator (RHC) Position Description

Staff supervision and evaluation

Serve as a direct supervisor for 4 to 7 staff members
Facilitate weekly staff meetings with entire staff
Meet with staff members one-on-one on a regular basis
Review fall quarter staff self evaluations and resident evaluations of staff
Monitor staff adherence to the professional agreement and address concerns as they arise
Assign administrative responsibilities to CAs as appropriate
Assist staff with difficult student conduct issues or confrontations

Staff selection, orientation and development

Participate in the CA staff selection process during winter quarter
Participate the spring RHC staff training program
Assist the Area Coordinator in orienting new and returning staff to the area
Plan and implement staff development activities
Plan and implement staff recognition activities
Administer and oversee responsible use of the staff development budget

Community Development

Advise hall government and/or mentor CAs advising hall government
Monitor the development and implementation of CA programming in the area
Consult with CA staff regarding personal or group problems of students in assigned building(s)

Operational and administrative responsibilities

Complete administrative tasks in conjunction with hall opening, hall closing and break periods
Be knowledgeable of and ensure adherence to University protocol when responding to crisis or emergency situations
Prepare written reports
Coordinate and monitor CA duty schedule
Review CA reports as appropriate and compile into a weekly report
Meet weekly with supervisor
Carry a university cell phone 24-7 during the academic year (may be turned off when in class)
Be available in the residence hall when the halls open and close (i.e. staying in building until all staff have completed their check out duties, and arriving early when the halls officially open in September, January and March)
Serve as a liaison to mailroom staff and Community Service Officers (CSOs)
Perform other duties as requested by the Area Coordinator

Supervision Received

The RHC reports directly to an Area Coordinator and indirectly to the Assistant Director of the area.

Supervision Exercised

Functional and administrative supervision of 4 to 7 Community Assistants. The area of responsibility includes residence hall(s) housing 220 to 350 students.

Dates of Employment

Position begins August 2010 and ends June 2011.

Compensation

Compensation includes a room, board, voicemail, and a stipend of $4400 paid in 10 monthly installments.

Returning CA (RCA) Selection Position Description

Position description

The position description for Returning Community Assistant (RCA) is similar to that of new CAs with a few exceptions. RCAs are expected to assist with the new CA staff selection process. RCA serve as a mentor and resource for new CAs. The Area Coordinator may request RCAs to assist with and/or attend some team-building aspects of spring orientation. RCAs that are new to an area may be required to attend some portions of spring orientation.

Senior Community Assistant (SCA) Position Description

In addition to the duties listed in the Community Assistant professional agreement, the following are specific to the SCA position:

Staff selection, orientation, and development

Participate in the CA staff selection process during winter quarter
Participate in the spring SCA staff training program
Assist the Area Coordinator in orienting new and returning staff to the area
Serve as a mentor for staff members

Operational and administrative responsibilities

Administrative tasks as assigned by AC in conjunction with opening and closing the halls and break periods
Prepare weekly and quarterly written reports
Coordinate and monitor CA duty schedule
Review CA weekly reports as appropriate/directed by AC
Meet weekly with supervisor
Assist staff with difficult student conduct issues or confrontations
Perform other duties as requested by the Area Coordinator

Each SCA will be responsible for one or two of the following additional responsibilities:

Monitor the development and implementation of CA programming in the area
Advise hall government and/or mentor CAs advising hall government
Plan and implement staff development activities
Plan and implement staff recognition activities
Serve as a liaison to mailroom staff and Community Service Officers (CSOs)

Supervision Received:

The SCA reports directly to an Area Coordinator and indirectly to the Assistant Director of the area.

Dates of Employment:

Position begins August 2010 and ends June 2011.

COMPENSATION:

Compensation includes a room, board, voice mail and a stipend of $750 per quarter.

Summer Community Assistant Position Description

The summer session has a different pace and focus than other quarters in the academic year. While there are other duties, the role of a CA in the summer will focus on the following:

Safety and Security:

Serve in an after-hours capacity (on-duty) as well as rotating day and weekend shifts
Address policy violations and report concerns to appropriate staff/offices
Perform safety and security duty rounds and other inspections of building
Work in conjunction with Area Coordinator on-call, Counseling and Psychological Services, Community Service Officers and University Police, as needed

Community Development:

Connect with residents throughout building with a focus on your assigned area
Be present in the hall a minimum of four nights each week including at least one weekend night
Promote weekly activities, typically opportunities in Evanston or the Chicago-area
Host at least one program for residents over the course of the summer

Administrative Responsibilities:

Administrative tasks as assigned by AC in conjunction with hall opening, hall closing, occupancy verification, and documentation of incidents
Serves as the liaison with Conferences and Food Service, University Housing.
Administration, Housekeeping, and other offices
Assist in operational matters as needed
Participate in weekly staff meetings and one-on-one meetings with supervisors
Complete all trainings and staff activities such as staff dinner
Perform other duties as requested by AC

QUALIFICATIONS

Full-time student or recent NU graduate. Hiring preference given to students with experience as NU Community Assistants or staff hired for the upcoming academic year.
Ability to fulfill shifts per rotating schedules and attend all training as required.
In good standing with NU (academic & disciplinary) and experience with living on-campus
Committed to learning, leading, and serving our residents throughout the summer

Supervision Received:

Area Coordinator(s) will directly supervise the day-to-day matters.

Dates of Employment:

June 2010 – August 2010.

COMPENSATION:

Room; board, when dining hall(s) open; and voicemail.