Community Director role

Live to thrive

Position responsibilities

The Community Director is a critical position within the department and provides the first-level primary leadership and management to a residential college, campus, or upper-class community through specific duties and responsibilities that can be classified into the following broader categories:  

  • Supervision/Leadership/Role-Modeling  
  • Community Development  
  • Student Conduct Administration  
  • Crisis Management/On-Call Coverage
  • Facilities Management  
  • Academic Enhancement  
  • Administration and Operations

 

Community Director experience

The Community Director experience

The Community Director position is appropriate for a master’s level staff member seeking a greater administrative and leadership challenge through a career in residential life. Community Directors do not simply manage residential communities; they are responsible for activating a residential college or upper-division model for that community. A successful Community Director candidate typically possesses a passion and drive for connecting with and ensuring a positive experience for every student in their respective communities.

What will be your Sun Devil Story?

In the Community Director position you will have a lot of options before you as you move through your career. The decision on where to work is a very personal one. There are plenty of reasons why ASU is a good choice for the next phase in your career, but among those that stand-out our team has selected the following points to share:

The residential college model is a unique living and learning environment for all ASU students that offers access to academic support services, co-curricular programming, and traditional residential community building experiences. Residential Colleges are fostered by partnerships between live-in Residential Life staff and the academic college partners.

All incoming first year students at Arizona State University live in a residential college community, based on the college of their academic major.

ASU offers 26 distinct living experiences across four metro-Phoenix campus locations, spanning from first-year student housing to apartment-style upper division housing, plus a small family housing population in houses at our Polytechnic location. More information about each of these communities can be found on our University Housing website here.

In the Community Director role at Arizona State University, you will have a wide range of supervision responsibilities and student development opportunities, including, but not limited to:

  • Direct supervision and mentorship of live-in student hall staff (Community Assistants)
  • Assisting with campus-wide student staff recruitment and selection
  • Assisting with the design and implementation of a residential college or upper-division housing student staff training
  • Planning, organizing, and implementing student and/or professional staff development opportunities
  • Providing performance evaluations and ongoing feedback for student staff
  • Facilitating weekly staff meetings and regular one-on-one meetings with student leaders in your community
  • Some oversight and/or supervision of desk operations
  • Advising Community Council and functions associated with residential student government
  • Coordinating staff efforts to support engagement and participation of your residential community with campus-wide initiatives and engagement opportunities (athletics events, service initiatives, etc.)

Our residential college model provides staff members with the unique opportunity to engage and collaborate with professional staff members from the academic college(s) that their residential facility supports. This collaboration allows us to provide a comprehensive living-learning experience for our residents. As a Community Director, there are several opportunities for partnership with our academic peers:

  • Program collaboration for in-hall events
  • Regular student success meetings, discussing students of concern both in- and out-of the classroom.
  • Working with peer mentors or paraprofessional student staff in the halls that are hired and supervised by the college staff.
  • Large-scale signature programs and traditions for academic colleges.

As a Community Director, you will gain experience as a judicial conduct officer for your community. As a conduct officer, you will have the opportunity to:

  • Partner with the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities in the management of the judicial process for your residents
  • Communicate and interpret department and university policy to staff and residents
  • Keep updated student behavior records through the Advocate judicial system
  • Conduct judicial meetings with students, administer appropriate sanctions, and conduct timely follow-up of sanctioned requirements
  • Communicate with partnering staff in the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities regularly regarding student behavior
  • Make referrals and file reports for students of concern, as appropriate, with the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities, ASU Counseling, ASU Police, and other student service partners across campus.

One of the most exciting pieces of being part of the Sun Devil community is the ability to spread spirit and affinity among students and peers through various events and activities throughout the year. Below, we’ve outlined a few examples of these signature events. ASU prides itself on hosting on-campus events every day, 365 days/year.

  • Change the World
    • ASU is #1 in the nation for innovation, and Change the World opens the doors for students to share their visions, efforts, and achievements that they believe contribute to making the world a better place. Students have the opportunity to pitch ideas, exhibit solutions, perform and display art to the ASU community in the Change the World Showcase and Competition. The showcase participants will be competing for prizes totaling approximately $75,000, while gaining exposure to the greater ASU community and local corporate business representatives.
  • Echo from the Buttes
    • On the Saturday before classes begin, it is tradition for all new students to hike up ‘A’ mountain and paint our concrete gold ‘A’ solid white, signifying the fresh start and clean slate of the new school year. The ‘A’ is painted with a new coat of gold before our first home football game.
  • Homecoming
    • All campuses host their own traditions and new events each year in the week-long celebration of Homecoming. During the week, ASU alumni, faculty, staff, students, and their families are engaged together on campus through activities such as concerts, 5k runs, a homecoming parade, and more.
  • Sun Devils Unite
    • Sun Devils UNITE raises awareness among the ASU community about the Valley of the Sun, United Way, while supporting the objectives of United Way. A designated week in the Fall semester is focused on education, philanthropy, and service.
  • Devils in Disguise
    • A twenty-year tradition, Devils in Disguise is the largest student-led day of service at ASU. Student organizations participate in this project by hosting volunteer sites for their fellow Sun Devils. Food, transportation, t-shirts, and a great time is provided.
  • Athletics
    • ASU is a Division-I institution and member of the PAC-12 conference, boasting a robust roster of 26 NCAA varsity sports and more than 650 student athletes. Student fees include tickets for all athletic events, and everyone is encouraged to attend sporting events year-round at Arizona State University. Staff members are also often times offered discounted rates for individual game tickets or season passes.