About the Position:

The Housing Specialists provides guidance around all global and diversity related matters in the Admissions department, developing and recommending practices and policies that foster a welcoming and inclusive community. This position responds to problems, issues and referrals from students, parents and University offices, Trustees, community leaders and authorize exceptions to policies when appropriate, in the absence of the Manager/Director.

Primary areas of responsibility include implementation of the operational functions of the Admissions Department, Housing Operations, Scholarships, developing and implementing policies and processes related to the following: application guidelines, application review/evaluation/processing, room changes, cancellation procedures, and check-in and check-out procedures. This role works closely with the Manager/Director to support the International House Board of Directors, individual board members, residents and other key stakeholders as needed.

This role will serve as the primary customer service representative of the department and will be responsible for ensuring that all communication with applicants and residents is timely, accurate and as thorough as possible. This position is responsible to maintain the StarRez database of resident/applicant information, review it regularly for accuracy and consistency and coordinate regular and special reports for use by the department as well as other departments as needed. This role will provide administrative coordination for the scholarship process under the direct guidance of the Manager/Director. In addition, this staff member will work collaboratively to create, edit and maintain admissions publications, promotional materials and web presence as part of the overall departmental marketing plan.

During the summer, I-House operates as both a housing facility and conference center with many attendees residing at I-House. Residents include graduate and undergraduate students, visiting scholars and researchers from various learning institutions affiliated with the University. The Housing Specialist is responsible for the summer group booking process which includes working with partners at other universities to secure housing within International House. This position works closely with the Manager/Director on housing issues, including managing enrollment and space for incoming new residents and other groups of visiting students and program/conference participants.

Key Responsibilities:

Admissions (45%):

• Develops procedures regarding the management of International House admissions requests.
• Uses comprehensive, detailed knowledge of International House Admissions Office and University policies and procedures to design and implement the housing application review, including training of support staff in this area.
• Analyzes and evaluates housing requests from students and other University academic departments.
• Assesses and confirms applicant eligibility for admission to International House and evaluates completeness of the applications received.
• Identifies and addresses systemic operational problems related to applications, data entry, and email correspondence with applicants and academic departments.
• Responds to questions regarding eligibility, availability of space, waiting list procedures and application queries.
• Produces and distributes housing contracts, terms and conditions, welcome information and other material that are included in the resident acceptance packet

Customer Service & Communications (40%):

• Serves as the primary point of contact for all resident and applicant inquiries.
• Evaluates and provides accurate and detailed information and recommendations in person, on the phone, and via email to a variety of different people, who frequently have varying degrees of language proficiency. Applicants include US students, international visiting scholars, prospective international students, University departmental staff, staff from other universities, and the general public.
• Develops and implements processes to manage cancellations, room changes and other cyclical changes in resident status and communicates these procedures with I-House residents and support staff.

Scholarships (10%):

• Program outreach, including but not limited to the creation of marketing, distribution and other communications related to the availability and awarding of funds, deadlines and other pertinent information.
• Evaluation of scholarships candidates, including but not limited to providing application materials and budget information in collaboration with the Manager/Director, for Board preparation.
• Advises organization's management on available funds for residents based upon special funding from all sources.
• Advising residents on the availability of room and board scholarships, working with appropriate departments to ensure International House funds are distributed according to established guidelines.
• Performs needs analysis and assesses eligibility for scholarships, grants and fellowships
• Analyze a variety of factors (financial data, individual circumstances, social background, academic status, educational goals) and apply knowledge of relevant laws, regulations, and policies to determine students’ eligibility for I-House grants, scholarships and fellowships.

Additional Responsibilities (5%):

• Applies professional Student Services concepts to individual cases regarding student affairs or student life.
• Develops communication strategies that balance the organization’s commitment to excellence and exceptional customer service.
• Assists with the development and implementation of policies, procedures and execution of Admissions operations
• Special Projects as assigned.

Knowledge & Skills:

• Working knowledge of advising and counseling techniques.
• Knowledge of computer application programs
• Ability to elicit cooperation from a wide variety of individuals and groups
• Skills in judgment and decision-making, problem solving, identifying measures of system performance and the actions to improve performance.
• Skill to work independently and ability to be inventive, creative including but not limited to initiating new programs, conceptualizing, organizing, and directing projects, development and change.
• Ability in problem identification and reasoning.
• Ability to develop original ideas to solve problems.
• Excellent Interpersonal skills, multicultural competencies and ability to work with diverse populations.
• Ability to multi-task, highly developed organizational skills, excellent verbal and written communication skills.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in related field: i.e., Student Affairs/Residential Life, Education, Social Justice and/or equivalent experience and training.
• Minimum of 5 years professional residential life experience in a college/university setting.

We provide a variety of benefits including:

• Employee discounts
• Leaders invested in your training, career growth & development
• Health and welfare benefits for employees (Medical, Dental, Retirement and more!)
• Vacation / Paid Time Off