Manager for Occupancy, Communication, Admin Services and Systems

Manager – Occupancy, Communication, Administrative Services and Systems (OCAS)

Position Title: Manager – Occupancy, Communication, Administrative Services and Systems (OCAS)

Western Washington University: with over 16,000 students in seven colleges and the graduate school, is nationally recognized for its educational programs, students and faculty. The campus is located in Bellingham, Washington, a coastal community of 90,000 overlooking Bellingham Bay, the San Juan Islands and the North Cascades Mountain range. The city lies 90 miles north of Seattle and 60 miles south of Vancouver, British Columbia. Western is the highest-ranking public, master's-granting university in the Pacific Northwest, according to the 2022 U.S. News & World Report rankings

University Residences supports Western's mission, which states that together with our students, staff, and faculty, we are committed to making a positive impact in the state and the world with a shared focus on academic excellence and inclusive achievement. We encourage applications from women, people of color, people with disabilities, veterans, and other candidates from underrepresented backgrounds and with diverse experiences interested in this opportunity.About the PositionThe Manager for Occupancy, Communication, Admin Services and Systems is a key member of the UR team and assumes leadership responsibilities at the department level, working collaboratively to fully enact the department and university’s goals and mission. The Manager ensures a team commitment to diversity and social justice and ensures inclusive practices are part of individual, team and systems practices.

The Manager oversees occupancy management processes for all campus housing. They serve as a primary power user and support staff for StarRez Housing software program. As a critical department power user, they provide technical and functional knowledge for the StarRez housing portal, reports and web-based housing management tool. They are a member of the Housing intra-departmental StarRez team. May serve on the university’s Banner cross functional team.

Reporting directly to the Associate Director for OCAS, and assisting the Executive Director, the Manager supervises the Occupancy Program Support Supervisor and the Communications Consultant, as well as their occupancy and marketing teams.

This is a fast-paced, collaborative position interacting frequently with campus partners including Admissions, Athletics, Disability Access Center, Student Accounts, Registrar, Dining Services, Physical Plant, Conference Services, and others.

Due to the nature of the position and direct work with students, this position is expected to be an in-office role primarily with some flexibility for remote work.

UNIVERSAL PERFORMANCE STANDARDS:

-Completes all assigned duties by established deadlines and in accordance with established or defined protocols, policies, and procedures.

-Apprises supervisor of issues that might impede timely completion of assigned duties and/or departmental projects.

-Exercises sound judgment and discretion at all times and maintains cooperative working relationships with both internal and external constituencies and co-workers.

-Exhibits a willingness to perform other duties as requested or required efficiently and timely.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

Occupancy Management

1. Collaborate with Associate Director on all occupancy processes and timelines.
2. Plan and direct the annual renewal program, including projection for number of beds to allocate for returning students.
3. Assist in the implementation of housing studies including housing retention and projection trends for occupancy, including liaison with Admissions targets, projection model analysis, and historical comparisons.
4. Acts as a critical power user in OCAS for the StarRez Housing Management System. Work with UR systems on the development, testing, and refinement of the system for both housing occupancy and front desk services.
5. Works collaboratively with Systems Manager, StarCare, EIS, and ATUS to ensure smooth interface of the StarRez system.
6. Works with Associate Director for OCAS to ensure seamless integration with the Banner student information system, providing knowledge and best practice for Location Module interface.
7. Work with Systems Manager to develop StarRez training, documentation and information for students and staff using the software tool and reports.
8. Establishes yearly calendar for Housing application, roommate search and room selection in consultation with the Associate Director for OCAS.
9. Develops and prepares reports, dashboards, and simple forms for the department, division, and campus partners (i.e., detailed residence hall rosters, occupancy reports, DAC accommodation tool).
10. Partners with Systems Manager to plan, develop and maintain StarRez portal housing application, roommate management, room selection, etc. ensuring user centered, functional and accessible access for students.
11. Oversee Program Support Supervisor to operationalize housing projections into strategic space and program setup, ensuring accuracy of room and bed counts, optimizing locations to ensure ADA accommodation is available and ensuring program and room gender reflects demand.
12. Oversee Program Support Supervisor to develop room allocation model based on incoming student estimates by analyzing historical data to form assumptions and make strategic room allocation decisions.
13. Provides ad hoc reports to assess occupancy and application trends, resident retention, and emergency response.
14. Builds and maintains relationships with peer institutions to ensure industry-best practice for Housing Management system.
15. Ensures occupancy processes are in compliance with local, state and federal requirements including but not limited to ADA, gender neutral, Cleary Act, etc.

 Marketing and Communication 

1. Oversees all communication strategies and resources impacting students, including email, print, digital and social media, website, and in-person events.
2. Assist Communications Consultant in developing mutually beneficial professional relationships with publishing vendors, University Branding team and printing suppliers regarding the development of marketing pieces.
3. Review yearly updates for UR marketing collateral (Guide to University Residences, Moving-In brochure, room and board agreements, apartment agreements, application and renewal forms, Residential Community Policies and Procedures, Resident Director training and other materials).
4. Ensure mission and department are accurately reflected in language and visuals.
5. Collaborate with division/campus departments to ensure publication continuity and accuracy.
6. Direct department email correspondence.
7. Initiate technology innovation helping Occupancy Management and University Residences reach the goal of web-enabled services.
8. Ensure department has representation at fairs/events.
9. Model excellent customer service and work to ensure customer satisfaction by analyzing complaints, concerns and suggestions for ways to improve student satisfaction.
10. Develops and administers a variety of systems to maintain office files and records for rapid reference and to adhere to retention policy.
    SUPERVISION
11. Ensure levels of performance to stated and designed goals and benchmarks.
12. Lead effort of significant incorporation of diversity, equity and inclusive perspectives throughout functional responsibility areas, ensuring processes address systemic bias.
13. Directly supervises two full-time staff (Occupancy Program Support Supervisor and Communications Consultant.)
14. Actively engage in recruitment, selection, and training of new employees.
15. Clearly defines performance expectations, ensure accountability, and provides ongoing informal feedback, coaching, and mentoring. Conducts formal performance evaluation.
16. Conduct regular meetings with direct reports; attend team meetings as needed.
17. Provide training and leadership for department StarRez team.
18. Model excellent customer service and work to ensure customer satisfaction by analyzing complaints, concerns and suggestions for ways to improve student satisfaction.
19. Make and participate in decisions regarding student staffing and scheduling.

BUDGET AND FISCAL OPERATIONS

1. Manage and oversee Communications budget.
2. Provide leadership/supervision for Communications Consultant budget planning.
3. Assist with budget preparation and development.
4. Develop short/long term goals for areas of responsibility.
5. Exercises independent decision making in policy interpretation, financial and billing concerns, and financial procedures to ensure a student centered and consistent occupancy program.

Departmental Responsibilities 

1. Serve and/or chair area and departmental committees and project work groups.
2. Engage in a comprehensive professional development plan guided by ACUHO-I’s Body of Knowledge.
3. Provide after-hours support as needed, primarily for occupancy or other OCAS after hours issues.
4. Attends regular one-on-one meetings with the Associate Director OCAS.
5. Other duties or projects as assigned as appropriate to rank and departmental mission.
6. Acts in the Associate Director for OCAS's absence when necessary, ensuring uninterrupted communications with UR leadership and other departments.

 Other Duties as Assigned

1. Demonstrated commitment to inclusion and social justice using inclusive practices for both individuals and systems.
2. Perform other duties as requested or required, whether or not specifically mentioned in this job description. 
3. Exhibits a willingness to learn new tasks.  Seeks assistance and guidance of supervisor prior to beginning an unfamiliar assignment.

Required Qualifications

• A Bachelor's degree in a related field, and/or approved combination of education and experience.
• Experience using Information System Software (such as StarRez, Symplicity, Banner, Peoplesoft, etc.).
• Experience supervising full-time staff including hiring, onboarding, training, providing ongoing performance feedback, delegation and building a collaborative team environment.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams) and Zoom communication.
• Demonstrated commitment to inclusion and social justice using inclusive practices for both individuals and systems.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively solve problems and successfully communicate with students, staff and customers.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a team environment.
• Demonstrated outstanding interpersonal skills to include strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Willingness to work occasional morning, evening and weekend shifts.
• Demonstrated experience with creating and presenting training materials.

Preferred Qualifications

• A Master's degree in Higher Education/Student Affairs or related field.
• Experience with housing management software, particularly StarRez.
• Experience supervising and training student staff.
• Budget development and management experience.
• Aptitude for numbers, quantitative analysis, and data management.
• Excellent attention to detail, organizational skills, and time management.
• Knowledge and practical application of planning, and occupancy management principles as well as advanced proficiency in databases and spreadsheets.

Conditions of Employment: All employees must comply with our Immunization policies, including COVID vaccination by time of hire and Proof of Rubeola Measles Immunity within 60-days of hire. Please reach out to HR@wwu.edu if you need information regarding medical or religious exemption and applicable accommodations.

This position requires a fingerprint background check.

SalaryHiring range is $69,298 - $79,692/year; through longevity position tops at $90,087/year. Benefits Information

Benefits Overview for Administrative Professional Position.

Closing Date: Position closes 06/16/2023 at 11:55 pm.

Western Washington University (WWU) is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer committed to assembling a diverse, broadly trained faculty and staff. Women, minorities, people with disabilities and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply. In compliance with applicable laws and in furtherance of its commitment to fostering an environment that welcomes and embraces diversity, WWU does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex (including pregnancy and parenting status), disability, age, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status or genetic information in its programs or activities, including employment, admissions, and educational programs. See WWU’s Policy on Ensuring Equal Opportunity and Prohibiting Discrimination and Retaliation. Inquiries may be directed to the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance, Title IX and ADA Coordinator, Western Washington University, Old Main 126 (MS 9021), 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA 98225; 360.650.3307 (voice) or 711 (Washington Relay); crtc@wwu.edu

WWU is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities upon request. To request this document in an alternate format or to request an accommodation, please contact Human Resources Disability Services, 360.650.3303 or 711 (Washington Relay).

Annual Security and Fire Safety Report: This report is provided pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act ("The Clery Act"). It includes statistics for the previous three calendar years concerning reported crimes that occurred on Western's campus; in certain off-campus buildings or property owned or controlled by Western; and on public property within, or immediately adjacent to and accessible from, the campus. The report also includes institutional policies concerning campus security, such as policies concerning alcohol and drug use, crime prevention, the reporting of crimes, sexual assault, and other matters. You can obtain a copy of this report in printed or alternate formats by contacting the Office of the Vice President for Enrollment and Student Services at vpsa.office@wwu.edu. The report can be found at: Annual Security and Fire Safety Report.

All new employees must comply with the immunization policy and show employment eligibility verification as required by the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Service before beginning work at WWU. A thorough background check will be conducted on all new hires which includes a sexual misconduct background check.