Director of Housing and Residence LifeNew College of Florida

New College of Florida is Florida's designated public honors college, refounded on the conviction that a liberal education should teach students how to think, not what to think. Our core courses connect Great Books to the challenges of the present, and our logos/techne curriculum joins rigorous reasoning to applied knowledge, culminating for every student in an individualized educational contract and an original senior thesis. Residential life at New College centered on our historic Sarasota bayfront across an expansive, growing 150-acre campus in a premier Sarasota location is not an amenity but part of the education itself: a small, close-knit community where habits of self-governance, integrity, and civil discourse are formed alongside the mind.

To fulfill this mission, New College infuses its residential culture with an "Unreasonable Hospitality" mindset—a commitment to intentional care, relentless attention to detail, and creating a transformative living environment where every student feels seen, heard, and valued. The Director of Housing and Residence Life serves as a member of the Student Affairs Leadership Team and oversees the Department of Housing and Residence Life.

This essential leader supervises a professional, administrative, and student staff, manages an approximately $2 million operating budget, and safeguards a residential culture consistent with the College's classical mission and Community Standards. The ideal candidate pairs exceptional emotional intelligence, composure, and de-escalation skills with an obsessive drive to elevate student life through thoughtful, high-touch, human-centered hospitality—turning everyday residential interactions, conflict resolutions, and move-in moments into opportunities for extraordinary care and community building.

• Maintaining a comprehensive plan for residence life and housing operations; upholding the objectives, policies, procedures, and standards of the Department within the overall mission and goals of the Office of Student Affairs and the College. Core responsibilities include:

  · Serve as the primary senior liaison for student and parent concerns. Transform potentially contentious or high-stress interactions into opportunities for radical empathy, active listening, and partnership without compromising institutional values, safety, or policies.

  · Champion a service culture within Residence Life that prioritizes intentionality, personalized student support, and surprise-and-delight touchpoints throughout the academic year (from bespoke move-in experiences to creative residential traditions).

  · Supervising employees in the Department of Housing and Residence Life, including the Assistant Director of Housing Operations and the Area Coordinators.

  · Working collaboratively with General Counsel to implement the College's Community Standards and related initiatives, ensuring New College remains compliant with applicable law and liability considerations in housing operations.

  · Providing leadership for crisis management situations; serving as one of the College's Hurricane critical staff members, a standing responsibility for a residential campus on Sarasota Bay, and collaborating with the Dean of Students and the Director of Public Safety to build and coordinate a response team for campus emergencies affecting students.

  · Developing annual rent schedules and making recommendations to the Administration; preparing material to finance capital projects, including renovations and new residential facilities across our premier 150-acre campus and surrounding College grounds.

  · Administering comprehensive maintenance and custodial operation plans for the residential community; working closely with Facilities while overseeing the Assistant Director of Housing Operations regarding assignment, key inventory, and related matters.

  · Working closely with the Director of Dining and Nutritional Services; developing and implementing strategies to enhance staff effectiveness, teamwork, community, resilience, and professional development among residence life staff.

  · Other duties as assigned.

  This position will be responsible for adherence to FERPA and other private data obligations, and is a mandatory reporting position for Title IX. Advanced interpersonal, de-escalation, conflict-resolution, planning, organizational, and change-management skills are required, along with the ability to synthesize complex information, remain composed under pressure, and utilize automated systems and analytical reporting tools. Some evening and weekend work will be required.

• Preferred Qualifications

  · Master's degree, or experience at the Director's level in the Office of Student Affairs, and five years of relevant experience.

  · Demonstrated experience successfully managing high-stress stakeholder interactions, including handling elevated complaints and hostile communication from parents and students.

  · Genuine support for New College's mission as a classical liberal arts honors college and for the formation of character alongside intellect.

  · Doctoral degree in Student Affairs or Higher Education and five years of relevant experience.

  · Experience within the State University System (SUS) of Florida.

  · Experience utilizing Banner 9, Microsoft Excel and Word, Erez Housing applications, Maxient Conduct Systems, and comparable management/conduct software.

  · Proven track record of conflict mediation, crisis resolution, and de-escalation in a higher education setting.

  · Familiarity with small residential honors colleges or house-based residential systems, and with mission-driven institutions committed to the classical liberal arts.

  Key Competencies

  · Crisis & Conflict Resolution: Masterfully handles volatile, emotionally charged, or unreasonable hostility from students and parents; uses active listening, clear boundaries, and sound reasoning to de-escalate conflicts while maintaining institutional integrity.

  · Problem Solving & Decision Making: Identifies and resolves issues in a timely manner; gathers and analyzes information skillfully; works well under pressure and uses clear, firm reason when dealing with emotional or adversarial topics.

  · Interpersonal Resilience & Communication: Speaks and writes with clarity, firmness, and empathy in high-stakes or negative situations; communicates effectively across diverse constituencies while preserving professional boundaries.

  · Ethics & Professional Integrity: Keeps commitments; treats all parties with professional respect regardless of conduct; works with integrity and ethically; upholds institutional standards and values under pressure.

  · Cost Consciousness & Management: Works within approved budgets, develops cost-saving measures, and articulates financial realities clearly to leadership.

  · Planning & Quality Control: Prioritizes complex workloads; plans for additional resources; monitors work and operations for maximum safety, compliance, and quality.

New College of Florida's mission is to offer a liberal arts education of the highest quality in the context of a small, residential public honors college with a distinctive academic program that develops each student's intellectual and personal potential as fully as possible. Refounded to recover a genuinely classical liberal arts education—one grounded in Great Books, ideas, and debates of the Western tradition and the American founding—New College holds that residential life across our expansive, growing 150-acre bayfront campus is where students practice, daily, the self-governance and civic virtue that a free society requires. The Director of Housing and Residence Life works in close partnership with the Dean of Students, faculty, and student leadership to keep the residence halls places of serious purpose, hospitality, firmness, and genuine community.

All candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States without requiring immigration sponsorship, including but not limited to non-immigrant visas, such as H1B, STEM, or F1, now and in the future.

New College of Florida (NCF) is an equal opportunity employer and educational provider committed to a policy of non-discrimination for any member of the NCF community on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veterans' status, marital status, or any other legally protected group status.