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Student staff position descriptions

Below are the position descriptions for all the positions available for the 2010 - 2011 school year. Please contact your Residential Life Coordinator if you are interested in one of the positions or if you have questions.

Resident Assistant Position Description (Academic Year)

Position Description: The Resident Assistant (RA) is a live-in paraprofessional who has administrative and programming responsibility for a wing or building section of students: The Resident Assistant may report directly to either the Residential Life Coordinator (RLC) and/or Assistant Residential Life Coordinator (ARLC) and has responsibilities for working with both for specific parts of his/her position (programming, educational and wellness functions and other activities). The expected average time commitment for the position is 20 hours per week.

RA responsibilities include:

Maintaining a community atmosphere that is conducive to student social and academic success
Serving as a resource to residents. This may include making referrals for campus services, facilities, or activities; sending students to academic advisors; and making them aware of other UMKC personnel, functions, facilities and activities
Working with students who have conflicts or problems (i.e. roommate conflicts, homesickness, adjustment to school, etc.) and knowing when and where to refer students experiencing problems
Maintaining a presence in the building and being available to students
Planning educational, social and recreational programs for residents of wing and hall
Enforcement of University and Residential Life policies
Conduct/incident intervention; the RA is usually the first staff person to confront conduct infractions or assist with emergencies
Administrative activities related to the operation of their building, including, but not limited to processing work orders, on-call duty, duty at desk/office, giving tours to prospective students, turning in reports, processing check-ins and check-outs, etc.
Act as liaison between residents and Residential Life administration
Attend weekly staff meetings
Supporting the building Residential Housing Council (RHC) through meeting and event attendance and committee leadership
Other duties as assigned

Remuneration for RA: Furnished single room and meal plan.

Resident Assistant Position Description (Summer)

Position Description: The Summer Resident Assistants (SRA) will report to the Assistant Residential Life Coordinator (ARLC) in their respective residence hall for summer conference housing responsibilities. The Summer Resident Assistants will assist in the preparation for each summer conference arrival and departure. In addition, the Resident Assistant may have programmatic responsibilities. The expected average time commitment for the position is 20 hours per week.

R.A. Duties and Responsibilities:

Prepare check-in packets for each summer conference group assigned

Administrative activities related to the operation of their building, including but not limited to processing work orders, on-call duty, duty at desk/office, giving tours to prospective students, turning in reports, processing check-ins and check-outs for UMKC students, etc.

Participate in all check-ins and check-outs for each summer conference group assigned

Provide excellent customer service to all summer conference guests

Assist in preparations of rooms and facilities for the conference guests

Attend meetings as requested by the Assistant Residential Life Coordinator

Maintaining a presence in the building and being available to students

Planning social and recreational programs for residents of wing and hall

Attend weekly staff meetings

Enforcement of University and Residential Life policies

Other duties as assigned

Remuneration for summer RA: Furnished single room and a meal plan.

Remuneration for SRA in Apartments: Furnished two-bedroom apartment (to be shared with another student staff member of the same gender) and a meal plan.

Apartment Living Assistant Position Description

Position Description: The Apartment Living Assistant (ALA) is a live-in paraprofessional who has administrative and programming responsibility for a wing or building section of students. The Apartment Living Assistant reports directly to the Residential Life Coordinator (RLC) and/or Assistant Residential Life Coordinator (ARLC) but has responsibilities for working with both for specific parts of his/her position (programming, educational and wellness functions and other activities). The expected average time commitment for the position is 20 hours per week.

ALA responsibilities include:

Maintaining a community atmosphere that is conducive to student social and academic success
Serving as a resource to residents. This may include making referrals for campus services, facilities, or activities; sending students to academic advisors; and making them aware of other UMKC personnel, functions, facilities and activities
Working with students who have conflicts or problems (i.e. roommate conflicts, homesickness, adjustment to school, etc.) and knowing when and where to refer students experiencing problems
Creating programming that complements and/or supports the apartment living enviroment, specifically geared to more mature students, students wanting privacy and international students
Maintaining a presence in the building and being available to students
Enforcement of University and Residential Life policies
Conduct/incident intervention. The ALA is usually the first staff person to confront conduct infractions or assist with emergencies
Administrative activities related to the operation of their building, including but not limited to processing work orders, on-call duty, duty at desk/office, giving tours to prospective students and turning in reports
Act as liaison between residents and Residential Life administration
Attend weekly staff meetings
On-call duty during breaks (including winter break) - ALAs must be able to stay on campus for part of winter break
Other duties as assigned

Remuneration for ALA: Furnished two- or four-bedroom apartment (to be shared with other ALAs of the same gender) and a meal plan.

Social Justice Coordinator Position Description

Position description: The Social Justice Coordinator (SJC) is a live-in paraprofessional who has administrative and programming responsibility targeted towards social justice issues for the entire deaprtment of Residential Life. There are two Social Justice Coordinator positions; one will focus on Gender/LGBT issues and the other will focus on multicultural affairs. The Social Justice Coordinator reports directly to the Residential Life Coordinator and/or Assistant Residential Life Coordinator but has responsibilities for working with both for specific parts of his/herposition (social justice programming, educational and wellness functions, and other activities). The expected average time commitment for the position is 20 hours per week.

SJC responsibilities include:

Serve as a resource for the Resident Assistants (RAs) for the specific issues relative to their position in order to maintain a community atmosphere that is conducive to student social and academic success.
Serving as a resource to the residents of of all Residential Life facilities, especially those dealing with issues specific to the SJC role (sexual orientation, gender identity, women's issues, race/ethnicity, etc.). This may include assisting students with tasks specific to the community needs; making referrals for campus services, facilities, or activities; sending students to academic advisors and making them aware of other UMKC personnel, functions, facilities and activities.
Working with students who have conflicts or problems (i.e. roommate conflicts, homesickness, adjustment to school, etc.) and knowing when and where to refer students experiencing problems, especially as regards the issues specific to that SJC
Administrative activities related to the operation of their scope, including but not limited to processing programming paperwork, on-call duty, giving tours to prospective students, turning in reports, processing check-ins and check-outs, etc.
Maintaining a presence in all Residential Life facilities and being available to students
Planning educational, social and recreational programs, especially those activities that are related to the nature of social justice issues (i.e. sexual orientation, gender identity, multicultural, women's issues, international students, and other diversity-related topics).
Enforcement of University and Residential Life policies
Act as liaison between residents and Residential Life administration and the sponsoring departments
Attend weekly staff meetings
Supporting the building Residential Housing Council (RHC) through meeting and event attendance and committee leadership
Other duties as assigned

Remuneration for the SJC: Furnished single room, a meal plan, and a stipend of $100 per month

Preferred Experience:

Experience with social justice and diversity issues as it relates to, but not limited to, LGBTQI community, multicultural students, women, international students, etc.
Must be well-versed in gender/LGBTQI and/or multicultural issues

Minimum Requirements:

Must be well-acquainted with on-campus resources and diversity initiatives
Two (2) letters of recommendations from social justice personnel
One (1) personal preference recommendation (recommended but not required from Residential Life)

Academic Assistant Position Description

Position description: The Academic Assistant (AA) is a live-in paraprofessional who has administrative and programming responsibility for the Honors Living Learning Community (LLC). The Academic Assistant reports directly to the Residential Life Coordinator and/or Assistant Residential Life Coordinator but has responsibilities for working with both for specific parts of his/herposition (LLC programming, educational and wellness functions, and other activities). The expected average time commitment for the position is 20 hours per week.