Residence Clerk

at  Western University

ABOUT WESTERN

Since 1878, Western University has been committed to serving our communities through the pursuit of academic excellence and by providing students, faculty, and community members with life-long opportunities for intellectual, social, and cultural growth. We seek excellent students, faculty, and staff to join us in what has become known as the “Western Experience” - an opportunity to contribute to a better world through the development of new knowledge, new abilities, new connections, and new ways to make a difference.

ABOUT US

Housing and Ancillary Services is committed to providing a first-class residence experience for over 5,300 Western students while supporting the academic mission of the University and ensuring profitability and cost effectiveness of the divisional operation. We provide thriving residence communities which engage our diverse student population.

SCOPE OF RESPONSIBILITY:

While the Residence Clerk will answer inquiries regarding a wide variety of situations, typically the Residence Clerk would dispatch a Residence Life Staff member to deal with any situations that may arise within the building. The majority of situations will involve issues such as: noise complaints, student lock-outs, maintenance problems, etc. The Residence Clerk is expected to determine the number and level of Staff Member(s) to dispatch. Good judgement is expected in determining which problems can wait until business hours rather than having to wake up a Staff Member in the middle of the night. The Residence Clerk coordinates the sign-out of restricted keys (including building master keys) according to policy. When keys are found to be missing, the Associate Director, Client Services must be notified immediately. The Residence Clerk is expected to be proactive in looking for any suspicious behaviour and reporting this to the appropriate Residence Life Staff member. The Residence Clerk is expected to use tact in preventing the escalation of any tense situation that may arise at the front desk. The Residence Clerk is never expected to become involved in, or instigate a confrontation. The Residence Clerk is expected to be attentive at all times to who enter/exits the building..
Residence Clerks are expected to work with a minimum of direct supervision. Contact with the Associate Director will be on an as-needed or monthly basis. The incumbent may occasionally be assigned small building-related clerical tasks by the Residence Manager of building or Secretary after approval from the incumbent’s supervisor. A number of on-duty Residence Staff Members are always available to provide assistance or support.

EDUCATION:

• Secondary School Diploma
• Computer experience using Windows 7, email, MS Excel, MS Office

YEARS OF EXPERIENCE:

• Minimum 2 years customer services experience

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES:

• Strong interpersonal/communication skills in order to deal with residents, guests, parents, etc.
• Good judgement and the ability to work in an environment where there are constant interruptions, and the potential for problems.
• As the Residence Clerks work in a location that should be staffed 24/7, the ability to consistently work the assigned shifts is paramount. This includes the ability to share weekends and night shifts.
• Computer experience

PURPOSE OF THE POSITION:

As part of our 24 hour/day staffing model, Residence Clerks provide front line service to students, parents, and guests at one or more of Western’s Residences. Regular and frequent interactions with students at the front desk for room key replacement, mail pick-up, and general questions about Western and residence are the primary responsibilities of the role. Regular and frequent audits of the use of residence keys are critical to monitoring the security of the building. Residence Clerks are expected to be vigilant at all times. They are to watch who enters and exits the building are expected to report any suspicious activity to Residence Staff or Campus Police.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Handle large volume of questions from parents, guests, and students at the front desk, and/or by phone, and/or by email regarding residence.
• Control and monitor residence access both through issuing new and spare keys to residents as well as issuing restricted keys to trades personnel.
• Log all building activity reported to the front desk and dispatch Residence Staff to investigate as deemed necessary.
• Perform regular audits of restricted keys and inform Associate Director or Residence Operations Coordinator of any discrepancies immediately.
• Perform regular building rounds ensuring perimeter doors are locked/unlocked at various times of the day and report any suspicious activity to a Residence Staff member.
• Monitor the fire-alarm panel and reports any potential problems to the Manager/Acting Manager.
  The Residence Clerk works independently at the residence front desk providing service to students, parents and guests. The Residence Clerk will work collaboratively with the Residence Life Staff who live in the building and who respond to all situations as dispatched by the Residence Clerk. The Manager-on-call is always available for consultation.
  Western’s residences range in size from 240 – 1252 students. In larger capacity buildings, more than one Residence Clerk may be scheduled at a desk. The Residence Clerk reports directly to the Associate Director, Client Services and has no direct reports.