Residence Life Assistant (RLA)

POSITION OVERVIEW 

Within Housing and Ancillary Services (Department of Student Affairs), Residence Life and Services aims to create a community environment where all students can:   

• Find a sense of belonging: we help students feel connected at Queen’s and provide opportunities for active engagement within the campus and Kingston communities;
• Build resilience: we encourage students to problem solve, think critically, accept responsibility for one’s actions, and learn and grow from challenging experiences;
• Achieve academic success: we help students identify and strive to achieve realistic and tangible goals that contribute to their overall academic efforts.  

We encourage the personal development of our community members by fostering connection, providing a wide range of educational and academic programming, and holding individuals accountable for violations of the Residence Contract.  

Supervised by the Residence Life Coordinator, the Residence Life Assistant position is a live-in leadership opportunity for upper year students to support and educate residence students. RLAs build meaningful individual and community relationships, contribute to the safety and security of our buildings. 

The contract for 2026-27 begins Monday August 24, 2026 (first day of staff training), and ends on Friday, April 30, 2027 (subject to change based on alignment with sessional dates). Employees must be able to commit for the entirety of the contract, regardless of having completed previous elements of the role (including training). The contract is inclusive of the entire academic year, including all statutory holidays and Reading Weeks (except the December University closure). 

Residence Dons, Living Learning Community Dons and Residence Life Assistants are unionized positions. See the Collective Agreement between Queen’s University and USW 2010-02 on Unions and Associations on the Queen’s Human Resources website for additional information.  

Eligibility 

1. An RLA must have previous experience working as a Residence Don at Queen’s University
2. An RLA must have no less than two (2) years of post-secondary experience  

Roles and Responsibilities   

Overall Expectations

The RLA is a front-line resource for residence students and is responsible for the overall implementation of the three Residence Life learning goals: finding a sense of belonging, building resilience, and achieving academic success. Overall, the RLA will:

• Establish a visible, available, and approachable presence as a first point of contact for residence students.
• Build rapport and 1:1 relationships with each student in the community.
• Demonstrate and support attitudes and behaviours related to promoting a community and campus that is respectful of diverse identities and backgrounds, and free from harassment, discrimination, and intimidation.
• Contribute to building safety and security through maintaining on-call and office hours.
• Act as a positive role model for residence students, fellow student staff members, and within the broader campus community.
• Facilitate informed and specific referrals to campus resources.
• Build community in area(s) of responsibility where students feel respected and connected to each other.
• Develop positive working relationships with fellow student staff members, Housing and Ancillary Services staff, and other University partners and colleagues.
• Work within University policies and take direction, as necessary, from Residence Life professional staff. 

Key Responsibilities

Community Leadership

• Maintain regular weekly office hours from 8 pm - 11 pm
  • Be available and visible in assigned community with door open.
  • Address individual, community, and conduct issues as needed.
  • Time can be spent hosting drop-in hours for community, having intentional conversations, conducting community rounds, completing administrative tasks, and/or facilitating programming requirements.
• Mediate roommate/floor mate conflicts.
• Communicate all facility concerns and damages via the ARCHIBUS MRO system, and escalate to RLC if ongoing/safety concern.
• Establish 1:1 rapport with each resident in the area of responsibility.
• Develop and implement a communication protocol to ensure residents are informed of information and events.
• Eat in the residence dining halls with residents regularly throughout the academic year.
• Make an effort to get to know residents in other areas of the building.
• Role model and promote inclusive and respectful behavior in area(s) of responsibility.
• Arrange follow-up conversations with students after notable interactions, as directed by Residence Life professional staff.
• Make appropriate, timely, and informed referrals to campus resources.

Residence Operations

• Participate in a front-line on-call rotation:
  • Complete regular rounds of area(s) of responsibility.
  • Respond and document violations of the Residence Contract in accordance with University policy, including: noise, alcohol and cannabis related incidents, inappropriate behaviour, and smoking.
  • Respond and document emergency and crisis situations in accordance with University policy, including: suicidal ideation, sexual violence, student support (first aid, substance use), power outage, natural disaster (fire, flood, etc.).
  • Document and report facilities issues (including damages).
  • Submit end-of-shift reports after each shift.
• Assist in handling emergencies in partnership with other residence staff, Campus Security and Emergency Services, and/or other campus partners as applicable.
• Assist in the student staff recruitment and selection process as directed.
• Assist with end-of-term room checks in December and April.
• Develop positive working relationships with fellow staff members, including Custodial, Front Desk, and Hospitality staff.  

Residence Education

• Implement and attend educational and programming initiatives from the Residence Education team, as directed in the Residence Staff Manual.
• Facilitate monthly community meetings.
• Plan, promote, and facilitate informal community building events.
• Keep posters and information updated in area(s) of responsibility.
• Attend all required staff training and development sessions, including August training per the contract and ongoing training throughout the academic year.
• Attend ongoing training sessions related to furthering knowledge of issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion.  

Residence Conduct

• Document violations of the Residence Contract.
• Have educational conversations with residents regarding behaviour and policies.
• Ensure that the Residence Contract are maintained, including conducting front-line intervention and reporting incidents through the appropriate channel(s).
• Where possible, and when requested, attend Residence Conduct Appeal hearings.  

Administration

• Ensure community completion of student surveys and feedback processes (Residence Satisfaction Survey, focus groups, program assessment, etc.).
• Read and be familiar with the information included in the Residence Staff Manual, Residence Contract, residence policies, and any other material distributed by Residence Life and Services.
• Attend weekly staff meetings, and bi-weekly one-on-one meetings with the Residence Life Coordinator.
• Use the Residence Life database (eRezlife) to thoroughly document work, including submitting individual reports concerning incidents or student interactions.
• Check and action email and voicemail messages daily.

Additional Duties

• Support and assist in coordinating efforts to ensure building safety, security and maintenance in the event of a work stoppage.
• Perform additional duties as directed by Residence Life professional staff. 

Residence Life Assistant Specific Duties 

In addition to the duties, responsibilities and expectations outlined in the Residence Don job description, a Residence Life Assistant (RLA) will provide administrative and team support to the overall program, specifically taking direction from the Residence Life Coordinator. RLAs receive additional compensation in order to accommodate additional duties.

Additional responsibilities and requirements of the role consist of, but are not limited to:

• Role modelling and sharing experience to assist in creating a positive experience for fellow staff, including the organization of six team bonding activities in consultation with the Residence Life Coordinator according to the following schedule:
  • 1 in September to October; 1 in November to December; 1 anytime in Semester 1.
  • 1 in January to February; 1 in March to April; 1 anytime in Semester 2.
• Creation and maintenance of the Don on-call and office hours schedule for assigned area(s) of responsibility.
• Review and summary of Don on-call and other logs to identify and escalate building/staff trends and incidents.
• Training and team meeting facilitation at the direction of the Residence Life Coordinator.
• Regular communication with the Residence Life Coordinator regarding team dynamics, building trends, and student staff strengths/weaknesses;
• Attending weekly one-on-one meetings with their Residence Life Coordinator;
• Complete additional administrative duties as assigned by the Residence Life Coordinator or other Residence Life staff.

Sample Schedule

Hours of work are outlined in Article 20 - Hours Of Work, Mandatory Training, And Schedules of the Collective Agreement between Queen’s University and USW 2010-02 on Unions and Associations on the Queen’s Human Resources website. Hours of work may be uneven and will be influenced by student concerns and Residence Life priorities, however it is expected that the bulk of the weekly requirements will be completed during Don office hours. Given the time commitment, additional employment and extracurricular activities are limited to a maximum of 10 hours per week. 

Remuneration

Remuneration is outlined in Article 30 – Compensation, Meal Plan, And Employee Benefits of the Collective Agreement between Queen’s University and USW 2010-02 on Unions and Associations on the Queen’s Human Resources website.