Residences Conduct Officer

Job description

This is a newly created role within the King’s Residences department, reporting into the Residences Wellbeing Manager. In King’s Residences, we strive to provide a safe, supportive, and engaging environment for students to live, study and thrive within. The department currently runs 10 residential sites across London, 7 Residences of which are run by 3rd party organisations – Unite Students, Urbanest, Fresh Student Living and Downing. Across these 10 Halls, we house approximately 5500 students every academic year.

The purpose of this role is to lead on the handling of Resident student conduct and behaviour across this portfolio.  This includes developing robust, compassionate processes and systems to proactively promote and educate our residents on safe, appropriate behaviours from both a communal living perspective, but also as a member of the wider King’s community. We pride ourselves on our multicultural and diverse student community, but understand that for many, living independently as an adult in a communal environment (sometimes for the first time), can raise unique opportunities as well as challenges! This role aims to promote and educate our students on appropriate behaviours to ensure a safe environment for all.

The role purpose also includes the management of student misconduct in Halls using a harm-reduction approach, establishing a system where students have the opportunity to learn and action change, as well as being supported to engage in healthier behaviours in the future. This will involve developing a programme of workshops to tackle key student conduct issues in halls such as fire safety, respectful behaviours and wellbeing support. This role will work collaboratively with the King’s College London Student Union and Student Conduct and Appeals teams, escalating cases as needed and working to ensure the student voice is at the heart of the Residences Disciplinary Policy.

This post will be offered on a full-time, fixed term contract for 12 months (Maternity cover)

Key responsibilities

Conduct Case Management

• Accurately record and track misconduct cases on the ResiConduct database.
• Report weekly misconduct data, broken down into misconduct type.
• Create an annual oversight report of all disciplinary cases across Residences and use this to compare year on year figures to inform improvements to conduct management.
• Review incident reports submitted by the team daily and follow up with the relevant individuals to ensure cases are not left open unnecessarily and those cases that require further action are dealt with in a timely manner.
• Support site Managers and Teams with investigating incidents and submitting reports to be dealt with under the Residences Disciplinary Policy.
• Organise and oversee the running of the Disciplinary Panel Hearings throughout the academic year, inclusive of all necessary administration i.e. sending out disciplinary hearing invitations and outcomes.
• Organise and oversee the appeal of any disciplinary outcome issued by the Residences Disciplinary Board.
• Escalate issues to the Residences Welfare and Conduct Manager/Head of Operations whenever a risk to one or more students and/or to the University’s reputation is identified.
• Sensitively explore any associated welfare issues within conduct incidents, referring students through Student of Concern as necessary and signposting students to appropriate support.
• Provide pastoral support to students undergoing conduct investigations.
• Organise and run kitchen mediations with flats where the “stage 1” of kitchen inspection process (site managed stage) has failed.
• Organise and run mediations where there has been a break down in the flat community relationship, to promote resolution and heal conflict.

Conduct Policies

• Oversee the annual update of the Residences Disciplinary Policy.
• Support with rebuilding the policy from a “harm-reduction” perspective. This will include in-depth research on the North American model of handling behavioural issues in Halls, as well as liaising with colleagues at UK institutions that have made steps in this direction to implement a similar policy in King’s Residences.
• Implement a revised disciplinary outcome matrix, that focuses on positive interventions and learning development, as opposed to punitive warnings.
• Design, implement and oversee a programme of behavioural intervention outcomes for students going through Disciplinary hearings – inclusive of knowledge and skill building sessions in areas such as fire safety, wellbeing coaching, mediations and community service.
• Work alongside the KCLSU to coordinate their support and involvement in Residences Disciplinary.
• Submit reports to Student Conduct and Appeals for more complex and/or serious cases of misconduct.

Awareness and Support

• Annually update all site teams on changes made to the Disciplinary process.
• Provide advice and guidance to sites with all incidents of misconduct.
• Participate in the annual training of the Residence Welfare Lead team in areas of student behaviour and conduct.
• Collaborate with the Resilife team to run proactive events to support community development and respect, with a particular focus on key topics such as online safety awareness, sexual consent and bullying and harassment.

Other Duties

• Remain up to date on services available for students in the local community and within the King’s community, nurturing contacts with these services and drawing upon them as appropriate.
• Support a culture of integrity and professionalism.
• Attend regular training and/or self-development to ensure best practice is applied to the function.
• Identify issues that may hinder completion of tasks and find appropriate solutions.
• Be willing to seek out input from others and share own ideas to achieve best outcomes.
• Manage the ResiConduct inbox.
• Support with Welfare cases in crisis cases or during team absence.
• Respond to students in a sensitive manner at all times.
• Seek feedback from colleagues and stakeholders on the overall management of conduct within King’s Residences.
• Work as a supportive and co-operative team member, share information and acknowledge others’ efforts.
• Identify and assess options to address student problems and suggest means to improve procedures and processes.
• To carry out such other duties as agreed with the organisation and line management.

The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.

Skills, knowledge and experience

Essential criteria

1.       3 years (minimum) of experience working within a HEI residence or similar

2.       Excellent written and oral communication skills

3.       Designing, implementing and evaluating training programmes and/or workshops designed for young adults

4.       Knowledge of current issues students face in the HEI landscape

5.       Conflict resolution/management - acting as a mediator in conflict scenarios

6.       Experience working with vulnerable young adults/University students or behavioral disorders

Desirable criteria

1.       Educated to degree level

2.       Safeguarding qualification

This post is subject to Disclosure and Barring Service and Occupational Health clearance.