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Aloha mai!  Mahalo for your interest in Kamehameha Schools.  If you are looking for an opportunity to utilize your skills and talents and grow in your profession, while serving and strengthening our Native Hawaiian community, we would love to have you join our ʻohana!

Job Summary

Under the direction of the Residential Life Coordinator, the Residential Life Advisor (RLA) coordinates significant portions of the residential life program.  The RLA is vital in creating a safe and secure living learning environment that fosters students’ educational success and personal development.   The RLA leads and supervises students who reside in the Residential Life Facilities.  RLAs model and guide appropriate student behaviors, exercise discretion and independent judgment within the programmatic framework, and mentor students by continuously challenging them to make healthy decisions while ensuring they maintain the standards of KS.  RLAs conduct social skill programming and experiential learning opportunities to increase student self-sufficiency and life readiness success.  The RLA is expected to respond in person to provide direction and support in the event of a crisis or emergency during their scheduled work days, which include evenings, weekends, holidays, and school closures. 

Note: For the Residential Life Advisor, residing on site is a condition of employment.

Essential Responsibilities

Programmatic Support

• Serves as an educator for students’ development of life skills, social emotional learning, Hawaiian culture, and Christian values

• Provides opportunities for student exploration of independence by providing developmentally appropriate options and choices within programmatic parameters.

• Provides an inclusive, supportive and flexible structure from which students learn responsibility, problem solving, and time management.

• Implements the curriculum and life skills program, including encouraging students to utilize developmentally appropriate decision-making and critical thinking strategies

• Provides experiential learning opportunities for students to practice and demonstrate using their skills

• Provides opportunities for students to practice leadership and critical thinking skills

• Practices active supervision and engages in programming alongside the students.

• Actively listens to students’ thoughts, ideas, and concerns

• Provides reinforcement of positive behaviors through encouragement and praise

• Provides correction and redirection for students and hold them to high standards

• Monitors student progress and provides appropriate interventions to support student success

• Provides reinforcing and developmental feedback to students on a consistent basis.

• Assesses students’ academic grades/performance and implementing additional learning support when necessary.

• Communicates regularly with teachers on student progress and development.

• Frequently communicates with the parents/guardians regarding student’s progress, growth areas, and areas for improvement.

• Facilitates and supports staff with addressing any concerns of Parents/Guardians in a timely manner and connects them to the appropriate resources.

• Supports the student behavior management system by coaching staff on appropriate consequences and providing guidance on using teachable moments with students.

• Responsible for activity setup/breakdown and transporting supplies for general program support. 

• Transports residents to/from KS approved activities, events, and appointments.

Student Safety

• Assesses facilities and practices to ensure safe living and learning environments are maintained.

• Follows policies and protocols to ensure the safety of students and staff

• Immediately reports signs of student mental health concerns to the appropriate persons

• Follows all child abuse reporting protocols with urgency and accuracy.

• Teaches students about safety including fire safety, chemical usage, internet safety, etc.

• Provides basic first aid care by adhering to medical training 

• Maintains an awareness of student whereabouts at all times

• Keeps an awareness of all visitors and guests that enter the dorms.

• Maintains accurate check out records and follows check out procedures

• Logs all student and perimeter checks

• Ability to quickly adapt to student needs or emergencies

• Ability to interact in a calm and professional manner with students who may be emotional.

Position Requirements

Minimum Qualifications – An equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered in lieu of the requirements listed.

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution

• Minimum 3 years of experience leading children in an educational environment

• Maintained a valid Driver’s License for a minimum of 1 year.

• HIDOT Minibus certification or ability to obtain within 2 months of hire.

• Ability to obtain certification in CPR, First Aid, and AED within 2 months of hire.

• Ability to apply professional approaches to solve problems and organize programs and projects, including, but not limited to motivating students.

• Skills in judgment and decision-making, problem solving, identifying measures of system performance and the actions to improve performance.

• Project management, problem identification and reasoning skills. Skilled in problem solving and decision making that represents the best interest of Kamehameha Schools, the Residential Life department, and students. Skilled to manage a broad range of student services within the residential life community and knowledgeable about accessible services and resources.

• Strong knowledge of common institution-wide computer application programs, including web-based meeting platforms

• Ability to work cooperatively, effectively and efficiently with students and other professionals.

• Skilled in organizing and prioritizing workload while working independently in campus wide and off campus spaces.

• Ability to maintain confidentiality and interact in sensitive situations in a professional manner.

• Skilled in communicating effectively with individuals and in groups through inclusive understanding.

Preferred Qualifications

• Working understanding of Hawaiian language and cultural values.

• Live-in residential experience in an educational environment.

• Thorough knowledge of advising and counseling techniques. Able to assess and mediate individual and group conflicts with basic counseling, including but not limited to listening, reflecting and summarizing skills

• Demonstrated skill in handling crises and emergency situations involving student welfare and safety.

• Project management, problem identification and reasoning skills. Skilled in problem solving and decision making that represents the best interest of Kamehameha Schools, the Residential Life department, and students. Skilled to manage a broad range of student services within the residential life community and knowledgeable about accessible services and resources.

Physical and Mental Requirements

• Frequently sits, performs desk-based computer tasks and tasks requiring light or fine manual dexterity.

• Frequently communicates verbally, electronically, and in writing with stakeholders, including the ability to clearly see, hear and speak to aid in the conversation.

• Frequently stand and/or walk for extended periods of time.

• Frequently ascend/descend multiple flights of stairs throughout the buildings to effectively supervise residents.

• Frequently twist, bend, stoop, squat, kneel, crawl, reach or work above shoulder, or grasp forcefully.

• Ability to lift, move, position, and/or transport 30 pounds. 

Working Conditions (including environmental conditions)   

• This position may involve traveling to various locations, including neighbor islands to conduct business.

• Work is conducted in an office environment and may require work to be conducted in non-standard workplaces.

• Work is typically conducted outside regular school hours, including mornings, evenings, weekends, holidays, and school closures. 

• Work may involve exposure to extreme temperatures and contact with hazardous materials, dust, dirt, smoke, unpleasant odors, loud noises, etc.

Disclaimer: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by incumbents assigned to this job.  This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all the responsibilities, duties and skills required.  The incumbent may be expected to perform other duties as assigned.

Federal law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities.  Please contact us at [email protected] or 808-534-8040 if you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job or to perform your job.  Examples of reasonable accommodation include making a change to the application process or work procedures, providing documents in an alternate format, using a sign language interpreter, or using specialized equipment.

KS does not accept unauthorized solicitations of candidate referrals from third-party vendors (i.e. Staffing Agencies, Executive Recruitment Firms).  Any third-party vendor who has interest in supporting KS's recruiting efforts must be authorized by Human Resources prior to the vendor’s candidate applying with KS.  

Work Year

Pay Range

Compensation and Benefits

At Kamehameha Schools (KS), we recognize that compensation is just one facet of a fulfilling employment experience. Our commitment lies in fostering a positive work environment and equipping employees with the necessary resources to excel every day. Our Total Rewards Program embodies KS's dedication to the physical, mental, and financial well-being of our employee ʻohana. Explore our comprehensive Benefits Summary for more information.

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