Head of Residential Life

HEAD OF RESIDENTIAL LIFE

San Diego FC (San Diego FC) is the newest member of the MLS family. As part of the unique Right to Dream model and the Sycuan Tribe’s deep roots, we are proud to be building a San Diego-centric soccer organization and residential youth academy that honors our history and celebrates emerging excellence on and off the pitch.

SUMMARY:

The Head of Residential Life is responsible for overseeing the residential life of student-athletes living at the Right to Dream Academy in San Diego. This full-time role oversees the residential program and staff in their work to provide a living space that is safe, supportive, dynamic and enables all residents to thrive and flourish.

Reporting to the Head of School and working within the academy leadership team, The Head of Residential Life will work closely with the football and school pillars to deliver a holistic development environment at the Academy for the student-athletes, their families and Right to Dream staff.

The Head of Residential Life will live on campus and directly manage all residential staff and be responsible for student residential life on a daily basis, including overseeing weekend programming when student-athletes are not traveling for games and tournaments. They will lead and share responsibility for safeguarding efforts on SDFC’s Right to Dream Academy campus as it pertains to residence and its overlap with football and school.

They will cooperate with the wider Right to Dream ecosystem and work closely with other Right to Dream Academies to deliver best practices to the residents in San Diego that are inspired by and align with the residential work being done by Right to Dream around the world. As such, they will nurture the Right to Dream manifesto and culture within the academy, while recognizing the unique location of San Diego (including the intersectionality with Mexico) and the opportunity it affords in creating a development pathway for student-athletes locally and beyond.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Leadership

• Provide strategic leadership to the academy’s annual plan, goals, and priorities as it pertains to the residence and development of all student-athletes and direct reports, as well as the development and integration of programming within the Academy
• Demonstrate the highest level of concern and care for the resident student-athletes, their families and the resident staff by providing regular communication and deep understanding of the needs of the community at SDFC’s RTD Academy.
• Able to operate in a global matrix organization and offer high caliber peer leadership and people operations across the business
• Create and reinforce effective and compliant systems and processes that within an educational, sporting, and developmental environment
• Provide evidence-based insights on student-athlete character development during selection phases and throughout their academy experience
• Inform and participate in student-athlete progress monitoring meetings with families
• Ensure implementation and updating of safeguarding policies for all student-athletes and staff at the Academy in support and collaboration with SDFC and Right to Dream Group
• Develop and maintain systems for consistent communication with families and expectations for how academy staff communicates with families (ex. Newsletters, social media, websites, cell phones, etc.)

Executive Administration and Operations

• In conjunction with Brand and Community team, develop materials to effectively communicate about Academy life with a broad stakeholder audience
• Understand the ecological system of SDFC and RTD and prioritize budgets and resources for the residence at the Academy.
• Responsible for all recruiting, hiring, onboarding, development (including succession planning and Learning and Development initiatives) and evaluation (including KPIs) for full and part-time residential staff
• Manage part-time and contracted program providers for enrichment programming
• Manage budget and resources to provide high-quality enrichment programming, including planning and leading social, community, clubs, and extra-curricular events on and off campus
• Create and enforce schedules for all residential activities (events, meals, chores, etc.) with intersectionality with football and academics at the core
• In collaboration with families and academy staff, coordinate individual off-site student-athlete services (ex. dental/orthodontic appointments, check ups, therapy, etc.)
• Manage and lead family visitation events

Culture and Climate

• Create and maintain an environment which fosters an engaged, passionate, diverse, fulfilled, and high-performing workforce of coaches, teachers, and staff, who in turn engage and enable the academy’s student-athletes, parents, and wider community.
• Develop and ensure a growth environment based on the RTD academy model and with psychological safety as a core foundation.
• Ensure all student-athletes understand and are following the Academy rules and expectations for behavior, chores, safeguarding, and more
• Create and deliver the processes, protocols, and initiatives which support the development of young players and student-athletes, underpinned by the three pillars of football, education, and character and which support cultural development.
• Understand the cultural dimensions across the RTD group and other academies (Ghana, Denmark, and Egypt) and integrate this understanding into the organization.

Teaching and Learning

• Alongside the Head of School, will support the delivery of the education structure for SDFC’s RTD Academy (utilizing internal/external resources as required) to create a program aligned with the wider RTD system.
• Will oversee study-hall and ensure that all residential staff are trained appropriately to provide effective academic support (ex. Leading book clubs, implementing reading intervention and language acquisition supports, subject tutoring)
• Ensure and embrace the SDFC/RTD holistic development strategy including the implementation of the character program and cohesion of values-driven and restorative culture for student discipline and behavior

Other Duties and Responsibilities

• Act as a trusted advisor to student-athletes and their families and key point of contact for families
• Ensure and embrace the SDFC/RTD holistic development strategy including the academic and football components.
• Contribute to an inclusive environment for diverse people and cultures.
• Represent the academy frequently at events
• Integrate club and Academy level football player development strategies.
• As the founding team comes together, the Head of Residential Life may be assigned additional responsibilities to help balance the needs of the team and ensure excellence at the Academy

QUALIFICATIONS

• Candidates can meet the requirements with a combination of experience in the following areas:
• Must possess 5 or more years of experience leading youth in residential settings, including academic (ex. schools) or enrichment settings (ex. camps)
• Must be willing to live on campus
• May possess a teaching qualification
• May possess certifications in counseling or social work
• May possess coaching certifications
• Must be Bilingual – fluent in English & Spanish

EXPERIENCE

• Deep knowledge of youth residential settings and youth development
• Experience with SafeSport/SafeSchools and Safeguarding/Mandatory Reporting
• Experience that evidences alignment to the mission and vision of Right to Dream
• Understanding of an institution that prioritizes both football and academic pathways

ABOUT SAN DIEGO FC

Our VISION is to be the epicenter of football excellence and innovation in North America. Our MISSION is to create opportunities for talent to flourish and San Diego to shine.

We value community, diversity, and acting with purpose. We are looking for leaders at all levels to co-create the culture of a new organization that is built on the premise that you can discover, understand, and re-define excellence by nurturing talent and creating opportunity anywhere – specifically though the combination of elite soccer, rigorous academics, and strong character.

Globally, Right to Dream partners with talented young people to give them a nurturing environment to flourish and thrive. We do this through a holistic model of athletic development, where young people grow as human beings and great footballers. RTD’s promise is set out in their Manifesto: a set of 8 commitments which will be central to the San Diego FC ethos from the front office, to the classroom, to the field.

This is an opportunity to be a part of a great team building something meaningful for San Diego. We offer excellent benefits including health coverages with generous company contributions, over 30 days of paid time off, and a 4% company match on your 401(k).

Soccer is humanity and together, we can make a meaningful impact both on and off the field, fostering a culture that embraces excellence and equal opportunities. SDFC is an Equal Opportunity Employer.