Executive Director, Residential and Hospitality Services

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, RESIDENTIAL AND HOSPITALITY SERVICES
 DREXEL BUSINESS SERVICES

Drexel University seeks an entrepreneurial, strategically minded leader to build on a strong residential operation and unlock its next stage of opportunity. Reporting to the Vice President of Drexel Business Services and Academic Properties, Inc., the Executive Director will lead the university’s residential occupancy management and related business functions, with responsibility spanning housing strategy, occupancy forecasting, assignments, contracts, and revenue performance. The portfolio also encompasses campus dining through an external operating partner, management of Drexel’s relationship with its third-party affiliated housing partner, and conference services, creating opportunities to strengthen vendor accountability, improve coordination across the university, and deliver a more integrated experience for students and guests.

The central challenge is to look beyond day-to-day execution and continually ask how Drexel can make better use of its residential assets, anticipate changing demand, enhance the student and guest experience, strengthen retention within its programs, and improve financial performance. A strong hospitality mindset should inform this work, recognizing that the quality of the residential and dining experience can also contribute to the university’s broader student recruitment and retention efforts. The Executive Director will guide an experienced team, translate data and insight into action, and build strong working relationships across Business Services, Student Life, academic units, and external partners. This leader must be equally comfortable evaluating the business implications of a decision and understanding how decisions will impact the people who live, dine, and gather at Drexel.

For an ambitious leader with commercial acumen, a hospitality mindset, and the ability to turn ideas into results, this is an opportunity to shape a complex, highly visible operation at a university where the student experience is inseparable from its distinctive model of experiential education. The successful candidate will bring fresh thinking, sound judgment, and a continuous-improvement orientation to a portfolio with a strong foundation and considerable potential for further service enhancement, financial performance, and impact.

The Executive Director of Residential and Hospitality Services will look across housing occupancy, revenue performance, dining partnerships, and conference services to anticipate demand, identify opportunities, improve coordination, and strengthen service delivery. Working closely with colleagues across Business Services, Student Life, academic units, and external operators, the Executive Director will ensure that business decisions reflect both the realities of operating a complex portfolio and the expectations of the students and guests it serves. In doing so, this leader will help Drexel make the most of its residential assets while advancing the University’s broader commitment to an engaging, responsive, and distinctive student experience.

The Executive Director will lead a portfolio spanning Residential Occupancy Management, Campus Dining, Leasing, and Conference Services. This is an opportunity to build on a strong housing operation while bringing greater strategic focus, operational integration, and continuous improvement to a set of services that shape the daily experience of students and visitors and contribute meaningfully to Drexel’s financial performance.

Key priorities include:

• Advancing a proactive, data-informed strategy for residential occupancy and revenue performance.
• Strengthening the performance and evolution of Drexel’s residential portfolio.
• Building high-performing partnerships with external operators.
• Elevating hospitality and strengthening the end-to-end student and guest experience.
• Developing Conference Services as a more integrated and effective operation.
• Connecting business strategy with Drexel’s broader institutional priorities.
• Modernizing operations and building capacity for continuous improvement.
• Leading, developing, and empowering an experienced team.

Required Qualifications & Competencies
The successful candidate will bring substantial experience in residential occupancy management, housing operations, property management, hospitality, or a related business environment, along with a demonstrated record of translating strategy into operational and financial results. A bachelor’s degree is required; an advanced degree is preferred.

Experience in housing or auxiliary services, familiarity with the residential student experience, and experience with campus dining or conference services are advantages but are not essential for a candidate who brings strong commercial, vendor-management, and hospitality capabilities. The ability to learn Drexel’s institutional context, build relationships across campus, and apply sound business judgment to a student-centered environment is critical.

Compensation and Benefits
This is a full-time position that will be performed on site in Pennsylvania. Salary for this role is in the range of $140,000 to $150,000 with a generous benefits package.

Contact
DSG Global has been exclusively retained for this engagement, which is being led by Ruth Shoemaker Wood, Ph.D. and Lisa Solinsky. Express interest in this role by filling out our Talent Profile.

Drexel University is committed to fairness, equal opportunity, and a hiring process that ensures inclusive representation of faculty and professional staff members with a wide range of perspectives. We encourage candidates from varied backgrounds and lived experiences – who are passionate about building and sustaining an inclusive and welcoming working and learning environment for all students, faculty and staff – to apply.