About Rice: 

Boasting a 300-acre tree-lined campus in Houston, Texas, Rice University is ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has a 6-to-1 undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio and a residential college system, which supports students intellectually, emotionally, and culturally through social events, intramural sports, student plays, lecture series, courses, and student government. Developing close-knit, diverse college communities is a strong campus tradition, which is why Rice is highly ranked for best quality of life and best value among private universities.  

Rice is also a wonderful place to work. Rice faculty, staff, and students share values that are essential to our success as a healthy community. Those values guide our decisions and behaviors and shape Rice’s culture. They come through in the way we treat each other and the welcome we extend to our visitors. These values can be recalled simply by our name — RICE — Responsibility, Integrity, Community, and Excellence. 

Position Summary

The Assistant Director, Reunion and Volunteer Giving is a member of Rice University’s Annual Giving class and program management team and will be responsible for developing strategy and tactics to increase participation among key Rice constituencies, including, but not limited to, undergraduate alumni, graduate-level alumni, students, parents, faculty/staff, donors and volunteers, with a focus on increasing annual giving total dollars raised. The Assistant Director will develop and implement one or more strategic program plans as part of the comprehensive annual plan and will also manage the fundraising efforts for a program and/or a portfolio of classes that may also work through a five-year reunion cycle. The Assistant Director will engage with, and personally solicit, high profile donors and volunteers within an actively managed portfolio to achieve the ambitious annual giving goals in a given fiscal year.

The ideal candidate will have experience soliciting leadership-level gifts, managing volunteers and projects, and facilitating peer-to-peer solicitation.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree One year of related experience in fundraising, program or project coordination, volunteer management, and/or related experience (experience may be gained while a student) Skills Required Ability to learn new strategies Written and verbal communication skills Data analysis skills Ability to work well under pressure and manage multiple projects simultaneously Good organizational and time management skills Knowledge of Microsoft Office suite Ability to work independently and as part of a team to meet expected deadlines and schedules Attention to detail and ability to quickly understand and remember details about alumni/donors and projects to which they are assigned Experience with direct mail, telemarketing and/or database marketing 

Essential Functions

Provides recommendations for the design of appeal materials developed by the marketing team Tracks and analyzes results of development activities, to determine the effectiveness of outreach efforts Makes recommendations to manager for more effective solicitation appeals Works with a portfolio of assigned prospects to prioritize solicitation based on data analysis, prepare background information, and, as appropriate, engage with volunteers to further solicitation priorities Monitors, analyzes, and reports on overall results to internal and external constituencies, as needed Performs all other duties as assigned

Additional Functions

Up to 30% out-of-town travel Some weekend and evening work hours required

Preferences

Experience Two or more years of experience in annual giving, preferably at an institution of higher education Experience working with volunteers to achieve goals set for time-based campaigns Experience making face-to-face solicitations, especially at a leadership giving level ($2,500 and above) Experience in manipulating database information Experience with peer-to-peer fundraising software Experience using generative or predictive artificial intelligence to develop fundraising strategies Skills Ability to think strategically and to prioritize as well as to create and/or follow processes Personal initiative, curiosity to learn and flexibility to adjust one’s schedule to accomplish important tasks Demonstrated desire to help grow a strong program into an even stronger one Knowledge of fundraising database software Familiarity with fundraising in a higher education environment

Workplace Requirements

Must possess (or have the ability to obtain one within 30 days of hire) and maintain a valid Texas driver’s license with no more than three moving violations and/or at fault accidents within the past 36 months, and no convictions or deferred dispositions for Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) or Driving Under the Influence (DUI) within the past five years

Rice University HR | Benefits https://knowledgecafe.rice.edu/benefits 

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Rice University is committed to ensuring Equal Employment Opportunity and welcoming the fullness of diversity into our candidate pools. Rice considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, genetic information, disability, or protected veteran status. Rice also provides reasonable accommodations to qualified persons with disabilities. If an applicant requires a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process, please contact Rice University’s Disability Resource Center at 713-348-5841 or adarice@rice.edu for support.

If you have any questions, please email us at jobs@rice.edu. Thank you for your interest in employment with Rice University.