Position Summary 
The Welcome Center manager assists the university relations director in building and strengthening relationships and partnerships with the community and serves as a frontline point of contact for the external community through the phone, the web, and in person. The manager is charged with managing and upgrading the  Welcome Center space and helping optimize the use of the center. The manager also provides information, tours, and other services for Rice visitors, students, staff, and faculty members. He/she recruits, trains, and deploys a special workforce of student assistants. The manager plays a significant role in the Public Affairs’ community relations mission by providing logistical and protocol services to major campus, neighborhood, and community events and visits by the consular corps and other local, state, national, and international leaders. The Welcome Center manager generates income for Public Affairs through the management of bridal photo shoots and is responsible for developing a plan to increase revenue from these kinds of activities. The Welcome Center manager builds and implements programs to drive traffic and engagement with Rice visitors. 

This position is exempt and is not eligible for overtime pay, and your salary covers all hours you work in a week.

Workplace Requirements:

On campus position: “This position is exclusively on-site, necessitating all duties to be performed in-person on Rice campus. Per Rice policy 440, work arrangements may be subject to change.

Hiring Range:

Salary commensurate with experience and qualifications. This is an exempt (salaried) position under FLSA and not eligible for overtime.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree. In lieu of the education requirement, additional related experience, above and beyond what is required, may be substituted on an equivalent year-for-year basis.  Two years of related experience in public relations, event planning and volunteer recruitment, training, and management. In lieu of the education requirement, additional related experience, above and beyond what is required, may be substituted on an equivalent year-for-year basis.  Skills:  Courtesy in all public contacts – interpersonal, phone, email, and the ability to communicate clearly and concisely both verbally and in writing.  Strong collaborative skills to ensure optimal co-use of the Welcome Center with the Office of Admissions. Strong organizational skills to manage Welcome Center visits, tours, events, databases, and other programs and activities.  Working knowledge of word processing and spreadsheet packages, including proficiency with the internet and website analysis.  Ability to work with Houston’s diverse populations.

Essential Functions

Enhances Rice University’s visibility and engagement with local, regional, and multicultural communities. Creates and develops programs and initiatives that promote and strengthen relationships and partnerships with visitors and the community. Plans and implements special events, school tours, and other outreach activities. Develops and implements plans for related communications and marketing efforts for the Welcome Center.  Produces the biweekly newsletter “Welcome” which invites community participation in Rice campus events. Serves as a “first stop” for answering questions about Rice for members of the Houston community and other campus visitors including fielding calls and emails from various departments as well as contacting the departments for information. Recruits, trains, and deploys student workers and volunteers as needed. Works with supervisor and departmental staff to ensure projects are successfully completed on time. Tracks and analyzes metrics related to all duties of the office and prepares annual and interim written reports.  Responsible for developing and overseeing the annual budgets of the Rice Welcome Center, including billing, reconciliation, processing and revenue reporting. Responsible for preparing and reconciling tour and event-oriented budgets, and collecting payments for campus bridal photography use. Performs all other duties as assigned.

Additional Functions

Supervisory responsibilities include hiring, training, scheduling, and supervising Welcome Center student assistants.  Some weekend and evening work may be required. Must be able to lift and carry up to 10 pounds. Able to provide tours of campus, including carrying and setting up materials for on- and off-campus events (tables, display booth, flags, literature, etc.).

Preferences

Three years of experience in public relations, event planning and volunteer recruitment, training, and management. Knowledge of updating and maintaining websites. Familiarity with the Rice campus, university organization, personnel, and resources.

Rice University HR | Benefits 

https://knowledgecafe.rice.edu/benefits 

Rice Mission and Values

Mission and Values | Rice University

Rice University is an Equal Opportunity Employer with commitment to diversity at all levels, and considers for employment qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, genetic information, disability or protected veteran status.

Faculty and staff are expected (but not required) to have completed a full vaccination series for COVID-19 (currently defined as full course COVID-19 Vaccine (typically two shots of a WHO-approved COVID-19 Vaccine or one J&J) and a COVID-19 booster. Rice does not require documentation for COVID 19 vaccination at this time for faculty and staff. More information can be found here: https://coronavirus.rice.edu/policies