Associate Director, Philanthropy (Leadership Annual Giving)

Special Instructions to Applicants:

All interested applicants should attach a cover letter and resume in the Supporting Documents section of the application, preferably in a PDF format to avoid any formatting issues.

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, lectures 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:

Reporting to the Director of Philanthropy and Pipeline Discovery (Annual Giving), the Associate Director, Philanthropy (Leadership Annual Giving) is a forward-thinking, highly innovative fundraiser who supports building an inclusive leadership giving and pipeline program to identify, engage, qualify, solicit, and steward the next generation of donors for Rice University. This role focuses primarily on growing the leadership giving donor program with special emphasis on total dollars raised and growth in unrestricted giving for Rice University at the $10,000 level. In support of the donor pipeline, the Associate Director will work collaboratively within the Individual Giving team to ensure newly identified major and principal giving prospective donors have a seamless experience, either as a joint solicitation or as a referral to another fundraiser. As a fundraiser who balances both front-line and digital engagement with donors, this position is responsible for the high-level cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of philanthropic individuals in his/her portfolio and will be responsible for annual fundraising revenue and commitment goals, qualifications, referrals, and visits.

Ideal Candidate Statement

The ideal candidate will have experience soliciting leadership-level gifts from $10,000 to $99,999 and qualifying current and future donors to understand their philanthropic passions for Rice. This person cares deeply about building a sustainable donor pipeline with the aid of emerging digital technologies in conjunction with traditional fundraising practices.

Workplace Requirements:

This position is offered as a hybrid role, combining both in-office and remote work to provide flexibility and support collaboration. This position currently has a hybrid work arrangement with a minimum of two days per week in the office. Per Rice policy 440, work arrangements may be subject to change. 

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.

*Exempt (salaried) positions under FLSA are not eligible for overtime. 

Minimum Requirements: 

• Bachelor’s Degree
• 3 years of progressive digital or frontline fundraising experience, including experience qualifying individual donor prospects and developing a donor pipeline 

Skills: 

• Ability to learn new strategies
• Ability to develop and initiate new strategies
• Advanced problem-solving skills
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to work well under pressure and manage projects simultaneously
• Strong organizational and time management skills
• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office suite
• Strong data analysis skills
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team to meet expected deadlines and schedules
• Collaborative and dexterous at influencing fundraising outcomes across teams
• Adept at problem-solving, creating contingency plans and handling issues when necessary
• Strong client service orientation
• Strong attention to detail and ability to quickly understand and remember details about alumni/donors and projects to which they are assigned 

Preferences: 

• 4 years of progressive experience in soliciting annual or leadership gifts over $5,000 at an institution of higher education or non-profit organization
• Experience with both digital and face-to-face solicitations
• Ability to demonstrate good judgment in dynamic situations
• Ability to utilize strong time management skills
• Ability to learn new systems
• Demonstrated experience with Microsoft Office Suite (Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint), and digital communication tools such as WebEx, Zoom, and video. 
• Proficiency with a fundraising CRM 
• Experience using generative or predictive artificial intelligence to support fundraising outcomes
• Demonstrated skills in collaborating with fundraisers in Major Gifts, Principal Gifts, and/or Gift Planning
• Skilled at creating personalized donor experiences for cultivation, stewardship, and engagement 
• Knowledge of leadership giving and prospect management best practices
• Ability to think strategically, to work collaboratively, to prioritize, and to create and follow processes
• Personal initiative and curiosity to learn
• Desire to help invent and grow new donor-centric philanthropic programs

Essential Functions:

• Works with a portfolio of assigned prospects/donors with capacity of making gifts from $10,000 - $99,999 to cultivate, solicit, and steward their support
• Develops fundraising strategies, and tracks and analyzes results of development activities
• Identifies and prioritizes prospects, prepares background material for qualifications and solicitations, and follows up with staff to ensure completion of assigned solicitations
• Serves as a key collaborator in developing a donor pipeline for fundraising initiatives
• Establishes ongoing relationships with individual alumni
• Monitors, analyzes, and reports on overall results to internal and external constituencies, as needed
• Performs all other duties as assigned

Additional Information:

• Open office environment
• Some weekend and evening work hours may be required
• Some out-of-town travel required
• Requires extensive contact within the university at all levels, including upper-level administration, in person, in meetings, in writing, and by telephone
• Requires extensive contact outside the university with alumni, parents and friends of Rice University, often in person or virtually, with follow-up by traditional or digital channels

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

Rice Mission and Values: Mission and Values | Rice University 

Rice University is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed 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.

Rice University is committed to ensuring Equal Employment Opportunity and the full inclusion of all qualified persons in the workplace. This commitment includes providing reasonable accommodations to persons with disabilities. For applicants with disabilities who require 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.