Job Opportunities in Development and Alumni Relations

Explore our current job opening in Development and Alumni Relations spanning multiple departments, from fundraising to alumni relations to communications. This listing will be updated weekly, so check back often.

Associate Director, Alumni Engagement

The Associate Director, Alumni Engagement serves as a key liaison to the Association of Rice Alumni (ARA) Board and manages all ARA Board-related programs, meetings, committees, and projects. This role is also responsible for volunteer engagement for Rice University, including data maintenance for all Rice University volunteer records and the volunteer website, phone number, and email. The Associate Director, Alumni Engagement reports to the Director, Alumni Engagement, works closely with the Executive Director of the ARA (Associate Vice President, Alumni Relations), and collaborates with the Alumni Networks and Alumni Programs teams to share ARA Board-related activities and volunteer updates. This position also works with the Communications and Data Services teams in the Development and Alumni Relations division, as well as the Events team, to ensure consistent ARA Board and volunteer communications and events.

Director of Development - Architecture

Reporting to the Executive Director of Development (Schools), with dotted-line reporting to the Dean of the School of Architecture, the Director of Development – Architecture will co-create, manage, and execute fundraising strategy to increase philanthropic investment at the School of Architecture and will manage the advisory board, consisting of the school’s top prospects and donors. This role will actively engage all school constituents—including faculty, students, alumni, and parents—and requires an understanding of the school’s mission, priorities, traditions, and programs, as well as its history and future. The Director of Development – Architecture will work closely with Development and Alumni Relations in aligning school-based priorities with those of institutional leadership and will interact with staff and faculty in the school, as well as with other colleagues throughout Rice University. This position will work dually within the School of Architecture and Development and Alumni Relations to maximize Rice Architecture’s development potential and engagement of the school’s prospect pipeline, with a specific focus on gifts at the $100K to $4.9M level. As the chief development officer for the school, the Director of Development – Architecture will manage a portfolio of 80-100 prospects with a capacity of $100,000+ to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward donors to the school and will focus on fundraising priorities set by the Dean.

Assistant Director, Reunion and Volunteer Giving

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.

Development Coordinator

Reporting to the Director of Reunion and Volunteer Giving, the Development Coordinator provides overall administrative and program support to the Reunion and Volunteer Giving team in the Development and Alumni Relations division. This position is responsible for scheduling staff or volunteer meetings, submitting expense reports, preparing documents and presentations, managing reunion and volunteer data entry, and assisting with volunteer or donor follow-up. In addition, the incumbent compiles weekly, monthly, and ad-hoc reports regarding reunion campaign metrics, volunteer engagement, and gift officer outcomes. The Development Coordinator will work closely with the entire Annual Giving team, as well as with campus partners, to achieve the goals of the reunion and volunteer giving program.

Associate Director, Corporate Relations

The Associate Director, Corporate Relations will work with the Corporate and Foundation Relations team, faculty members, university leadership, and Development and Alumni Relations colleagues to cultivate and support holistic relationships with corporate entities whose interests align with the priorities of Rice University. The Associate Director, Corporate Relations will develop comprehensive plans and strategies for effective engagement of current and prospective corporate partners and will play a significant role in supporting stewardship communication and reporting requirements for corporate funders.

Senior Director of Development – Gift Planning

Reporting to the Executive Director of Gift Planning, the Senior Director of Development - Gift Planning is responsible for securing planned and complex asset gifts and/or blended gifts; i.e., a combination of annual, outright, revocable and irrevocable deferred gifts. Primary responsibilities include the identification, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of alumni, parents and friends, with particular attention to those capable of gifts valued at $250,000 or more. The Senior Director of Development - Gift Planning values collaboration and partners in fundraising activities with a portfolio of school and regional major gift and annual gift officers. This person assists in providing technical expertise to development officers and university administrators. With oversight from the Executive Director of Gift Planning, the Senior Director of Development - Gift Planning participates actively with the rest of the gift planning team in the design and implementation of the gift planning marketing and communications. The Senior Director of Development - Gift Planning mentors, coaches and participates in formal training of fellow gift planning team members, development professionals and volunteers in blended and planned gift fundraising to further the fundraising and donor engagement goals of the organization.

Associate Director, Philanthropy (Leadership Annual Giving) (4532)

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.

Director of Strategic Initiatives (4445)

As a member of the Principal Gifts team in the Development and Alumni Relations division at Rice University, the Director of Strategic Initiatives serves as a conduit of information and strategy for the leaders of university initiatives to advance the priorities of each program by partnering with deans, faculty, and university leadership to obtain project concepts and by working with fundraising colleagues on the development of complex proposals.

Trust Manager (4258)

The Trust Manager runs the charitable remainder trusts, estates, and other accounts of Rice Trust Inc. (RTI), Rice University’s wholly owned trust company, and other deferred gift accounts of the University, including the charitable gift annuity pool. The role monitors the services performed by the outside investment manager and administrator. RTI is a registered Texas Trust Company under the supervision and review of the Texas Department of Banking.