Associate Director of Digital Content

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.

Reporting to the Director of Marketing and Production, the Associate Director of Digital Content plays a pivotal role in shaping and executing the digital communications strategy for Rice University’s Development and Alumni Relations division. The Associate Director manages the creation, implementation and optimization of email marketing efforts, drives the accuracy and growth of constituent data and preferences, and ensures brand consistency across all digital channels.

Key activities include creating targeted email campaigns for fundraising and alumni engagement initiatives, analyzing email metrics and trends, and collaborating with writers, designers, information services, and other division partners on multichannel communications efforts. The Associate Director leads and supervises digital content team members and actively contributes to university-wide and community-wide initiatives, strengthening the organization’s visibility and impact as a strategic partner and thought leader.

The ideal candidate will be highly organized, curious and creative, with proven experience meeting deadlines and an ability to work cross-functionally on a variety of digital projects, offering advice and expertise while remaining flexible and collaborative.

This position is offered as a hybrid role, combining both in-office and remote work to provide flexibility and support collaboration. Rice policy 440, work arrangements may be subject to change.

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

Three or more (3+) years of related professional experience in a marketing, communications, social media or other closely related field

• Knowledge of digital technology and platforms, current and future trends
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Strong analytical skills
• Demonstrated problem solver
• Ability to leverage current and future trends to produce measurable results that aid in the success of the organization
• Ability to work independently to meet expected deadlines and schedules
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment
• Knowledge of different social publishing platforms
• Experience with content management systems
• Experience with email marketing systems
• Experience with customer relationship management (CRM) systems
• Understanding of email marketing metrics and best practices

Four or more (4+) years of related professional experience referenced above

One or more (1+) years of direct supervisory experience

Experience managing or executing email components of integrated marketing campaigns

• Process-oriented
• Understanding of project management systems
• Experience with email marketing a/b testing, automation and database integrations

Experience working in higher education

Experience working in a nonprofit fundraising campaign or initiative

Experience with Blackbaud Internet Solutions and/or Blackbaud CRM

Manages the development and implementation of the digital communication strategy for Development and Alumni Relations

Supervises the digital content team members, who are responsible for the writing, design and production…