Constituent Relations Officer bei Rice University

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:

The Constituent Relations Officer is a member of the Donor Relations and Stewardship team in the Development and Alumni Relations Division that recognizes and stewards donors for their generosity and philanthropy to Rice University. The Constituent Relations Officer implements thoughtful strategies for stewarding gifts to the university, with special emphasis on major gift donors, and is able to collaborate with key stakeholders to accomplish this goal. The Constituent Relations Officer coordinates stewardship experiences for donors and strategic prospects, including but not limited to, creating impact reports for capital, endowment, and restricted current‐use gifts; coordinating donor engagement meetings or events; and/or designing strategic giving society experiences. The Constituent Relations Officer also works in the campus-wide advancement database system, documenting and managing stewardship data and plans in the system.

The ideal candidate must be extremely organized, detail oriented and innovative, with a passion for nurturing donor relationships and for furthering Rice’s mission in research and education.

Workplace Requirements:

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

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

Minimum Requirements: 

• Bachelor’s Degree
  • In lieu of the education requirement, additional related experience, above and beyond what is required, on an equivalent year-for-year basis may be substituted
• 1+ years of related professional experience in project management, customer service or communications
  • In lieu of the experience requirement, additional related education, above and beyond what is required, on an equivalent year-for-year basis may be substituted

Skills:

• 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

Preferences:

• 2+  years of experience working in development, stewardship or donor relations
• 2+  years of related professional experience in project management, customer service and/or communications
• Experience working in nonprofit/higher education settings
• Working knowledge of fundraising and familiarity with campaigns in a higher education or nonprofit environment
• Experience using Blackbaud CRM or similar alumni/donor database system
• Experience in a PC/Windows environment using Microsoft Office
• Experience in developing nonprofit written and/or multimedia communications
• Experience in developing donor engagement plans
• Experience working with high-level or high-touch donors
• Familiarity with donor recognition programs, including giving societies
• Familiarity with donor relations software such as Ovrture, ThankView or similar

Essential Functions:

• Works collaboratively with Development and Alumni Relations staff to appropriately steward donors / volunteers
• Actively works to steward donors to the university, with special focus on capital, restricted current-use, and endowment donors
• Proactively supports the stewardship responsibilities of the development staff by assisting them in establishing and coordinating individualized stewardship plans for donors / volunteers to their schools / programs
• Serve as a liaison to key campus departments to ensure consistent implementation of the master campus strategic stewardship plan
• Aids in the compilation of invitation lists and suggests donor/volunteer stories for print and web-based publications
• Performs all other duties as assigned

Additional Functions:

• May communicate with alumni, parents and friends of the university via email, phone,  in person or at events
• Works closely with other teams and departments within Development and Alumni Relations and the university on stewardship related efforts
• Has frequent contact with division staff and other university offices
• Works with outside vendors as needed
• Open office environment

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

Rice Mission and Values: Mission and Values | Rice University

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 [email protected] for support.

If you have any additional questions, please email us at [email protected]. Thank you for your interest in employment with Rice University.