Description

To be considered for the Director, Parent and Family Philanthropy opportunity at Rice University, please submit your resume and cover letter in confidence to Paradigm Advancement Group at david@paradigmadvancementgroup.com with the subject line: Director, Parent and Family Philanthropy at Rice University.

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 Associate Vice President, Individual Giving, the Director, Parent and Family Philanthropy (Director) will develop and lead a comprehensive parent and family giving fundraising program to generate significant major gift fundraising from parents, grandparents, and families to support the mission and goals of Rice University. This position works independently and collaborates extensively with colleagues within the Development and Alumni Relations division (DAR) and throughout the University on fundraising, volunteer engagement, and communications. The Director will provide vision and leadership of a comprehensive and well-integrated parent and family fundraising program for Rice as part of its major gifts and principal gifts fundraising, and in preparation for the most aspirational, comprehensive capital campaign in the history of Rice, while also raising the sustainable level of parent and family giving beyond the campaign.

The Director will coordinate a collaborative effort amongst development officers to strategically cultivate, solicit, and steward major and leadership gift parents and family donors. The Director will also create a Parent Leadership Council and provide strategic vision for and day-to-day management of the Council. The Director will develop and implement strategies designed to engage the top parent prospects and move these prospects progressively toward philanthropy goals that are aligned both to the prospects' capacity and interests. The Director will be personally responsible for soliciting and closing major gifts of $100,000 or more and is expected to successfully manage the parent philanthropy team, currently consisting of two Directors of Development and potentially a staff assistant.

The ideal candidate will be an inspiring leader and an effective advocate for the value of a Rice education with all constituents, with particular emphasis on parents; must demonstrate familiarity with a variety of the field’s concepts and demonstrate a command of industry standards and procedures; and must possess good judgment and the ability to act independently to plan and accomplish goals.

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
7+ years of related professional fundraising experience at the $100,000+ level with demonstrated success of cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major individual gifts

Skills:

Ability to build strong relationships with and engage prospects, donors, volunteers, as well as faculty, staff, and administrators.
Deep professional skills in fundraising, parent relations, alumni relations, annual giving, and related knowledge of best practices across the advancement field.
Strong record of accomplishment soliciting major gifts ($100,000 and above) from individual donors and directing major gifts.
Excellent management skills: the ability to set objectives and performance standards, provide constructive feedback, and achieve established program goals. A history of recruiting and developing talented people.
Highly motivated communication, presentation, and negotiation skills, with knowledge of how to work with a diverse parent, student, and alumni population.
Proven ability to effectively use, analyze, and leverage data in database systems, including leveraging social media connections. Demonstrated understanding of the use of technology.
Demonstrated effectiveness and clarity of verbal and written communication with excellent interpersonal communication and leadership skills to supervise, facilitate, motivate, and inspire a diverse group of employees, parents, students, alumni, volunteers, and constituents from a wide variety of backgrounds. Ability to handle all activities and highly confidential information with patience, discretion, tact, and a keen eye for detail.
Exceptional organizational, time management, analytical, presentation, negotiation, and time management skills to complete work with accuracy and attention to detail.
Intellectual curiosity and commitment to the goals of a liberal arts education, as well as the ability to articulate the case for support.
Comfort with ambiguity and change; demonstrated sensitivity, maturity, and good judgment; a proven record of professionalism, entrepreneurialism, organizational skills, and creativity.
A high level of energy, self-confidence, optimism, personal resilience, and the ability to function at peak levels in a high expectation environment.

Preferences:

Experience working in an academic or other non-profit setting
Experience working with parents and family donors
Experience working in a capital campaign
Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office suite
Certified Fundraising Executive certification (CFRE)

Essential Functions:

In partnership with DAR leadership, design and implement a comprehensive development plan to increase philanthropic support from highly rated parent prospects.
Manage a portfolio of 20-30 active parent prospects with the capacity to make $100,000+ gifts, including assessment, identification, engagement, qualification, cultivation, and solicitation of major gifts from a personal portfolio of parent prospects, and stewarding parent donors.
Manage the parent and family philanthropy team, currently consisting of two directors of development. Effectively lead and coach direct report(s), amplifying the qualities and skills necessary to achieve position specific goals and career development success.
Collaborate with all DAR partners to achieve annual and campaign goals. Strategically coordinate strategies for major gift solicitations with internal partners. Actively involve the undergraduate dean, department heads, faculty, and key volunteers in the identification, cultivation, and solicitation process as appropriate.
In partnership with DAR leadership, establish annual qualitative and quantitative goals, objectives, and key accountabilities in order to increase donors and dollars raised from parent prospects. Prepare and deliver annual work plans.
Implement performance metrics to encourage the highest level of performance. In coordination with the Associate Vice President and the Development Research and Analysis team, actively oversee officer portfolio activity and track outreach metrics.
Recruit leadership and members for a Parents Leadership Council, a committee of lead parent and family volunteers. Serve as key staff contact to manage and support the Council and its members. Refine and build upon the council's activities to maximize its impact and increase membership and giving and work closely with council members on parent communications and involvement initiatives.
In close partnership with the Parent and Families Programming team and the Events team, consult on relevant programming for parents during events, including O-Week (orientation), Families Weekend, Alumni Weekend and Commencement, as well as lectures and symposia, artistic, athletic, and other events.
Develop effective ways to engage parents in volunteer activities; seek and develop new opportunities for parent involvement.
Provide a concierge-level service to high-net-worth parents.
Work with the career services office to identify parents who can provide internships or career advice to Rice students.
Attend campus activities such as lectures and symposia, arts performances, and athletic events to foster strong relationships with parents and students that result in philanthropic contributions; serve as a resource, advocate, and spokesperson for advancement programs at Rice.
Work with campus partners, such as the Dean of Undergraduates, to improve prospect relationships through enhanced parent-related web pages, social media, and other forms of communications, with special emphasis on messaging to parents about giving.
Collaborate and consult with the Public Affairs office and the DAR Marketing and Communications team on articles and production of the parent e-newsletter, as well content for parents’ website and social media strategies for other virtual community building vehicles (Facebook®, X®, etc.).
Oversee the department operating budget, prepare budget requests, and monitor expenditures throughout the fiscal year.
Perform all other duties as assigned.

Additional Functions:

Travel is required for this position and will be 40% of job responsibilities, including occasional weekends in support of special projects and events
May supervise the work of a staff assistant
Comfortable working in an open office environment

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.

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Director, Parent and Family Philanthropy