Boasting a 300-acre tree-lined campus in Houston, 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.
We are currently seeking to hire an Event Specialist. In this role, you will manage the planning and execution of high-quality events, building relationships and goodwill with Rice neighbors, Houston stakeholders, government officials and multicultural communities. You will work with individual(s) who plan events to identify event objectives and brainstorm event concepts, then follow through on their budgeting, planning, execution and evaluation. In addition, you will remain current on event trends and university priorities. You will also evaluate, develop or update annual event plans in collaboration with others and help determine how departmental and university priorities are best achieved. The selected candidate will work with the Public Affairs team in planning events and programs, in particular within community relations. The salary range for this role is $47,300 to $57,000, contingent upon qualifications and experience.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Serve as events project manager of multiple activities, scope out project tasks / team assignments and guide team to create work plans and schedules, monitors progress and meets milestones
- Establish and maintain relationships with internal and external university partners and the community building goodwill
- Act as department representative at cross-departmental project meetings
- Operate as account manager on deliverables, program metrics and status reports
- Recommend and schedule events into appropriate off-campus and on-campus venues
- May oversee support staff, students, volunteers and contingent event staff
- Help with special projects to university and multicultural community relations as assigned
REQUIREMENTS:
- Bachelor’s degree
- Two years of experience, including administrative and events planning and execution
- Strong project and event management skills with attention to details, time management, setting priorities, following through and meeting deadlines
- Ability to meet deadlines and prioritize
- Strong communication and customer service skills
- Ability to accomplish goals working through formal and informal channels, with diplomacy and tactfulness
- Strong problem solving and analytical skills
- Demonstrated ability to manage databases, complete mail merges and basic design and layout for the production of guest lists, nametags, promotional fliers, invitations and programs
- Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office suite, audio visual and technical support with Zoom meetings and webinars
- Excellent interpersonal skills, both verbal and written communication, to interact with people from the community with diverse cultural backgrounds and high-level university leaders and guests
- Ability to exercise mature, sound judgment and manage last minute changes and problems that might occur at an event
- Creative, organized and goal oriented
- Occasionally work weekend and evenings (if necessary)
- Able to run errands off-campus and have daily access to vehicle
- Work experience in institution of higher education or other nonprofit organizations that includes event planning and execution is preferred
- Bilingual fluency in English and Spanish is preferred
- Experience with Drupal content management system is preferred
- Experience with HTML is preferred
Special Note To Applicants: When applying for this role, please submit a cover letter, resume, and two writing samples. Please save as one PDF file and attach under “other” document section of the application materials.
Rice University is an Equal Opportunity Employer with commitment 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.
Faculty and staff are expected (but not required) to have completed a full vaccination series for COVID-19 (currently defined as full course COVID-19 Vaccine (typically two shots of a WHO-approved COVID-19 Vaccine or one J&J) and a COVID-19 booster. Rice does not require documentation for COVID 19 vaccination at this time for faculty and staff.