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, lecture 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 how 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.
We are currently seeking to hire a Marketing Production Specialist. In this role, under the supervision of the Director of Marketing and Donor Growth on the Annual Giving team in the Development and Alumni Relations division, you will manage the planning, implementation, and production of a variety of annual giving projects requiring creative services from the Communications team. Projects may include but are not limited to print, email, web, social media, and video. You will work collaboratively with the annual giving team, internal writers, web developers, graphic designers, and a production team, as well as with external communications vendors (design firms, printers, mail houses, etc.) and campus constituents (Rice Public Affairs, academic schools, etc.) to ensure that projects are completed efficiently, on time, and at the highest level of quality. The ideal candidate will exhibit a high degree of organization and professionalism, work well independently and as part of a highly collaborative team, and has experience working with a variety of clients and vendors.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Manage the Annual Giving team’s day-to-day production of multiple marketing projects from start to finish including project documentation, budgets, deliverables, and milestones (projects include annual giving communication pieces including mass appeals, engagement and stewardship pieces, e-newsletters, event invitations, and more)
- Establish and maintain project production schedules, including a master annual giving communications calendar for the team
- Track deliverables with various Annual Giving and Communications team members and assists in drafting creative briefs
- Lead weekly project status meetings and oversees the production review process as needed
- Assist in vendor management on specific projects for digital and print production
- Obtain quotes for annual giving print and production projects. Reviews art and data deliverables for accuracy and quality assurance
- Prepare data files for print production mailings coordinating necessary edits and proofing with the vendor
- Assist in preparing marketing reports and coordinates debriefs after major projects to ensure best practices
- Process Annual Giving production invoices for payment and maintains accounting data to reflect expenses by project
- Communicate (written and oral) with students and all levels of faculty and administration
- Communicate (written and oral) with donors, alumni, volunteers, and external vendors
- Attendance at after-hours departmental events on or off campus occasionally (if needed)
- Perform all other duties as assigned
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 lieu of the experience requirement, additional related education, above and beyond what is required, on an equivalent year-for-year basis may be substituted)
- Ability to prioritize work and multi-task in a fast-paced and dynamic environment
- Excellent organizational skills
- Ability to take initiative, work independently, and collaborate effectively within a team
- Written and verbal communication skills
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
- Ability to exercise sound judgment in making decisions
- Relevant subject matter knowledge
Preferences:
- Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, public relations, English, or liberal arts
- 2+ years of experience coordinating digital and print communication projects
- 2+ years of experience with overall planning, calendar management, and administrative responsibilities
- Experience working for an institution of higher education or non-profit organization
- Experience working in a marketing or fundraising environment
- Experience coordinating multi-faceted projects using project management software like Teamwork (or similar systems)
- Experience using Blackbaud CRM and Blackbaud Internet Solutions (or similar alumni/donor database system)
- Experience in a PC Windows environment
- Ability to take direction and work to meet expected deadlines and schedules
- Strong listening skills
- Strong time management skills
- Demonstrated team player who can work across teams to deliver a common goal
- Strong Microsoft Office skills, particularly with Microsoft Excel
- Values attention to detail
- Familiarity with project management software
Special Note to Applicants: When applying for this role, please attach a cover letter and resume in a PDF format (to avoid any formatting issues) in the Supporting Documents section of the application.