Senior Director, Parent and Family Philanthropy

To be considered for the Senior 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: Senior 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 Senior Director, Parent and Family Philanthropy (Senior 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 Senior 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 Senior Director will coordinate a collaborative effort amongst development officers to strategically cultivate, solicit, and steward major and leadership gift parents and family donors. The Senior Director will also create a Parent Leadership Council and provide strategic vision for and day-to-day management of the Council. The Senior 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 Senior 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. 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 s