Deputy Director, Access & Institutional Excellence

Special Instructions to Applicants:

All interested applicants should attach a 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:

Reporting to the Executive Director of Admission, the Deputy Director of Admission will be a key leader in the admissions office with oversight of access initiatives. The Deputy Director will manage access efforts within the admission office and is responsible for developing, executing, and managing a comprehensive strategic plan to advance access as part of the enrollment division’s goals to enroll and aid a highly talented undergraduate class. In pursuit of these objectives, the Deputy Director will lead a unit charged with working closely with enrollment staff, university partners, and external stakeholders to advance access and build institutional excellence. The team will also identify key opportunities within the enrollment cycle to highlight aspects of the undergraduate experience to prospective students and educators.

The Deputy Director will have highly developed skills in process and project management, team management and oversight, strategic planning, budget management, measurement, accountability, admissions practices and policies, and constituent communications. The Deputy Director will be a seasoned admission professional with a deep understanding of the college admission field, including holistic application evaluation (preferably committee-based evaluation), targeted recruitment strategies, educational trends in secondary and post-secondary education, and admission policies and theories in a highly selective admission environment. The Deputy Director will serve as a thought partner and leader within the enrollment division and supervise a team of admission officers to ensure their development as professionals, including aligning projects, initiatives, and processes with the goals of the division and priorities of the university.

The Deputy Director will engage with constituents within the Rice community and key external partners. This individual will be expected to represent Rice at professional conferences as a thought leader to share best practices within the field. They will manage a specific recruitment territory and engage in all aspects of recruitment, evaluation, selection, yield, measurement, and planning to ensure the development of a geographic pipeline to Rice.

Ideal Candidate Statement:

The ideal candidate for the Deputy Director of Admission, Access & Institutional Excellence will have 6+ years of admission experience with an emphasis on the recruitment of a diverse student population.

Workplace Requirements:

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

Hiring Range: $80,000 - $87,500 annually, dependent on experience and qualifications. Full-time, exempt.
*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
• 4+ years’ experience in admission
• Valid driver’s license

Skills:

• Strong analytical skills and famili