Associate Director, Admission

Rice University•Houston, TX

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

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 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. The Associate Director is an experienced admission officer at Rice University, a highly selective research institution in the heart of Houston, Texas. Reporting to a Deputy Director, this individual will manage projects with a high degree of complexity, scope, and visibility. The Associate Director will manage advanced functions that correlate with their supervisor’s content area. Such functions may include, but are not limited to, managing major programs and outreach, international student recruitment, staff training and development, coordinating the file review process, etc. These functional areas may require delegating responsibilities and monitoring the work of other team members. The Associate Director will interact with senior leadership to influence strategic decisions related to their work.

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
3+ years of experience working in a college or university admission office or as a high school college counselor or teacher
Interpersonal skills that demonstrate professionalism, relatability, and collegiality
Demonstrated ability to work independently and collaboratively on high-level, complex projects
Familiarity with the multiple work areas of a modern admissions office, including CRM systems, reporting and analytics, recruitment, evaluation and selection, marketing and communications, access and institutional excellence, on-campus programming, staff training, budget management, and staff development
Proficiency in using admission and enrollment data to make data-informed decisions, measure and assess progress toward strategic goals, present data, and revise practices as needed
Strong verbal and written communication, presentation, and customer service skills
Strong reading comprehension and ability to make distinctions among competitive applicants
High level of proficiency in MS Office Suite and Google Workspace
Excellent organizational and time management skills
Ability to present meaningful information that helps inform decision-making
Familiarity with whole-file application evaluation

Nice To Haves

5+ years of experience in a highly selective university or college admission office
In-depth project management experience, from creation to implementation
Strong writing skills desired
experience with committee-based evaluation desirable

Responsibilities

Works with other members of the admission staff on projects related to recruitment, evaluation and selection, marketing and communications, access and institutional excellence, on-campus programming, alumni engagement, staff training, budget management, and staff development, as assigned
Collaboratively works with the supervisor on year-over-year planning, processes, and project management
Independently and collaboratively manages projects with a high degree of complexity, scope, and visibility
Utilizes data to measure team success and help articulate the team’s effectiveness
Manages a specific recruitment territory and engages in all aspects of recruitment, evaluation, selection, yield, measurement, and planning to ensure the development of a geographic pipeline to Rice
Conducts informational sessions
Establishes and maintains strong relationships with high school students, counselors, families, and community-based organizations
Evaluates applications and makes recommendations on selection utilizing the committee-based evaluation process
Maintains confidentiality in all aspects of the work
Ensures compliance with federal and state laws concerning college admission, FERPA, and other applicable regulatory expectations
Responds to inquiries in a timely manner, providing accurate information
Performs all other duties as assigned