Associate Director Jobs

About The Position

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Communications, Public Relations, Journalism, Digital Media, or related field.
• Minimum of three (3) years of comprehensive professional experience within marketing, brand stewardship, or strategic communications sectors, demonstrating a trajectory of increasing responsibility.
• Proven track record of direct supervision and mentorship of professional staff for at least one year.
• Superior command of oral, written, and multimedia presentation modalities.
• Demonstrated proficiency in leveraging data-driven insights and engagement analytics to inform organizational outreach strategies.
• Expertise in strategic marketing, integrated communications, institutional branding, and brand stewardship.
• Experience developing content strategy, institutional storytelling, and integrated marketing campaigns that strengthen engagement and organizational impact.
• Exceptional written, verbal, visual, and presentation communication skills, with the ability to tailor messaging for diverse audiences.
• Strong knowledge of digital marketing, website management, content management systems, email marketing, social media, artificial intelligence (AI), and emerging communication technologies.
• Ability to leverage AI, marketing technologies, analytics, and performance metrics to enhance content development, improve operational efficiency, inform strategy, measure results, and communicate organizational impact.
• Experience managing creative services and ensuring consistent application of brand standards across print, digital, multimedia, and promotional communications.
• Strong project management, organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and execute complex initiatives.
• Ability to translate organizational priorities and data into compelling reports, presentations, executive communications, and marketing strategies.

Nice To Haves

• Five (5) years of progressive creative leadership in an elite academic, corporate or premier agency environment.
• Advanced professional background in higher education administration, student development, career services, or employer engagement.
• Technical mastery of enterprise-level CRM systems, web architecture, and marketing automation ecosystems (ex. Canva, 12twenty, Salesforce, HubSpot, Google Analytics 4, Adobe Creative Cloud, Drupel, Storyblock).
• Extensive experience in crafting executive-level messaging and high-impact institutional reporting.
• Proven capacity for orchestrating cross-functional initiatives within sophisticated, multi-stakeholder organizational structures.
• Comprehensive oversight of creative services, including print production, promotional collateral, vendor relationship management, and institutional brand stewardship.
• Demonstrated success in leading integrated, multi-channel marketing initiatives across digital, print, and experiential landscapes.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute integrated marketing strategies that align with CCD priorities and Rice University's mission.
• Lead the Career Readiness at Rice brand strategy, ensuring consistent messaging and visual identity across all platforms.
• Advise CCD leadership as the communications strategist, translating organizational goals into high-impact initiatives that boost visibility and reputation.
• Create annual marketing plans, editorial calendars, campaign objectives, and key performance indicators (KPIs) to support departmental goals.
• Lead institutional storytelling to highlight student success, career outcomes, partnerships, and the CCD's overall impact.
• Create executive communications, annual and impact reports, and strategic publications for leadership and external stakeholders.
• Translate institutional data (such as career outcomes and employer engagement) into compelling narratives to demonstrate effectiveness and support decision-making.
• Direct the CCD's digital ecosystem, overseeing website strategy, user experience, email marketing, social media, SEO, and digital advertising.
• Execute multi-channel campaigns to increase awareness, engagement, and utilization of CCD programs among students, staff, and external partners.
• Evaluate and implement AI and emerging technologies to optimize content creation, streamline workflows, and enhance analytics ethically and responsibly.

Benefits

• Hybrid role, combining both in-office and remote work
• Benefits information available at https://knowledgecafe.rice.edu/benefits