Associate Athletic Director for Annual Giving

United States

Be the First to Apply

Job Description

Special Instructions to Applicants:
All interested applicants should attach a resume and cover letter in the Supporting Documents section of the application, preferably in 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 that 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. These 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:
The Associate Athletic Director of Development will lead all annual fundraising efforts for the Owl Club Annual Fund and assigned Sport Interest Group(s). In addition, this position will assist in major gift fundraising in collaboration with the Associate Athletic Director of Major Gifts. In collaboration with Rice Development and Alumni Relations, this position will oversee a team—including fundraisers—to achieve aspirational annual fundraising goals in support of exceptional student‑athletes. This position will also coordinate closely with the Associate Athletic Director of Business Strategy and other athletic department groups to ensure synergy between development and transactional revenue pipelines. The Associate AD will manage volunteer groups, specifically the Owl Club Advisory Board.

View Full Description

Associate Athletic Director for Annual Giving

United States

Be the First to Apply

Job Description

Special Instructions to Applicants:
All interested applicants should attach a resume and cover letter in the Supporting Documents section of the application, preferably in 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 that 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. These 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:
The Associate Athletic Director of Development will lead all annual fundraising efforts for the Owl Club Annual Fund and assigned Sport Interest Group(s). In addition, this position will assist in major gift fundraising in collaboration with the Associate Athletic Director of Major Gifts. In collaboration with Rice Development and Alumni Relations, this position will oversee a team—including fundraisers—to achieve aspirational annual fundraising goals in support of exceptional student‑athletes. This position will also coordinate closely with the Associate Athletic Director of Business Strategy and other athletic department groups to ensure synergy between development and transactional revenue pipelines. The Associate AD will manage volunteer groups, specifically the Owl Club Advisory Board.

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree

• 3+ years of related experience in annual giving, sales, or an external revenue‑generating function

• Two (2) years of related experience leading an Annual Fund team

Skills:

• Strong organizational skills with keen attention to detail

• Foundation in problem‑solving and data analysis

• Ability to create an annual giving plan and lead, manage, coach, and motivate a development team to execute against the plan

• Strong relationship‑building skills

• Excellent oral and written communication skills

• Experience with direct mail, telemarketing, and/or database marketing

• Ability to work independently and exercise good judgment

Preferences:

• Five years of related experience in annual giving, sales, or an external revenue‑generating function

• Familiarity with constituent databases such as Paciolan and Blackbaud

Essential Functions:

• Provides supervision and administrative oversight for assigned program(s)

• Develops strategic plans and recommendations for the Senior Associate AD of Development

• Forms strong alliances and relationships with the Houston community for the purpose of developing additional resources and cutting‑edge opportunities

• Manages staffing and operations budgets in the aforementioned programs/units and continues to develop strategies to maximize resources and performance

• Collaborates with the Senior Associate AD of Development to set department policies and goals

• Performs all other duties as assigned

Additional Functions:

• Create and execute annual giving strategy and plan for the Department of Athletics, including prospect identification and segmentation, marketing and messaging, solicitations, stewardship, and reporting

• Employ a data‑driven approach to prospect identification and cultivation

• Manage a portfolio of assigned leadership donors and prospects to cultivate, solicit, steward, and grow donor relationships

• Lead a team of full‑time staff and volunteers, including the Owl Club Advisory Board, to assign prospects and support solicitations

• Monitor, analyze, and report results of solicitations to determine effectiveness

• Collaborate with the Associate Athletic Director of Major Gifts, Associate Athletic Director for Business Strategy, and team to increase the number of donors who are also premium ticket buyers

• Collaborate with the Rice Athletics Major Gift team and Rice Development and Alumni Relations—especially the Rice Annual Fund—to ensure a coordinated approach to annual giving outreach and communications

• Plan and execute donor hospitality events for all sports, particularly football and basketball, as well as special events

• Perform all other duties as assigned

_ Rice University HR | Benefits: [https://knowledgecafe.rice.edu/benefi...

_ Rice Mission and Values: [Mission and Values | Rice University_](https://www.rice.edu/mission-values)

Rice University is committed to ensuring Equal Employment Opportunity and welcoming the fullness of diversity into our candidate pools. Rice considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, genetic information, disability, or protected veteran status. Rice also provides reasonable accommodations to qualified persons with disabilities. If an applicant requires a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process, please get in touch with Rice University’s Human Resources Office via email at facstaffada@rice.edu for support.

If you have any additional questions, please email us at jobs@rice.edu. Thank you for your interest in employment with Rice University.

Apply Now

Job Info

• Job Identification 5618
  
• Job Category Staff - Development
  
• Posting Date 03/05/2026, 08:27 PM
  
• Degree Level Bachelor's Degree
  
• Job Schedule Full time
  

• Locations Tudor Fieldhouse 6100 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77005, US

© MapTiler   © OpenStreetMap contributors

Legend

Jobs at a location

Group of locations

© MapTiler   © OpenStreetMap contributors | © Oracle CorporationTermsLegal Notices

Use control and scroll to zoom the map

Use two fingers to move the map

Tudor Fieldhouse 6100 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77005, US

Copy to Clipboard

Similar Jobs

• 
  

[

Associate Director, Philanthropy (Leadership Annual Giving)
Houston, TX, United States Posted on 01/29/2026

Reporting to the Director of Philanthropy and Pipeline Discovery (Annual Giving), the Associate Director, Philanthropy (Leadership Annual Giving) is a forward-thinking, highly innovative fundraiser who supports building an inclusive leadership giving and pipeline program to identify, engage, qualify, solicit, and steward the next generation of donors for Rice University. This role focuses primarily on growing the leadership giving donor program with special emphasis on total dollars raised and growth in unrestricted giving for Rice University at the $10,000+ level. The ideal candidate will have experience soliciting leadership-level gifts from $10,000 to $99,999 and qualifying current and future donors to understand their philanthropic passions for Rice. This person cares deeply about building a sustainable donor pipeline with the aid of emerging digital technologies in conjunction with traditional fundraising practices.

](https://emdz.fa.us2.oraclecloud.com/h...)

• 
  

[

Associate Athletic Director – Sports Medicine and Athletic Performance
United States Posted on 01/27/2026

The Associate Athletic Director / Sports Medicine & Sports Performance will serve as the Health Care Administrator, a position required by the NCAA. Additionally, the position will direct and administer all areas of sport performance, including athletic training, strength & conditioning, sports nutrition, technology and diagnostic testing, sports psychology, and all contracted medical services, including team physicians and physical therapists. This position will be the department’s day-to-day interface with the Houston Methodist Human Performance Center and will be responsible for working with the Office of the General Counsel and Risk Management on all risk mitigation protocols related to student-athlete safety.

](https://emdz.fa.us2.oraclecloud.com/h...)

• 
  

[

Executive Senior Associate Athletic Director
United States Posted on 01/27/2026

Reporting to the director of athletics, the Executive Senior Associate Athletic Director serves on the athletic director’s executive staff and is responsible for coordinating, administering, and evaluating assigned sports, overseeing designated administrative areas, and representing Rice Athletics at conference and national meetings. Additionally, this position will serve as the primary point of contact with the office of the Faculty Athletic Representative and members of the Rice University Athletic Committee. This role serves as a representative of the University, acting as the deputy Title IX coordinator, displaying courtesy, tact, consideration, and discretion in all interactions with other members of the Rice community and the public. This position is responsible for managing some events and activities assigned by the director of athletics.

](https://emdz.fa.us2.oraclecloud.com/h...)

• 
  

[

Director of Marketing - Athletics
United States Posted on 02/02/2026

Trending

The director of marketing will play an integral role in driving revenue and attendance for the Department of Athletics. Taking a leadership role with the marketing, sales and communications staff, this individual will be responsible for increasing attendance, creating a positive and exciting game day atmosphere, increasing fan engagement, and furthering the brand of Rice Athletics.

](https://emdz.fa.us2.oraclecloud.com/h...)

See More Jobs        

Apply Now

View Less Description