Director, Creative Services (Finance)

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, 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 essential to our success as a healthy community. Those values guide our decisions and behaviors and shape Rice's culture. They come through in how 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.

Special Instructions to Applicants : All interested applicants must attach a cover letter and a resume in the Supporting Documents section of the application in a PDF format . Please note that the applicant tracking system does not convert attachments in Word format successfully.

Position Summary:

OpenStax (an initiative of Rice University) is the world's largest non-profit publisher of open educational resources (OER) and a provider of interactive, research-informed learning technologies for high school and college. We are also the lead organization for the nation's seminal education research infrastructure, SafeInsights. Our mission is to provide amazing learning experiences for every student and instructor. We do this by offering free access to high-quality digital teaching and learning resources that support the teaching and learning journey. Since 2012, OpenStax has created a library of more than 70 free and openly licensed college textbooks that have served millions of students across the globe, resulting in $2.98 billion in student savings. Currently, we are creating interactive, research-informed learning experiences that support heightened student engagement in the learning process. OpenStax seeks to become an organization that continuously strives to learn, reflect, and make actionable better policies and practices for diversity, equity, and inclusivity at work and in education.

The OpenStax Director of Creative Services is responsible for the development and execution of a comprehensive marketing strategy that supports resource adoption informed by our internal programs, diverse revenue generation pathways, and overall brand growth in K12 and Higher Education markets. The Director of Creative Services is pivotal in driving our organization's growth and brand recognition.

Reporting to the Managing Director, this role requires a dynamic leader with a strong background in marketing, complex communications, strategic thinking, project management, data analysis, technical skills, and the ability to effectively manage the Creative Services team.

This position is strategic, tactical, and supervisory in nature. Applicants should anticipate working both on and in the business daily. The Director of Creative Services will oversee the work and professional development of the Creative Services team, which includes digital and print marketing assets, social media, email, community engagement, paid advertising, website content, digital and in-person event strategy, and public relations to increase visibility and awareness of our internal programs and organizational mission. In collaboration with the Director of Finance and Operations, this individual will be responsible and accountable for developing and adhering to an annual budget. This individual will also manage external vendors and contractors as needed.

You will join a team that is driving change at a pivotal phase of our evolution as we deliver high-quality educational content and technologies to give educators and learners the support they need in core college and high school disciplines.

We celebrate diversity of all kinds and are committed to nurturing an inclusive environment. We seek to hire, develop, and retain talented people from all backgrounds. We are part of a private university, but our team comes from various backgrounds and includes people who attended universities and community colleges, as well as people who did not graduate from college.

Ideal Candidate Statement:

The ideal candidate loves collaborating and is always inclusive. They enjoy digging into market trends and data, and creating well-thought-out, documented, and well-organized project plans that they carry to the finish line. They have specialized experience with MarTech stacks and enjoy the detailed and process-oriented work of optimizing this technology to meet marketing goals. They know how to build capacity within a small team to meet big goals. While they are process-oriented, the ideal candidate can be flexible and adjust quickly to changing goals. The ideal candidate is an experienced marketer motivated by OpenStax's philanthropic mission.

Workplace Requirements:

This position is fully remote, permitting all tasks to be completed from any location within the United States. Working hours will remain central standard time. Per Rice policy 440 , work arrangements may be subject to change.

This is a full-time, benefits-eligible position, and the salary will be commensurate with experience and qualifications. *Exempt (salaried) positions under FLSA are not eligible for overtime.

This position is funded by a grant, soft and/or restricted funds. Continued employment is contingent on the renewal of funding.

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree
• Five years of related experience in digital marketing, communications, and brand positioning

Skills:

• Excellent presentation, verbal, visual and written communication skills, including experience writing persuasive and promotional communications
• Demonstrated ability to build strategic relationships and work effectively in a fast-paced environment as part of a creative, cross-functional communications team
• Hands-on ability to create and deploy marketing materials
• Demonstrated success in managing a marketing function at a similar-sized or larger organization
• Strong knowledge of internal and external creative services and web development resources
• Proven success in building, embedding and extending a brand and brand positioning by building support with internal constituencies and driving the positioning among external audiences

Preferences:

• More than ten years in marketing and related work, with three or more years in a leadership role
• Well-versed in and extremely comfortable with digital marketing, particularly in education
• Track record in planning marketing strategies, advertising campaigns, and digital marketing programs
• Understanding of integrated marketing programs that strengthen the brand, connect with key stakeholders, and drive enrollments and affiliation
• Expert in lead generation strategy and tactics and use of tactics to create preference and drive conversions on the path to purchase
• Ability to understand consumer needs and translate them into effective marketing messages
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with proficiency in interpreting data
• Ability to optimize a marketing budget and make every dollar count
• Proven ability to select, develop, and evaluate a team of staff
• Word processing skills and knowledge of desktop publishing required, knowledge of database programs
• Knowledge of web design and processes
• Ability to present him/her/them self professionally to all levels of internal and external consultants

Essential Functions:

• Develop and execute marketing strategies and marketing plans in collaboration with programmatic leads and cross-functional teams /programs to meet departmental and/or organizational objectives
• Leads the strategy and execution of public relations, communications, and brand strategy for OpenStax, which includes multiple programs incorporating appropriate channels
• Responsible for staff, including the recruitment, management, development, and retention of staff
• Sets budget, goals, and objectives in alignment with organizational goals
• Manages vendor relationships
• Drives and reports on Oversees brand market research and analysis to inform strategic direction
• Leverages data Uses the results to inform decisions regarding strategic marketing direction, product segmentation, and customer targeting
• Assesses market opportunities and tracks market trends. Implements marketing improvements based on findings
• Performs all other duties as assigned

Additional Functions

• Sets digital and in-person event strategy and supports event management as needed to support marketing objectives
• Participates in university-wide and/or organization-wide initiatives and cross-functional teams to establish the organization as a strategic partner and thought leader
• Selects and oversees vendor and contractor relationships
• Guides the organization to use data in marketing decisions and customer targeting
• Experience collaborating with different roles within an edtech organization, e.g. web developers, finance, and executive leadership.
• Ability to use Google Analytics to understand user behavior and trends
• Knowledge of and ability to use Salesforce, Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (MCAE), project management tools (Jira), and web content management systems (Wagtail)
• Desire to learn new things and the ability to learn quickly with minimal guidance

Rice University HR | Benefits: https://knowledgecafe.rice.edu/benefits-overview

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Rice University is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to diversity at all levels and considers for employment qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, genetic information, disability, or protected veteran status.

Rice University is committed to ensuring Equal Employment Opportunity and the full inclusion of all qualified persons in the workplace. This commitment includes providing reasonable accommodations to persons with disabilities. For applicants with disabilities who require a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process, please contact Rice University's Disability Resource Center at 713-348-5841 or adarice@rice.edu for support.

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