Assistant Director of the Center for… at Rice University · Houston

Special Instructions to Applicants: 

All interested applicants should attach a resume 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, 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.

Position Summary: 

The Assistant Director at the Center for Academic and Professional Communication (CAPC) coordinates and manages the CAPC consulting program, including recruiting, training, and supervising student communication consultants. As a core component of CAPC’s communication programming, the consulting program supports the Rice community across written, oral, and visual modalities.

In addition to overseeing the consulting program, the Assistant Director, under the guidance of the Director and Associate Director, contributes as needed to workshops and course-based programming for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as other CAPC initiatives, including collaborations with faculty and staff partners.

Ideal Candidate Statement: 

The ideal candidate has experience working in a writing or communication center and is committed to student-centered, collaborative approaches to communication. They are open to working across modalities, including writing, oral presentations, and visual communication, and are able to adapt their approach to different audiences and contexts. They are thoughtful and flexible in their interactions, able to respond in real time during consultations, workshops, and discussions.

They approach peer education and tutoring as relational and developmental work. They are a compassionate, equity-minded colleague who fosters an inclusive environment and respects writers’ linguistic, cultural, and personal differences. They value mentorship and support the development of peer consultants through ongoing feedback, modeling, and conversation.

They are attentive to the day-to-day work of the consulting program and contribute to its coordination while working closely with student consultants. They are comfortable with routine program support and work effectively both independently and as part of a team. They are also interested in contributing to the Center’s broader work over time, including workshops and course-based programming.

Workplace Location: 

On-campus position: This position is exclusively on-site, necessitating all duties to be performed in person. Per Rice policy 440, work arrangements may be subject to change.

Hiring Range: This is a full-time, benefits-eligible position. The salary range, depending on qualifications and experience, is $56,000 – $60,000 a year. 

*Exempt (salaried) positions under FLSA are not eligible for overtime. 

Minimum Requirements:

• Master’s degree in Writing Studies, Rhetoric and Composition, Applied Linguistics, Communication, or a related field
  • In lieu of the education requirement, additional related experience, above and beyond what is required, may be substituted on an equivalent year-for-year basis
• 2+ year of experience working in a writing or communication center and at least one semester teaching writing or other forms of communication in a classroom setting
  • In lieu of the experience requirement, additional related education, above and beyond what is required, may be substituted on an equivalent year-for-year basis

Skills:

• Experience recruiting, training, and supervising peer consultants or student workers, with the ability to mentor consultants and support their development as responsive, student-centered communicators
• Demonstrated experience teaching or facilitating interactive workshops that respond to participant needs
• Ability to facilitate discussions and adapt in real time to participant input and changing contexts
• Ability to support communication across modalities, including writing, oral presentations, and visual communication
• Strong organizational and project management skills, particularly in managing a dynamic, student-facing program
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to work effectively with students, faculty, and staff
• Ability to manage day-to-day program operations and ensure consistency and quality across services
• Ability to incorporate feedback and adjust approaches across different audiences and contexts

Additional Skills:

• Experience working with graduate student writers and researchers
• Experience collaborating with faculty on course-based communication instruction or assignments
• Familiarity with supporting communication in discipline-specific contexts
• Experience developing instructional materials or communication resources
• Experience with program assessment, data collection, or reporting
• Experience working with multilingual or ESL students
• Interest in contributing to the development of communication programming across disciplines
• Familiarity with emerging technologies, such as AI tools and other communication software

Preferences:

• PhD in Writing Studies, Rhetoric and Composition, Applied Linguistics, Communication, or a related field. 

Essential Functions:

• Administers program operations, ensuring efficient, effective, and productive operations
• Creates and implements plans to achieve program objectives and mission
• Interprets, implements, and ensures compliance with policies and regulations and recommends changes to procedures and processes
• Analyzes data, identifies trends, develops reports, and recommends and implements changes to improve alignment with institutional mission and goals
• Creates and implements outreach plans that may include relationship development, communications, and event and conference management
• Provides support in developing relationships with internal and external entities
• May assist with fundraising activities
• Creates budget plans, monitors and approves expenditures, develops reports, conducts analyses, and manages and maintains financial records
• For academic programs, may be responsible for graduate student recruitment and admissions, student records, curriculum support, coordinating the accreditation process, managing scholarships and fellowships, and monitoring student progress
• May supervise a small staff (up to three full-time staff)
• Performs all other duties as assigned

Additional Functions:

• Staying up to date with writing center studies and current trends in scholarship
• Attending at least one conference per year

Rice University HR | Benefits: https://knowledgecafe.rice.edu/benefits 
Rice Mission and Values: Mission and Values | Rice University 

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.