Director, Emergency Management

Rice University seeks a visionary and community-oriented leader to serve as the next Director of Emergency Management. As the university advances its strategic vision, anchored by excellence in research, transformative undergraduate education, and deep engagement with the city of Houston, the Director will play a pivotal role in ensuring a campus environment where innovation and safety seamlessly coexist. This position is not merely about enforcement;

it is about building a broad, collaborative umbrella of protection that integrates traditional emergency management with policing and emergency medical services, all while reflecting the "culture of care" that uniquely defines the Rice community.

The Director provides strategic leadership for university-wide emergency management. This executive leads and directs the university’s efforts to develop, implement, test, document, and maintain plans for emergency management, institutional business continuity, and comprehensive emergency response across all academic, administrative, and research departments. A critical component of this role involves managing complex, cross-functional relationships on university-wide resilience initiatives. The Director interacts regularly with Executive Leadership, Senior Management, and Key

Functional Area

s to appropriately link all emergency response, mitigation, and recovery plans. This role reports directly to the Executive Director of Public Safety/Chief of Police.

We are looking for a highly strategic, diplomatic administrator who can design and execute sophisticated safety and resilience programs that protect our physical campus, secure invaluable research assets, and enhance the well-being of our community. If you are a collaborative leader who values equity, embodies modern emergency management standards, and champions a safe, inclusive environment, we invite you to help shape the future of Rice University.

This role is classified as an Essential On-Campus Position, requiring on-site presence to effectively carry out its vital functions. During emergencies or crises, the Emergency Management Director is required to report to campus as directed to ensure continuity of critical operations and must remain accessible to leadership to fulfill responsibilities necessary for maintaining institutional functions.

This position is exclusively on-site, necessitating all duties to be performed in person at the Rice University Main Campus. The schedule may vary to fit the needs of the department and/or campus, including holidays, nights, and weekends. Per Rice policy 440, work arrangements may be subject to change.

$122,496 - $140,000 annually

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution. Preferred fields:
  Emergency Management, Public Administration, Homeland Security, Public Safety, Criminal Justice, or a closely 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.
• 4+ years of progressively responsible professional experience in emergency management, public safety, or emergency coordination.
• 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.

• Deep operational knowledge of safety and disaster/recovery procedures, the Incident Command System (ICS), National Incident Management System (NIMS), and National Response Framework (NRF) structures (ICS 100, 200, 700, and 800 certifications required upon hire)
• Experience managing and leading multiple projects and team members
• Exceptio…