Demo

Assistant Director, Leadership Annual Giving

University of Chicago
Chicago, IL Other
POSTED ON 4/22/2025
AVAILABLE BEFORE 5/22/2025
Department

ARD Leadership Annual Giving & Reunions

About The Department

Alumni Relations and Development (ARD) engages alumni (~220k), current students, parents and friends of the University through intellectual, professional and social activities on campus, around the world and online. ARD raises $600 Million annually to support faculty and researchers, practitioners and patients, and students and programs across the University. Our work supports priorities in every division, school, department, and institute.

The College Development team raises $80M-$100M annually, advancing philanthropic partnerships with key alumni, parents and friends of the College to support the educational goals of its undergraduates. This includes support for financial aid, teaching and research, career development, international study, athletics, and housing.

Job Summary

The Assistant Director of Leadership Annual Giving will play a crucial role in advancing the College’s fundraising goals by managing strategic outreach aimed at securing philanthropic support from alumni around the country. This position involves outreach that fosters alumni engagement and philanthropic support among graduates of the College. The Assistant Director will create and execute targeted fundraising strategies to qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward alumni, ensuring a robust pipeline of future donors and leaders.

This role implements programs designed to meet fundraising goals for contributed income with moderate guidance. Helps build relationships with alumni, faculty, administrators and organizations with potential to make gifts at the instruction of others. Executes communication strategies for projects.

The ideal candidate will possess strong leadership skills, a track record of successful fundraising, and the ability to build and maintain meaningful relationships with donors. This role offers an exciting opportunity to make a significant impact on The College's mission through effective leadership and innovative fundraising strategies.

Responsibilities

  • Plans and implements strategies for a coordinated program of fundraising activities for College alumni and leadership gift prospects.
  • Plans and executes a target of 100 prospect visits and 75 solicitations, traveling as necessary to visit prospects.
  • Develops short- and long-term plans for soliciting and stewarding donors who are capable of making gifts between $2,500-$100K over four-to-five-year pledge.
  • Collaborates with internal partners to build a cohesive Leadership Annual Giving strategy.
  • Delivers timely and effective follow-up in various forms to prospects and donors, including customized fundraising proposals.
  • Generates timely contact reports in prospect database following prospect or donor visits.
  • Collaborates with staff throughout Alumni Relations and Development to increase leadership annual gift activity on behalf of the College.
  • Maintains expert-level knowledge of the College giving priorities and annual funds.
  • Participates in meetings and events as needed.
  • Seeks opportunities for professional development that will enhance job performance, including building networks within the University and with colleagues at peer institutions.
  • Identifies and qualifies prospects by aiding in expanding the pool of potential donors and participating in outreach events. Manages a portfolio of prospective donors.
  • Build relationships with a variety of different individuals within the University in the assigned divisions and departments of those who make charitable gifts.
  • Writes timely and strategic correspondences to advance relationships.
  • Works with others to maximize prospective donor cultivation.
  • Performs other related work as needed.

Education:

Minimum Qualifications

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 2-5 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Certifications:

Preferred Qualifications

Education:

  • Bachelor’s or advanced degree.

Experience:

  • A minimum of two years of professional work experience in nonprofit management, development, alumni relations, marketing, public relations, sales or similar professional work.
  • Knowledge of managing gift prospects.
  • Soliciting and closing gifts of $100 or more.

Technical Skills Or Knowledge:

  • Demonstrated skill and knowledge of, or ability to learn quickly, the internal workings of the University as well as the technology tools available to the Office of Alumni Relations and Development, including Griffin (the University's Donor Relationship Management System), Microsoft Windows computer environment, Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access.

Preferred Competencies

  • Outstanding interpersonal and communication skills characterized by the ability to listen, speak, and write effectively.
  • Manage confidential information with discretion and tact.
  • Act with integrity, professionalism, and confidentiality.
  • Work collegially and collaboratively in a team setting.
  • Self-motivated and take initiative.
  • Prioritize multiple projects and independently follow through with detail.

Working Conditions

  • Standard office environment.
  • Travel to campus and/or non-campus locations for University business.
  • Work evenings and weekends.
  • This position is located in Hyde Park at 5235 South Harper Court.
  • This position has a hybrid work schedule which includes weekly in-office presence.

Application Documents

  • Resume/CV (required)
  • Cover Letter, addressed to Hiring Committee (preferred)

When applying, the document(s) MUST be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.

Job Family

Alumni Relations & Development

Role Impact

Individual Contributor

Scheduled Weekly Hours

37.5

Drug Test Required

No

Health Screen Required

No

Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required

No

Pay Rate Type

Salary

FLSA Status

Exempt

Pay Range

$63,750.00 - $75,000.00

The included pay rate or range represents the University’s good faith estimate of the possible compensation offer for this role at the time of posting.

Benefits Eligible

Yes

The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off. Information about the benefit offerings can be found in the Benefits Guidebook.

Posting Statement

The University of Chicago is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or expression, national or ethnic origin, shared ancestry, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.

All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history. A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment. Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.

The University of Chicago's Annual Security & Fire Safety Report (Report) provides information about University offices and programs that provide safety support, crime and fire statistics, emergency response and communications plans, and other policies and information. The Report can be accessed online at: http://securityreport.uchicago.edu. Paper copies of the Report are available, upon request, from the University of Chicago Police Department, 850 E. 61st Street, Chicago, IL 60637.

Salary : $63,750 - $75,000

If your compensation planning software is too rigid to deploy winning incentive strategies, it’s time to find an adaptable solution. Compensation Planning
Enhance your organization's compensation strategy with salary data sets that HR and team managers can use to pay your staff right. Surveys & Data Sets

What is the career path for a Assistant Director, Leadership Annual Giving?

Sign up to receive alerts about other jobs on the Assistant Director, Leadership Annual Giving career path by checking the boxes next to the positions that interest you.
Income Estimation: 
$88,764 - $116,465
Income Estimation: 
$90,211 - $164,353
Income Estimation: 
$110,276 - $164,105
Income Estimation: 
$95,007 - $124,623
Income Estimation: 
$89,191 - $127,928
Income Estimation: 
$105,549 - $167,174
Income Estimation: 
$128,536 - $205,780
Income Estimation: 
$105,948 - $135,643
Income Estimation: 
$115,650 - $195,680
Income Estimation: 
$100,905 - $134,805
Income Estimation: 
$105,549 - $167,174
Income Estimation: 
$82,960 - $101,869
Income Estimation: 
$109,795 - $151,940
Income Estimation: 
$100,905 - $134,805
View Core, Job Family, and Industry Job Skills and Competency Data for more than 15,000 Job Titles Skills Library

Job openings at University of Chicago

University of Chicago
Hired Organization Address Chicago, IL Full Time
Department BSD ARC-SRF - Animal Resource Center & Office of Shared Research Facilities About the Department The mission ...
University of Chicago
Hired Organization Address Chicago, IL Other
Department SING Polsky Science & Technology - Administration About The Department The Polsky Center’s mission is to adva...
University of Chicago
Hired Organization Address Chicago, IL Full Time
Job Description Summary UChicago Career Advancement’s Careers in Business programs build on the world-class UChicago lib...
University of Chicago
Hired Organization Address Chicago, IL Full Time
Department Biological Sciences Division: Pediatric Department About the Department The Department of Pediatrics at the U...

Not the job you're looking for? Here are some other Assistant Director, Leadership Annual Giving jobs in the Chicago, IL area that may be a better fit.

Assistant Director, Leadership Annual Giving

The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL

AI Assistant is available now!

Feel free to start your new journey!