Department
ADV College Reunions
About the Department
The Advancement Office engages alumni (~220k), current students, parents, and friends of the University through intellectual, professional and social activities on campus, around the world and online. Advancement 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 over $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
This role plans and executes the institution’s campaign for annual gift support from all constituents, including alumni, and solves straightforward problems as they arise.
Responsibilities
- Serves as the class manager for the First Reunion.
- Identifies, recruits, trains, and motivates Reunion volunteers to engage and solicit their peers.
- Contributes to the development and execution of class-specific Reunion fundraising goals, leading the class to achieve these goals through personal solicitation, peer-to-peer outreach, and collaboration with University fundraising partners.
- Partners across Advancement with University Relationship Managers to engage trustees and top donors in relationship building and solicitation to advance and meet class giving goals.
- Manages a portfolio of assigned Reunion prospects, with a focus on cultivating, soliciting, and securing gifts of all sizes, including multi-year pledges, major gifts, and bequest intentions, in support of a comprehensive $15M annual Reunion fundraising goal.
- Achieves annual goals of 40 alumni visits, 20 proposals submitted, $500K in asks, $100K raised, and 30 new qualifications.
- Builds and maintains relationships with alumni and internal University partners while clearly communicating Reunion fundraising initiatives and College and University giving priorities.
- Leads weekly tracking and reporting for College Reunion fundraising priorities, providing regular updates to team members, volunteers, and senior leadership.
- Serves as Phoenix power user for the College Reunion team, including running reports, maintaining prospect notes, tracking volunteer activity, and providing system support.
- Manages reporting alignment between Phoenix and GiveCampus, monitors volunteer activity within the system, and supports volunteer onboarding and training.
- Serves as the team lead for GiveCampus training and volunteer onboarding.
- Aggregates and analyzes fundraising and volunteer data to inform goal setting and recruitment strategies.
- Manages Reunion volunteer stewardship activities, including year-end volunteer recognition.
- Attends and/or supports donor and volunteer events for the College as needed, including but not limited to, Alumni Weekend, the College Advisory Council meetings, the College Parents Council meetings, and other College team events.
- Seeks opportunities for professional development that will enhance job performance, including attending webinars, seminars, building networks within the University and with colleagues at peer institutions.
- Contributes to the planning and implementation of programs to identify, visit, and solicit alumni, parents, and other constituencies within an assigned geographical region for gifts to meet fundraising goal. Does this with a moderate level of guidance and direction.
- Contributes to the development of plans to solicit prospective donors and meet campaign goals. This includes speaking to new prospects persuasively about the case for annual giving support.
- Performs other related work as needed.
Minimum Qualifications
Education:
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:
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Preferred Qualifications
Education:
Experience:
- Minimum two years of professional work experience in nonprofit management, development, alumni relations, marketing, public relations, sales or similar professional work.
- Working knowledge with fundraising, contact management or other database software.
- Background in project management in the development field and knowledge of the higher education arena.
- Knowledge of managing gift prospects.
- Background in soliciting and closing gifts.
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 Advancement, including Phoenix, the University's Donor Relationship Management System.
- Proficient in Microsoft Windows computer environment, especially Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access
Preferred Competencies
- Outstanding interpersonal and communications skills characterized by the ability to listen, speak, and write effectively.
- Strong writing, editing and proofreading skills.
- Self-motivated and take initiative.
- Prioritize multiple projects and independently follow through with detail.
- Manage confidential information with discretion and tact.
- Act with integrity, professionalism, and confidentiality.
- Work collegially and collaboratively in a team setting.
Working Conditions
- This position has a hybrid work schedule which includes weekly in office presence.
- Standard office environment.
- Travel to campus and/or non-campus locations for University business.
- Work evenings and weekends as needed.
- This position is located in Hyde Park at 5235 South Harper Court.
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.
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