Assistant Director of Development – Campaign Management

Job Description

Assistant Director, College Development | University of Chicago

The Tone:
This is a full-time role at the University of Chicago, located in Chicago, IL. The University of Chicago Advancement team cultivates lifelong connections with its global community of alumni, students, parents, and friends to build community and generate philanthropic support. This role supports the College Development team, which raises over $100M annually, by enhancing fundraising activity and communication frameworks to meet campaign objectives and support educational goals for undergraduates. This position is crucial for fueling bold discovery and amplifying the University’s global impact through strategic philanthropic partnerships.

The TL;DR
• Role: Full Time
• Type: Full-time
• Location: Hybrid, Chicago, IL
• Pay: $63750–$75000 yearly
• Team: College Development Campaign Management team, supporting the College Development team
• Mission: This person will enhance fundraising activity at all levels and align with the College’s campaign objectives by preparing a variety of written materials, managing cross-functional projects, and producing data-driven insights on fundraising progress.
• Tech Stack: Phoenix, Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access

What You’ll Actually Do
• Reporting: Gather and synthesize data about the College Development team’s fundraising progress, pipeline, and prospect pool, preparing reports and organizing materials related to fundraising activity and campaign operations.
• Communications Strategy: Draft, assemble, and coordinate various written materials in support of fundraising activity, including donor correspondence, prospect strategy briefings, event remarks, talking points, and gift proposals.
• Project Management: Serve as the project manager for the College Development Campaign Management team, providing general writing and copy-editing support for fundraisers and key partners working on behalf of the College.
• Stewardship: Manage a robust gift acknowledgment process for alumni, parents, and friends of the College, crafting personalized thank you messages on behalf of senior leaders and overseeing a weekly deployment schedule.
• CRM Management: Maintain accurate records of communications-related activity in the CRM, entering contact reports, meeting summaries, and correspondence on behalf of the Dean, Assistant Vice President, and other senior leaders.

The Must-Haves
• Background: College or university degree in a related field.
• Experience: 2-5 years of work experience in a related job discipline, with at least two years of professional experience in nonprofit management, development, alumni relations, marketing, public relations, or sales, including a background writing for both internal and external audiences and managing cross-functional projects.
• Skills: Demonstrated ability to convey nuanced and actionable information in a variety of formats, and proficiency in Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access, with the ability to quickly learn the Phoenix donor relationship management system.
• Bonus: Outstanding interpersonal and communications skills, ability to listen, speak, and write effectively, capacity to explain complex ideas clearly and simply, discretion and tact in managing confidential information, acting with integrity and professionalism, and working collegially and collaboratively in a team setting.