The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) invites applicants for the position of Senior Director of Annual Leadership Giving (SD). Reporting to the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Alumni and Donor Engagement, the SD will lead and manage a strategic and comprehensive, university-wide annual and leadership giving program designed to secure philanthropic support from alumni and friends with a focus on gifts under $25,000. The SD will design and implement intentional strategies for acquiring, retaining and upgrading donors to build a healthy and sustainable donor pipeline. The SD will manage and coach a team responsible for growing our baseline of annual support, moving donors to higher levels of giving and supporting OVCA’s mission of philanthropy for the UIC community.

 As a premier public R1 research institution in Chicago, we are on the heels of a successful, unprecedented campaign that saw six years of consecutive enrollment growth, sponsored research records set and broken and accolades that reflect our mission in excellence in public education, diversity, value and social mobility.

UIC is home to many nationally ranked colleges and programs and is ranked nationally in the Top 10 for “Best Value” by the Wall Street Journal. We have earned the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from Insight into Diversity six years in a row.

On a trajectory driven by bold thought leaders who define the battles against societal challenges and push the envelopes of art, opinion and performance, UIC is building for its next campaign. With significant investment in talent and programming, we seek a diversity of development professionals ready to execute transformational, life-changing fundraising and are curious, forward-thinking and solution-minded to join our team.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Develop and operationalize strategies for a university-wide annual and leadership giving program to build a strong base of annual support and help develop a healthy and sustainable donor pipeline. Ensure strategies are aligned with UIC and OVCA mission, goals and objectives.
• Set performance goals and measure, monitor and manage overall performance of the program.
• Build upon and oversee multi-channel annual giving program, including phone, direct mail, email, texting, social media and online giving. Understand and implement best practices in constituent and donor audience segmentation, sequencing and channels to grow the program and fulfill strategic objectives.
• Develop, implement and lead a leadership annual giving program for the university designed to bridge the gap between annual giving and major giving, leveraging traditional solicitation methods with new, innovative digital initiatives and emerging technologies.
• Conduct regular data-driven analysis of the effectiveness of annual and leadership giving activities to ensure we are executing and recommending the right strategies that best lead to growth and successful outcomes.
• Oversee the evaluation, securing and management of vendor relationships and project management plans for annual giving efforts.
• Develop, administer and monitor an annual operating budget.
• Partner closely with and maintain strong working relationships with senior leaders across Advancement, including central, college and unit teams, to ensure all strategies and goals are communicated, aligned and optimally leveraged.
• Collaborate with OVCA communications team on creative concepts and briefs, copywriting and design for all annual and leadership giving efforts.
• Partner with OVCA stewardship and donor relations team to develop stewardship programs and materials for new, renewed, and loyal annual and leadership annual giving donors.
• Collaborate with OVCA prospect development and analytics team and UIF business intelligence team to organize information and create and analyze reports and processes that inform annual and leadership giving strategies, enhance data integrity and maximize use of the constituent relationship management database. Communicate detailed donor, revenue and performance reports to the Advancement community on a regular basis.
• Work with the University of Illinois Foundation to coordinate efforts and co-manage the UIC Alumni and Friends Outreach Center.
• Maintain accuracy of records through entering contact reports and providing updates to donor database, following data policies and guidelines of UIF and OVCA.
• Serve on committees and sub-committees related to advancement, annual giving and others as needed.
• Plan, assign and review work of staff to ensure that group objectives are met. Hire, train, develop and manage staff to ensure that a qualified staff exists to meet existing and growing group objectives.
• Perform other related duties and participate in special projects as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or foreign equivalent required.
• Eight plus years of demonstrated successful professional experience in annual fundraising. Experience should include both traditional and new channels of annual revenue generation.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications.
• Strong database and analytical skills.
• Ability to understand and abide by the CASE Donor Bill of Rights, and the CASE Ethics Guidelines.
• An appreciation for how to leverage institutional programs with other initiatives to maximize engagement and philanthropic activity.
• Ability to handle sensitive and confidential matters and information with discretion.
• Excellent oral and written communication and interpersonal relations skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively in a dynamic team-based organization.

TO APPLY, PLEASE GO DIRECTLY TO THE UIC JOB BOARD https://uic.csod.com/ux/ats/careersite/1/home/requisition/4019?c=uic.  FOR FULLEST CONSIDERATION, PLEASE APPLY BY August 18, 2023.  RESUME AND COVER LETTER REQUIRED.  Compensation is competitive and commensurate with experience.  UIC also offers a comprehensive benefits package. 

As an EOE/AA employer, the University of Illinois encourages applications from individuals regardless of an applicant’s race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, and Veteran or disability status.

The University of Illinois may conduct background checks on all job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent offer. Background checks will be performed in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

The University of Illinois System requires candidates selected for hire to disclose any documented finding of sexual misconduct or sexual harassment and to authorize inquiries to current and former employers regarding findings of sexual misconduct or sexual harassment. For more information, visit https://www.hr.uillinois.edu/cms/One.aspx?portalId=4292&pageId=1411899.

University of Illinois faculty, staff and students are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. If you are not able to receive the vaccine for medical or religious reasons, you may seek approval for an exemption in accordance with applicable University processes.