Department
ISAC: Development

Job Summary
The Senior Assistant Director of Development will support ISAC's immediate and long-term growth and success. This position provides professional-level support for ISAC's development and membership activities, working with a moderate level of guidance and direction from the Director of Development. It executes fundraising cultivation programs for prospective donors and contributes to annual giving, stewardship, and event efforts. In addition, this position is an important revenue driver for capital gifts, annual giving, and other priorities, particularly regarding the current University capital campaign.

This role will support the Development & Membership team's efforts to cultivate and steward donors, maintain accurate donor records, and assist with the execution of fundraising projects designed by senior team members.

Responsibilities

• Secures, renews, upgrades, and stewards annual $10,000+ gifts through personal outreach and visits with individuals that have the capacity and interest to make five and six-figure gift commitments.
• Leads the stewarding and solicitation of major donor and campaign prospects.
• Manages major donor and campaign activities; maintains related calendar.
• Achieves personal fundraising activity goals monthly, quarterly, and annually.
• Helps ensure meeting goals and timeframes for effective acknowledgement process and general donor relations and stewardship.
• Collaborates with Development team, senior leadership, and volunteers to plan, produce, implement and attend donor-related ISAC events.
• Creates, manages, and delivers important development projects with complex budgets, such as travel events.
• Recruits members and provides guidance and support to leadership activities.
• Supports the cultivation, qualification, solicitation, and stewardship of annual gifts, in collaboration with the Development & Membership team.
• Maintains an active personal prospect portfolio focused on annual giving, under moderate guidance and direction from the Director of Development.
• Assists with donor relations communications and helps maintain the cultivation matrix, providing regular updates to the team.
• Supports the planning, production, and execution of donor-related ISAC events, including logistics and attendee coordination.
• Helps ensure timely completion of the acknowledgement process and supports general donor relations and stewardship.
• Utilizes development technologies and tools (e.g., Claude, DonorBox, Thankview, video conferencing, collaborative documents) to support development activities.
• Has a moderate/solid understanding of fundraising operations for a school or department of the University. Identifies budget requirements and staffing needs on a project or event basis.
• Has a moderate/high level of authority in drafting informational and marketing materials for review for assigned programs. Assists in developing support materials for specific fundraising activities.
• Cultivates and maintains relationships with donors and volunteers. Establishes and maintains donor records and accounts.
• 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

Experience:

• Experience supporting donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship activities.
• Experience in nonprofit management, development, alumni relations, marketing, public relations, sales, or similar professional work experience.
• Experience assisting volunteer leadership and/or committees.

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 through the UChicago Office of Advancement, including the University's donor relationship management system and the Microsoft Office Suite.
• Demonstrated ability to use Microsoft Excel.
• Excellent organizational and task-management skills.

Preferred Competencies

• Outstanding interpersonal and communications skills characterized by the ability to listen, speak, and write effectively.
• Ability to manage confidential information with discretion and tact.
• Act with integrity, professionalism, and confidentiality.
• Work collaboratively in a team setting.
• Prioritize multiple projects and independently follow through with detail.
• High self-motivation and the ability to take initiative.
• Knowledge of and affinity for history, archaeology, and museums.

Working Conditions

• Hybrid work schedule.
• Standard office environment.
• Occasional travel to campus and/or non-campus locations for University business.
• May require occasional domestic and/or foreign travel (less than 5%).
• Occasional evening and weekend work required.
• This position is located at 1155 E. 58th St. in Hyde Park.

Application Documents

• Resume/CV (required)
• Cover Letter (required)

The University of Chicago uses AI-assisted tools to streamline and augment some recruitment processes; however, AI is not used to make hiring decisions.

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
40

Drug Test Required
No

Health Screen Required
No

Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required
No

Pay Rate Type
Salary

FLSA Status
Exempt

Pay Range
$77,000.00 - $87,000.00
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.