Position Details Position Details
Job Title Senior Director, Advancement
Position Number 8101762
Work Modality Hybrid - 4 In-Person
Is this request for the creation of a new Position (or the modification of an existing Position) to temporarily support the WorkDay ERP? no
Job Category University Staff
Job Type Full-Time
FLSA Status Exempt
Campus Chicago-Water Tower Campus
Department Name DEVELOPMENT & DONOR SERVICES
Location Code DEVELOPMENT & DONOR SERVICES (03635A)
Is this split and/or fully grant funded? No
Duties and Responsibilities SUMMARY:
Loyola University Chicago is seeking a strategic, data-driven leader with a proven background working in Advancement technology and complex CRMs to support the business needs of a growing Advancement department. Reporting to the Assistant VP of Advancement Operations, this position provides leadership and direction for the team responsible for all CRM administration, data-related processes, reporting, training, and technology for the University's Advancement division.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Management - 20%
• As a senior member of the Advancement Operations team, manage and leverage the full capabilities of the Advancement constituent database (Kindsight ascend) and various information management and reporting technologies to support and enhance Advancement's business operations. Optimize Advancement's technology suite to foster data-driven decision-making processes in support of Advancement and University objectives. Serve as a key leader in the ongoing CRM conversion, including post-launch conversion projects, the administration of the implemented CRM, and projects related to the University's comprehensive campaign.
• Lead, mentor, and coach three to ten direct reports and team members, including but not limited to: Salesforce administrators/developers, Marketing Cloud specialists, report developers, data visualization analysts, business systems analysts, project managers, and trainers. Establish annual performance objectives, business plans, and metrics, evaluate progress toward achievements, and partner with the team to support their success and career advancement. Assess and identify additional resources as needed, making recommendations on staffing and program structure to best support the business needs of the program.
Reporting - 30%
• Serve as a strong practitioner and leader in business analysis and report development, leading the team as a resource with in-depth knowledge of critical reporting standards applicable to higher-education fundraising including CASE reporting standards, VSE reporting metrics, fundraising progress reports, alumni engagement reporting, and campaign reporting needs.
• In partnership with the team, monitor, develop, publish, and regularly update Advancement's suite of standard reports working toward a model environment of dashboards, Salesforce Reports, self-service reports, and ad hoc reporting.
• Ensure report integrity through rigorous analysis and auditing of all data used for Advancement fundraising, alumni relations, event participation, donor relations, and other data used to inform the President, Board of Trustees, and University leadership.
Business Analysis & Request Management - 30%
• Serve as a translator between end users of Advancement technology and data and the internal and external resources for these services at Loyola (ITS, ISR, contracted developers, etc.).
• Document new processes and retroactively document existing processes for which incomplete documentation currently exists.
• Manage the process to run and evaluate the ISR team's suite of data audit reports, correcting data errors programmatically when possible (i.e. when a manual review is not needed).
• Manage the ISR team request/ticketing queue and prioritize those requests for attention with guidance from the AVP of Advancement Operations.
• Perform other duties as required.
System Administration and Support - 20%
• Serve as a key liaison with Loyola's Information Technology Services (ITS) division. Partner with ITS colleagues on data integrations, business intelligence policies and procedures, software and hardware modifications, complex data projects, and other projects to enhance the ISR team's capabilities and maintain best practices.
• Stay abreast of new and evolving technologies that can add value to the Advancement division. Make recommendations as needed to Advancement leadership on solutions and modifications to existing technologies or the adoption of new technologies. Play a leadership role in the implementation and rollout of new technologies.
• Ensure the system administration and development of Loyola's implementation of Kindsight ascend is operating efficiently and serve as an additional Salesforce Administrator as needed.
• Enable/modify/maintain Advancement staff access and security protocols concerning the constituent database, data warehouse, business intelligence reports, and other data resources.
• Develop and manage an Advancement helpdesk to support CRM user questions. Set policy on response time, priority of tickets, and tier levels.
Technical Skills
• Experience with Ellucian Advance, Kindsight ascend, Salesforce, or comparable complex fundraising CRMs required.
• Expertise in coding languages such as PL/SQL or TSQL as in Oracle, SQL Server, etc. required.
• Experience developing, documenting, and publishing interactive dashboards and other self-service operational reports using Power BI and SSRS or the equivalent preferred.
• Experience managing, organizing, preparing, and loading website content using industry-standard web development tools such as GiveCampus preferred.
• Proficiency using MS Office Suite tools including strong expertise in the analysis of large data sets using Microsoft Excel required.
• Familiarity with R or Python as data analysis/manipulation tools is preferred.
• Experience using project management software and ticketing management systems preferred.
Additional Skills
• Strong understanding of the university fundraising industry and best practices preferred.
• Strong leadership and training skills; ability to coach, mentor, and guide junior staff.
• Experience participating in a team-driven, deadline-oriented environment using project management tools and agile methodologies.
• Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions.
• Ability to interpret an extensive variety of business requests and technology needs and translate those needs into solutions for colleagues across the division.
• Ability to quickly learn and understand new technical systems.
• Ability to be flexible and meet deadlines by handling shifting priorities and multiple tasks effectively.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills.
Minimum Education and/or Work ExperienceQualifications Preferred Qualifications- Five to seven years of experience in the utilization of data management systems in fundraising, higher education, IT or a related field.
- Proven capability of working in data analytics and reporting, serving as an expert translator in the interpretation and presentation of analyses to inform business processes. Experience in or equivalent knowledge of working in an advancement environment (including fundraising and/or nonprofit financial development) preferred.
- Understanding of application development environments, particularly those of data integration, systems administration, business process analysis, security architectures, and database schemas is desired.
- Must have excellent interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to present at staff meetings and participate on committees and special projects as needed.
- Management experience required; demonstrated leadership experience promoting a culture of curiosity and continued improvement through both processes and new technology.
- Proven success with project management and the demonstrated ability to understand and interpret complex data systems in order to achieve measurable results.
- Accuracy and attention to detail in a deadline-driven environment are essential.
Certificates/Credentials/Licenses Certifications such as Salesforce Administrator I & II, Salesforce Platform App Builder, and Marketing Cloud Administrator are preferred and demonstrate Salesforce proficiency.
Computer Skills - Proficiency with Oracle, SQL, and PL/SQL Developer.
- Business Intelligence Suite, Microsoft data analysis tools Power BI and PowerView, MS SQL Server data tools SSAS, SSIS, SSRS, and/or related tools strongly preferred.
- Experience with Kindsight ascend or Salesforce, Marketing Cloud, Experience Cloud, and Ascendix preferred.
- Proficiency required in information and database management.
- Proficiency required with advanced MS Word processing, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, and MS Access.
- Proficiency required with the Internet, e-mail, and other office automation systems.
Familiarity with R or Python as data analysis/manipulation tools is preferred.
Supervisory Responsibilities Yes
Required operation of university owned vehicles No
Does this position require direct animal or patient contact? No
Physical Demands Repetitive Motions
Working Conditions Irregular Hours
Open Date 03/26/2026
Close DatePosition Maximum Salary or Hourly Rate $155,000/Ann
Position Minimum Salary or Hourly Rate $140,000/ann
Special Instructions to Applicants As a Jesuit, Catholic institution of higher education, we seek candidates who will contribute to our strategic plan to deliver a Transformative Education in the Jesuit tradition. To learn more about Loyola University Chicago's mission, candidates should consult our website at
www.luc.edu/mission/. For information about the university's focus on transformative education, they should consult our website at
www.luc.edu/transformativeed.
Quick Link for Posting https://www.careers.luc.edu/postings/34912
