Department
ADV Annual Giving Appeals
About the Department
The University of Chicago Advancement team cultivates lifelong connections with more than 220,000 alumni, current students, parents, and friends worldwide, building community through intellectual, professional, and other meaningful experiences on campus, around the world and online. Advancement empowers every division, school, department, and institute to thrive, generating support for esteemed faculty, pioneering researchers, visionary practitioners, and ambitious students.
During the Chicago Minds campaign, Advancement seeks to raise over $1 billion annually. This unprecedented philanthropic effort is designed to stretch the boundaries of what is possible, fueling bold discovery and amplifying the University’s global impact.
Our work is rooted in the belief that meaningful connection and lasting experiences inspire ambassadorship and enduring commitment. We champion a culture of innovation and excellence, inviting every member of our community to participate in a future defined by creativity, intellectual rigor, and shared purpose. Through collaborative partnerships, strategic stewardship, and investment in talent, Advancement is reimagining alumni and donor engagement while ensuring UChicago remains a catalyst of impact for generations to come.
The Communications team within the Office of Advancement advances ambitious fundraising and constituent engagement goals by partnering with stakeholders across the University to shape and brand communications that engage, inspire, steward, and inform alumni, donors, and friends of the University of Chicago.
Job Summary
The Assistant Director executes and manages the day-to-day operations of the University’s centralized annual giving direct marketing programs. This role owns campaign and appeal production, data segmentation, reporting, and vendor coordination for the Chicago Fund, schools, divisions, and units, with a focus on accuracy, timeliness, and continuous improvement of processes that drive donor participation and retention. This position plans and executes the institution’s campaign for annual gift support from all constituents, including alumni, and solves straightforward problems as they arise.
This position is not eligible for employer-sponsored employment authorization.
Responsibilities
- Owns end-to-end execution of annual giving campaigns across central Advancement, including timelines, production schedules, and quality control.
- Serves as a liaison to assigned unit partners, ensuring appeal execution reflects unit priorities and maintains strong working relationships.
- Builds and manages appeal codes and segmentation in Phoenix (Salesforce Ascend CRM), working with the Senior Associate Director to define segmentation needs and partnering with Advancement Technology and Prospect Development and Decision Support on complex list pulls, data delivery, and analytics, supporting targeted, multichannel (mail, email, social media, texting, social fundraising) solicitation and stewardship strategies, including the University’s annual Giving Day.
- Coordinates with external print vendors and mail houses on production specs, schedules, and deliverables, in partnership with and under the direction of the Senior Associate Director, Annual Giving Channel Fundraising.
- Develops and maintains annual giving reporting, including pulling and summarizing reports for leadership and unit partners; tracking progress against participation; retention, and revenue goals; partnering with internal analytics teams to flag trends and anomalies to inform strategy. Leverages A/B testing and other methods to systematically evaluate campaign effectiveness.
- Maintains rigorous attention to data accuracy and hygiene throughout the appeal lifecycle, from segmentation through to post-appeal reporting.
- Identifies opportunities to improve processes, documentation, and data practices within the direct marketing program.
- Handles sensitive donor and gift data with strict discretion and confidentiality.
- 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 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.
- Ensures quality control when monitoring various marketing channels by developing a targeted strategy for solicitation and marketing materials as well as campaign appeals, solving a range of straightforward problems as they arise.
- 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 fundraising, direct marketing, campaign management, data/analytics, operations, or a related field.
- Fundraising, contact management, CRM, or other database software; experience with Salesforce or a similar CRM platform.
- Familiar with data analysis and communicating findings and complex information to non-technical audiences.
- Managing cross-functional projects involving multiple stakeholders, timelines, and deliverables.
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 Salesforce System.
- Proficient in Microsoft Windows computer environment, Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access.
- Knowledge of SQL, Python, or other data analysis tools/languages.
Preferred Competencies
- A strong commitment to personal and professional development, and foster a collaborative and inclusive team environment.
- Manage confidential information with discretion and tact.
- Act with integrity, professionalism, and confidentiality.
- Work collegially and collaboratively in a team setting.
- Prioritize multiple projects and independently follow through with detail.
- Self-motivated and take initiative.
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.
- This position is not eligible for employer-sponsored employment authorization.
Application Documents
- Resume/CV (required)
- Cover Letter, addressed to Hiring Committee (preferred)
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
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.
The University of Chicago's Annual Security & Fire Safety Report (Report) provides information about University offices and programs that provide safety support, crime and fire statistics, emergency response and communications plans, and other policies and information. The Report can be accessed online at: http://securityreport.uchicago.edu. Paper copies of the Report are available, upon request, from the University of Chicago Police Department, 850 E. 61st Street, Chicago, IL 60637.
