Senior Associate Director, Council Management, College Development

Company: University of Chicago
Location: Chicago
Posted on: April 2, 2026

Job Description:

Department ADV College Alumni Philanthropy About the Department The Advancement Office engages alumni (~220k), current students, parents, and friends of the University through intellectual, professional and social activities on campus, around the world and online. Advancement raises $600 Million annually to support faculty and researchers, practitioners and patients, and students and programs across the University. Our work supports priorities in every division, school, department, and institute. The College Development team raises over $100M annually, advancing philanthropic partnerships with key alumni, parents and friends of the College to support the educational goals of its undergraduates. This includes support for scholarships, teaching and research, career development, international study, athletics, and housing. Job Summary This role manages programs designed to meet University fundraising goals for contributed income. Serves as strategist of efforts to secure gifts and build relationships with alumni, faculty, administrators and organizations with potential to make gifts. Develops communication strategies for projects. Responsibilities Provides strategic leadership for the College’s two alumni councils, the College Advisory Council and the College Leadership Council, ensuring these distinguished groups of philanthropic volunteer leaders advance the Dean’s vision, campaign priorities, and long-term alumni engagement goals. Leads the strategy and execution of the College Advisory Council, composed of the College’s top alumni donors, advocates, and leaders, and responsible for contributing $250M toward the College’s campaign. Shapes the strategic content and objectives of two domestic council meetings annually and one international retreat every two years to cultivate members toward the Dean’s top campaign priorities and advance progress toward the Council’s $250M fundraising goal. Partners with fundraisers across Advancement to identify, cultivate, and recruit new College Advisory Council members with the potential to make seven-figure gifts or greater to the College, while ensuring full participation in annual giving, and tracking campaign commitments and progress toward the Council’s $250M goal. Establishes and manages annual recruitment, retention, and engagement goals for both councils, including recruiting approximately 20 new members annually for the College Advisory Council, and recruiting and renewing approximately 5 members each year for the College Leadership Council. Leads strategy and engagement for the College Leadership Council, an innovative council of alumni who graduated within the last 15 years and demonstrate strong commitment as volunteer and philanthropic leaders through annual gifts of $10K to the Dean’s Fund. Shapes the strategic content and engagement model for at least two in-person meetings annually, along with additional virtual engagement opportunities as needed, to cultivate members around the Dean’s campaign priorities. Develops and implements fundraising and peer-to-peer solicitation strategies for the College Leadership Council, including training members on campaign priorities, preparing them to serve as ambassadors for the College, coordinating member solicitations, and ensuring full participation in annual giving. Tracks member giving commitments, ensures full participation in annual giving, and measures success through fundraising participation, member engagement, regional engagement strategies, and the successful execution of two in-person council meetings annually. Partners with College Leadership Council members and Advancement colleagues to identify and recruit recent alumni with the capacity to contribute $10K annually to the Dean’s Fund, strengthening the pipeline of emerging philanthropic leaders. In partnership with the Director of Alumni and Volunteer Experience, engages College Leadership Council members as thought partners in shaping the College’s alumni experience strategy and supporting initiatives aligned with the Next Generation Philanthropy strategic plan, which focuses on cultivating young alumni representing 48% of the College’s alumni population. Serves as the College team liaison to the University-wide Alumni Board by briefing College alumni representatives on the Dean’s vision and campaign priorities, staffing their annual meeting with the Dean, facilitating the vetting and nomination of College representatives, and managing and mentoring the Assistant Director, Leadership Engagement. Seeks opportunities for professional development that will enhance job performance, including building networks within the University and with colleagues at peer institutions, and with an eye towards broadly diversifying the advancement profession. Establishes fundraising goals and priorities based on department objectives, designs strategies to meet those goals, and monitors progress against goals. Identifies, analyzes, and qualifies donor interest to maximize giving. Helps with overall planning efforts for the University's most important prospects. Works independently to develop communication strategies for projects, including publications and public presentations. Works with Senior Leadership, Officers and Deans to design strategic objectives and action steps that will lead to the successful realization of these projects. 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 5-7 years of work experience in a related job discipline. Certifications: Preferred Qualifications Education: Advanced degree. Experience: Minimum five years of professional work experience in nonprofit management, development, alumni relations, marketing, public relations, sales or similar work. Minimum three years of experience managing volunteers. Demonstrated experience in cultivation and solicitation of prospective donors, sales, client development or similar field. Technical Knowledge or Skills: Extensive project management experience. 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 System. Proficient in Microsoft Windows computer environment, especially Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access. Preferred Competencies 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. Outstanding interpersonal and communications skills characterized by the ability to listen, speak, and write effectively. Self-motivated and take initiative. Facilitate planning and organize meetings. Negotiate with articulate alumni. Adapt to changes in volunteer schedules and priorities. Participate actively and consistently in staff meetings. 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 Travel domestic and internationally. 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) 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 $95,200.00 - $112,000.00 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.

Keywords: University of Chicago, Elkhart , Senior Associate Director, Council Management, College Development, PR / Public Relations , Chicago, Indiana