Director, Principal Gifts

Department
 

BSD DEV - Principal Gifts

About the Department
 

Medicine and Biological Sciences Development’s mission is to inspire and facilitate philanthropy at the University of Chicago Medicine by building relationships with those who share its goals of advancing excellence in research, education, community, and patient care. We accomplish this mission through expertise, integrity, creativity, and collaboration.

Job Summary
 

The Director, Principal Gifts plays a pivotal role in developing and executing a best-in class principal gifts program to cultivate the relationship between UChicago Medicine/Biological Sciences Division’s (UCM/BSD) most transformative donors and their areas of philanthropic interest. The position strives to ensure that the donor experience reflects the institution’s reputation of excellence and eminence.

The Director will manage a portfolio of principal gift donors, playing a key role in cultivating long-term relationships with donors who have the capacity to make transformative gifts, while leveraging the relationships and vision of UCM/BSD leaders to secure support for strategic priorities and initiatives.

The Director plays a key role in facilitating the success of the principal gift program by partnering with the AVP, Principal Gifts to optimize its operations and management. The position has direct management responsibility for between 1-3 individuals.

Responsibilities

• Manage a portfolio of top principal, mega, and legacy gift donors. Conceive and execute proactive and creative identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies for these donors to drive giving at the $5M+ level. Carries individual fundraising goal of $5M-$10M.

• Coordinate the interaction of donors with campus leaders, faculty and other individuals who have the ability to deepen the donor’s engagement with the UCM/BSD and its strategic funding priorities.  

• Conceive and develop recognition events or other activities such as gift events, luncheons/dinners, faculty and student meet and greets, and other events to communicate gift impact and honor, thank, and inspire donors.

• Compose high quality correspondence that is decisive and professional, that may include subject matter of considerable sensitivity, discretion, judgement or negotiation. 

• Partner with AVP, Principal Gifts to refine and grow the principal gift team and its operational activities to support annual and campaign goals.

• Partner with AVP, Principal Gifts on identification and qualification strategies for principal gift prospects with the UCM/BSD ecosystem.

• Assume leadership for assigned key strategic initiatives to support campaign planning. Identify opportunities for synergistic collaboration to generate ideas for future principal and mega gifts; build out multidisciplinary giving opportunities; identify prospect pipelines; and execute strategies to support cultivation/solicitation across the MBSD principal gift portfolio.

• The Director supervises up to 1-3 staff members.

• The Director participates in meeting established annual Principal Gift team fundraising goals and mega-gift goals.

• Identifies, analyzes, and qualifies donor interest to maximize giving. Assists 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 closely 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.

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Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 7+ years of work experience in a related job discipline.

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Certifications:

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Preferred Qualifications

Experience:

• A minimum of seven years of relevant work experience in development or a related field, such as non-profit management, personal wealth management, sales and/or marketing, or corporate business development.  

• Demonstrated track record of organizing successful fundraising or marketing activities.

• Demonstrated success in prospect iden