Director, Development, Court Theatre

Department

ARD Court Theatre

About the Department

Alumni Relations and Development (ARD) engages alumni (~220k), current students, parents, and friends of the University through intellectual, professional and social activities on campus, around the world and online. ARD 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.

A broad platform for multidisciplinary arts across the University of Chicago, the Arts and Culture Team encompasses the University’s arts engagement with students and faculty, our community, Chicago, and the world. The Arts and Culture Team supports the study, presentation, and experience of arts and includes:
● Academic departments and programs in the Division of Arts and Humanities, the College, and the Library.
● Public-facing arts organizations Arts + Public Life, Arts, Court Theatre, Gray Center for Arts and Inquiry, Logan Center for the Arts, Oriental Institute, Smart Museum of Art and University of Chicago Presents.
● Student-facing initiatives such as Arts, Science + Culture Initiative and the Arts Labs in the Media Arts, Data, and Design Center; and more than 60 student arts organizations.

Building on this foundation, the Provost’s Arts Steering Committee has developed a vision for the future of the arts at UChicago that deepens academic excellence, student arts engagement, community arts engagement, global arts engagement, and experimental inquiry and practice. To learn more, please visit https://www.uchicago.edu/life-at-uchicago/arts.

Job Summary

The Director of Development will be responsible for leading and coordinating fundraising efforts for Court Theatre. A member of the Court Theatre’s senior leadership team, the Director will design and implement comprehensive strategies to identify, cultivate and solicit annual, major gifts donors in collaboration with Court Theatre leadership, Court Board of Directors and development colleagues. Working closely with the Court and University Alumni Relations and Development teams, the Director will identify funding opportunities, support individual and foundation donor engagement opportunities and solicitations, and collaborate with the Court Board of Directors, Artistic Director and Executive Director to develop strategic approaches for fundraising growth. Director of Development is a senior fundraising position with management responsibilities for the Court Theatre fundraising team and will also work closely with other arts leaders across the UChicago Arts initiative and develop partnerships with other appropriate UChicago fundraising colleagues.

This role manages a team of professional staff responsible for planning all development activities; typically within the undergraduate college, a large academic department or professional school, or the central development office. Leads fundraising projects and cultivation programs for prospective donors and for visiting committees.

Responsibilities

• Develops and leads Court’s fundraising activities including annual giving, major gifts programs, fundraising events, campaigns, institutional funding as well as create and refine cases for support. 
• Leads, collaborates and manages the creation and implementation of a strategy for the identification, cultivation, solicitation, and gift closure of individual and foundation major prospects in collaboration with Alumni Relations and Development (ARD) staff and leadership.
• Works with the Executive Director and Artistic Director in supporting the Court Board of Directors, including staffing and overseeing the Board’s development committee, including board development. 
• Builds and manages a portfolio of 50-75 individual prospects. In addition to portfolio management, partners with fundraising colleagues on multi-interest prospects to include Court solicitations in their overall prospect solicitation plans. Monitors progress against goals ensuring deadlines are met.
• Manages and supervises Court’s Development team. Hires, manages, evaluates, develops and terminates development staff as needed and as assigned. Actively encourages staff members' professional growth and participation in the life of the University.
• Responsible, with the Court Development and support from the Arts and Culture team, for raising between $2M - $3M annually.
• Individually responsible for up to 9-12 solicitations above $100K, totaling between $8M and $12M asked.
• Collaborates with colleagues to identify and develop prospects and proactively expand the prospect pipeline.
• Assists with the planning and execution of events, including the annual fundraising Gala, working directly with the Board and Gala