Senior Assistant Director, Leadership Annual Giving, SSD

Department

ARD Social Sciences Division

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 central component of the University’s Office of ARD, the Division of the Social Sciences Development enterprise is a team of fundraising professionals who work collaboratively to secure annual, major, and principal gift support for divisional priorities and objectives, as set by the Dean, and foster increased engagement with the division. The team undertakes this work through in-person meetings, carefully curated cultivation and stewardship events, and other forms of donor engagement.

Consistently ranked among the top ten social science research universities in the world, the Division of Social Sciences is at the vanguard of inquiry and impact. Whether through the field-defining scholarship of the Chicago Schools in Sociology and Economics, the path-breaking impact of the first graduate international affairs program in the U.S., the creation of interdisciplinary programs in the Department of Comparative Human Development and the John U. Nef Committee on Social Thought, or many other pivotal milestones, the Division has repeatedly transformed the social sciences since its founding in 1930. The Division offers PhD degrees in nine disciplines and Master of Arts degrees in five interdisciplinary fields. The Division also offers a number of joint degrees, and these collaborative initiatives uniquely position the Division to pioneer creative modes of thinking about society’s most complex issues.

Job Summary

The Senior Assistant Director of Leadership Annual Giving is a key member of the Social Sciences Division development team, who possesses a keen understanding of the principles of fundraising and the SSD Dean’s priorities and strategic vision. The Senior Assistant Director is responsible for the identification, qualification, solicitation, and stewardship of prospective donors, while building a robust pipeline of future major gift donors. The Senior Assistant Director also participates in the team’s strategic planning and program management, as well as meets individual annual visit and solicitation goals.

This role implements programs designed to meet fundraising goals for contributed income with moderate guidance. Helps build relationships with alumni, faculty, administrators and organizations with potential to make gifts at the instruction of others. Executes communication strategies for projects.

Responsibilities

• Drives and supports SSD activity for Leadership Annual Gifts. Coordinates this activity with the SSD Senior Associate Director of Development. Identifies, cultivates, and solicits prospective donors who have the capacity to make financial commitments of $1,500 to $50,000 or more. Aiming for $500k - $1M solicitations per year.
• Qualifies new prospects and segments of the alumni pool. Maintains a strong focus on stewardship and upgrade of current donors. Determines creative cultivation and solicitation strategies.
• Arranges for prospects to meet with appropriate University staff and faculty. Plans and executes a local strategy to affiliate alumni donors with long-range potential for major gifts.
• Seeks and uncovers potential for planned gifts and works in partnership with gift planning colleagues on securing such commitments.
• Builds and manages a portfolio of 150 – 200 individual prospects and donors aiming for an annual fundraising goal of $200k - $350k in booked gifts.
• Writes timely and strategic correspondence to advance relationships. Organizes and executes donor engagement preparation; follows-up; and plans trips as needed for self, the SSD Senior DOD, Dean, and others, which includes partnering with SSD and ARD staff to generate briefings, proposals, solicitation plans, gift documentation, and gift recognition plans.
• Develops solicitation strategy and writes compelling fundraising proposals. May collaborate with the communications team for proposal content or format. 
• In collaboration with team colleagues, ensures that individual prospects are acknowledged in a timely, personalized, and expert manner. Researches and prepares stewardship reports for donors. Coordinates stewardship efforts with the donor relations team.
• Works with others to maximize prospective donor cultivation. Focuses on keeping SSD prospects and donors involved and informed of ongoing projects, developments, and advancements at the Unive