Assistant Director of Advancement

Jun 18

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Urbana-Champaign or Chicago, IL

Anticipated Start Date: As soon as possible after the closing date.

Description

Organizational Relationship

The Assistant Director of Advancement reports to the Senior Director of Advancement and will work closely with faculty and other members of the administrative team in the School of Social Work, along with advancement colleagues across campus, to successfully carry out the Advancement priorities.

The Assistant Director of Advancement will assist the School of Social Work in designing strategies to broaden and strengthen development activities, and will require travel of varying durations, up to 30-50%, including some evenings and weekends.

This position will be responsible for identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major gift prospects and donors to increase private giving in support of the School of Social Work and the philanthropic interests of donors. The successful candidate will be a collaborative team member who values inclusion, is a self-starter, and is skilled at building strong internal and external collaborative relationships.

Job Summary

Responsibilities

50% Fundraising

Build and manage a portfolio of major gift prospects from identification through qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
Meet with donors and donor prospects via travel, on-campus visits, phone, and video conferencing, including some evenings and weekends, as deemed appropriate by the Chief Advancement Officer (CAO).
In collaboration with the CAO, develop and implement targeted solicitation strategies for the SSW Annual Fund, the SSW Fund for Field, the SSW Student Support Fund, and other priorities as needed.
- Identify and maintain records of how these current use funds are being spent for both solicitation and stewardship purposes.
Develop and maintain close collaborative partnerships with campus and unit colleagues, including within advancement, corporate relations, and foundation relations, to ensure a strong baseline knowledge of campus, college, and unit programs and priorities.
Document all activities and interactions in the alumni/donor database.

50% Constituent Engagement

Develop and execute a strategic plan to increase engagement with SSW constituents, which can include, but not limited to students, alumni, donors, faculty, staff, community organizations, corporations, foundations and more.
- Seek new and innovative ways for alumni to become more involved with the School, including affinity groups, mentorships, continuing education, etc.
- Establish a relationship with SSW students aimed at educating students on the impact of philanthropy and creating a culture of volunteerism and giving.
- Build strong partnerships with community organizations to better understand their needs and how the SSW can best interact with and support them.
- Create new avenues to engage faculty and staff with the impact of philanthropy.
Partner with the CAO and Director of Communications to design and implement a comprehensive constituent communications plan, including the creation and dissemination of a monthly SSW newsletter, maintaining the SSW website, and managing SSW social media outlets.
Assist in the preparation and execution of events, including annual scholarship celebrations, commencement ceremonies, and any other campus or unit events as needed and/or deemed appropriate.
Oversee all aspects of the SSW Community Engagement Advisory Board (CEAB), a volunteer board of community leaders and SSW alumni. Impact in Your First Year At Illinois Advancement, we value our employees and provide resources to help you continually learn and grow. We foster a strong, collaborative community of people who are driven by their ability to make a difference.

Within 3 months, you’ll:

Become familiar with the strategic vision and priorities of the School of Social Work
Meet your assigned Prospect Development Analyst and begin to dig into your portfolio
Attend professional development and networking activities for newcomers within Advancement
Be introduced to fundraising fundamentals terminology adopted from Plus Delta Partners

Within 6 months, you’ll:

Begin cultivating relationships with key prospects/donors/alumni in an effort to create and implement solicitation strategies
Partner with stewardship and donor relations, events, alumni relations, and communications colleagues on unit-wide initiatives
Be able to share multiple meaningful impact stories of transformative gifts

By the end of the first year, you’ll:

Cooperatively set annual goals with your supervisor and portfolio management team
Continue portfolio growth of qualified prospects and successful solicitation strategies
Receive one-on-one coaching from Talent Management to help your transition to your new role
Build a robust network of colleagues across campus

Requirements

Required Qualifications

Required

Bachelor’s degree
A minimum of two years of successful advancement and/or alumni relations experience, or three years of experience in a closely related field which requires strong relationship-building and outcome-driven components.
Documented success working collaboratively in a cross-functional environment with competing priorities

Preferred

Experience working in higher education advancement
Experience managing alumni and/or student programs and devising innovative programs to engage alumni and/or donors to support programmatic priorities
Experience working with academic and/or community leaders
Experience identifying new ways to engage individuals with high net worth who are unfamiliar with philanthropy

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities

Demonstrated understanding of major donor prospect qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship, preferably in a higher education environment.
Superb oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills, with an emphasis on engaged, active listening.
Demonstrated ability to represent an organization in visits with key constituents.
Strong relationship management skills.
Strong interpersonal communication skills and the ability to navigate varying personality types in a positive and effective manner
Self-motivated with the ability to work independently and with minimal supervision

Salary Range and Employee Benefits

Salary Salary is competitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience, while also considering internal equity. The salary range starts at $60,000.

How to Apply for this Job

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About the Organization

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a comprehensive and major public land-grant university (Doctoral/Research University-Extensive) that is ranked among the best in the world. Chartered in 1867, it provides undergraduate and graduate education in more than 150 fields of study, conducts theoretical and applied research, and provides public service to the state and the nation. It employs about 3,000 faculty members who serve over 33,000 undergraduates and 15,000 graduate and professional students. More information about the campus is available at www.illinois.edu.

The university is located in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana (total population 207,000) in east-central Illinois, and is situated about 140 miles south of Chicago, 125 miles west of Indianapolis, and 180 northeast of St. Louis. The University and its surrounding communities offer a cultural and recreational environment ideally suited to the work of a major research institution.

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