Executive Director, Annual Giving

University of Chicago • Chicago, IL

16h • Hybrid

About The Position

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 Communications team within the Office of Advancement advances ambitious fundraising and constituent engagement goals by partnering with stakeholders across the University to shape and brand communications that engage, inspire, steward, and inform alumni, donors, and friends of the University of Chicago. The Executive Director of Annual Giving leads the development, execution, and management of a comprehensive, multi-channel annual giving program. This position balances high-level strategy and organizational leadership with direct oversight of the annual giving team, ensuring both the vision and day-to-day operations of the program are executed with excellence. This role manages multiple related teams of managers and professional staff responsible for the institution’s campaign for annual gift support from all constituents, including alumni. A key priority of this role is cultivating and elevating awareness and understanding of the importance of annual giving across the University community — building a culture of philanthropy that engages alumni, faculty, staff, students, and friends as active participants in the institution's long-term success.

Requirements

• Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.
• Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 7+ years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor’s or advanced degree.
• Minimum seven years of professional experience in nonprofit management, development, alumni relations, marketing, public relations, sales or similar professional work experience.
• Minimum four years of management experience, including staff management.
• Minimum two years of experience developing and monitoring budgets.
• 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 a Microsoft Windows computer environment, especially Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access.
• Outstanding interpersonal and communications skills characterized by the ability to listen, speak, and write effectively.
• Explain complex ideas clearly and simply.
• Manage confidential information with discretion and tact.
• Act with integrity, professionalism, and confidentiality.
• Work collegially and collaboratively in a team setting.
• Self-motivated and take initiative.
• Prioritize multiple projects and independently follow through with detail.

Responsibilities

• Develops and implements comprehensive annual giving strategies for units managed by COU, ensuring alignment with institutional priorities and maintaining consistent messaging and donor experience standards.
• Collaborates with development officers and leadership across individual schools, colleges, or departments to coordinate campaigns and share best practices while respecting unit autonomy.
• Designs and manages multi-channel fundraising programs including direct mail, digital campaigns, Telefund, and events, adapting strategies for different donor segments and personas.
• Analyzes giving trends, donor behavior, and campaign effectiveness across all units, providing actionable insights and establishing key performance indicators to measure success and inform strategic decisions.
• Recruits, trains, and manages annual giving staff, ensuring consistent professional standards and fostering collaboration across the federated structure.
• Develops and oversees annual giving budgets for central operations and coordinates with federated units on resource allocation, ensuring cost-effective operations and maximum return on investment.
• Ensures all annual giving activities comply with institutional policies, legal requirements, and ethical standards while partnering with donor relations to maintain appropriate donor recognition and stewardship programs.
• Seeks opportunities for professional development that will enhance job performance including attending webinars, seminars, building networks within the University and with colleagues at peer institutions.
• Plans, manages, supports, and develops annual giving fundraisers, and staffs and directs the sharing of resources, ideas, and information to accomplish goals requiring cross functional collaboration.
• Participates and advises in the formation of annual giving objectives, goals, and strategies.
• Collaborates with communications staff to design annual, strategic communications, solicitations, create newsletters, senior class campaign materials, volunteer and staff training presentations, and marketing plans tailored to specific audiences in order to maximize fundraising effectiveness and annual support and engagement from these audiences.
• Works closely with annual giving and University leadership across the campus, as well as with faculty and staff to synthesize the interests and philanthropic capabilities of alumni and friends of the University in order to increase the level of giving and the number of annual donors to the University.
• Assesses donor behavior, acquisition rates, retention rates, etc. Segments audiences in order to maximize unrestricted support for the University.
• Works with Information Technology to develop, evaluate, and implement management information systems and uses these systems to synthesize data and draw conclusions.
• Develops and manages relationships with donors, volunteers, and top administrators.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Benefits

• 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.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees