Assistant Director, Discovery Officer - East

University of Chicago • New York, NY

20h • 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. Department Summary: The primary focus of the Regional Advancement Team at the University of Chicago is raising significant philanthropic support for the University’s top priorities, academic units, and the faculty and students across the campus ecosystem. In preparation for a new major campaign, the team collaborates with academic divisions and colleagues across the Advancement office. They are responsible for executing the University’s regional advancement program strategies, aiming to build a robust and sustainable donor pipeline through personal interactions and curated engagement opportunities. As part of the University of Chicago’s Regional Advancement Team, Discovery Officers (D.O.s) are responsible for high-volume prospect discovery and qualification activity, focusing on building new relationships with the university's community of alumni, parents, and friends. D.O.s manage and cultivate a portfolio of several hundred prospects through in-person meetings, engagement at local events and activities, and personal touchpoints leveraging various forms of communication, including email, phone, social media, video conferencing, and texting. Uniquely positioned to rapidly strengthen UChicago’s donor pipeline, D.O.s raise funds for all units and priorities in the short term while curating longer-term relationships to create the foundation for future significant philanthropy. This externally facing, front-line fundraising role prioritizes a holistic approach to donor cultivation and engagement, managing programs designed to meet University fundraising goals for contributed income. The job 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.

Requirements

• Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.
• Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 2-5 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor’s degree.
• Advanced degree.
• Minimum two years of professional work experience in nonprofit management, development, alumni relations, marketing, public relations, sales or similar professional work experience.
• Knowledge of managing gift prospects.
• Experience in soliciting and closing gifts of $100 or more .
• 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), Microsoft Windows computer environment, Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access.
• Outstanding interpersonal and communications skills characterized by the ability to listen, to speak, and to write effectively.
• Ability to manage confidential information with discretion and tact.
• Ability to act with integrity, professionalism, and confidentiality.
• Ability to work collegially and collaboratively in a team setting.
• Ability to prioritize multiple projects and independently follow through with detail.

Responsibilities

• Execute a regionally based strategy to engage and qualify as many prospects as possible.
• Identify when a donor or prospect expresses significant interest and hand-off active referrals to regional gift officers or school/unit fundraising teams.
• Cultivate, solicit, and or renew gifts, as appropriate who have the capacity to make financial commitments of $100,000 and up to the University of Chicago.
• Be a champion for the University of Chicago regionally and provide information on university developments and programs relative to constituent’s interests, and proactively share information about opportunities to attend events, volunteer, participate in alumni association activities/services, or otherwise deepen their engagement with the university.
• Deliver timely and effective follow-up in various forms to prospects and donors, including customized fundraising proposals.
• Generate timely contact reports in the prospect database following prospect or donor visits.
• Seek opportunities for professional development that will enhance job performance, including building networks within the University and with colleagues at peer institutions.
• Build relationships with a variety of different individuals within the University in the assigned divisions and departments of those who make charitable gifts.
• Writes timely and strategic correspondences to advance relationships.
• Works with others to maximize prospective donor cultivation.
• 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: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees