Executive Director, Family Office Initiative

University of Chicago • Chicago, IL

6d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Executive Director is responsible for leading the Family Office Initiative (FOI) programming within the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago.

Serving in this inaugural role, comprehensive experience and background to launch and set the groundwork for all future efforts of this new initiative is required.

In this role as a senior leader for both the FOI at the University of Chicago, and within Chicago Booth, the Executive Director is responsible for designing, developing, supporting and directing family office activities that impact the students at the Booth School and other constituents. This position also serves as mentor and advisor to the professional interests of the MBA students at Chicago Booth. The Executive Director conceives, creates and executes initiatives for internal and external constituents and works with Chicago Booth leadership to integrate FOI activities into Booth’s overall academic experience. The Executive Director, in coordination with the Faculty Director, governs all activities including budgeting, programming, education, fundraising, operations and staff development. The Executive Director also participates fully in leadership capacity in FOI strategic planning and ensuring the organization becomes a global leader in the field.

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 degree.
• Master’s degree, MBA.
• A minimum ten years of demonstrated experience in most aspects of the family office industry.
• Background working in an academic setting.
• Demonstrated experience leading a team and driving results through the work of others and operating in a complex organization.
• Background working with graduate students.
• Fundraising knowledge and experience.
• Demonstrated proficiency with MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook).
• Strong communication skills including coaching, facilitating, negotiating and effective written communications skills.
• Work independently with little supervision; possess a self-motivated disposition; identify opportunities for improvement and recommend effective changes, all while achieving key objectives resulting in desired outcomes.
• Excellent strategic planning, successful implementation, presentation skills, critical thinking, and persuasion skills.
• Handle multiple detailed tasks/projects simultaneously and meet strict deadlines with frequent interruptions.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively and diplomatically with multiple constituencies in a sometimes-ambiguous environment.
• Professional demeanor, including tact, discretion, and a customer service-oriented approach.

Responsibilities

• Strategic thought leader and promoter of FOI activities, including strong familiarity with both student-led, alumni-led and faculty-led activities.
• Develops and collaborates with the FOI team to implement the overall strategy and operation plan of the Initiative.
• Actively contributes to fundraising activities for the FOI and for Chicago Booth.
• Coordinates with Chicago Booth and UChicago development teams, corporate relations, grant administration and the FOI team.
• Works in partnership with the FOI Council.
• Accountable to plan and execute work to an annual staff, and operates budget that contributes to Chicago Booth’s bottom line.
• Leads a team of professional and administrative staff with direct responsibility to hire, develop and evaluate individuals and maintain a highly performing team consistent with Booth’s people values.
• In collaboration with the FOI Faculty Director, the ED helps to develop and manage a portfolio of courses including potential laboratory courses in which students gain practical experience through a variety of leading edge experiences.
• Leads co-curricular programming activities that serve students, alumni, faculty, and the community. This includes managing and developing executive education and may include managing executives in residence.
• Develops and oversees student internship programs where students work in family offices with specifically designed experiences to develop and gain knowledge in the field.
• Collaborates with Chicago Booth’s Career Services Office, Deans Office and the University’s Career Advancement Office to support and further the career interests for these students.
• Initiates and grows partnerships with industry leaders, student groups and others to build co-curricular activities for students and faculty at Chicago Booth.
• Promotes the FOI by managing, building and nurturing relationships with the members of the FOI Council.
• Collaborates with Chicago Booth leadership to ensure that FOI activities align and coordinate with those of Booth.
• Identifies new growth opportunities for the FOI.
• Oversees a communication strategy and marketing efforts aimed at increasing the visibility of the Center.
• Collaborates with others to make the center a valuable resource to all students and contributes to the broad goals of creating a stronger campus community.
• Works closely with faculty, students and other leaders across campus to foster experimentation and multi-disciplinary inquiry and teaching by coordinating and developing Center programming. This may include workshops. Conferences, colloquia, training programs, community outreach, etc.
• 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: Director
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees