Senior Assistant Director, Development Communications

University of Chicago • Chicago, IL

3d • $70,000 - $90,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

Medicine and Biological Sciences Development’s mission is to inspire and facilitate philanthropy at the University of Chicago Medicine by building relationships with those who share its goals of advancing excellence in research, education, community, and patient care. We accomplish this mission through expertise, integrity, creativity, and collaboration. This position writes a variety of communications for the University. Works with moderate guidance to research, compose, and edit high-level communications, publications and/or reports with complex and specialized subject matter.

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

• A bachelor’s degree or higher in journalism, English, communications or a relevant field.
• Experience in a university setting or a similarly complex institution.
• Experience with writing in a scientific field or a complex subject material.
• Experience in a large or complex organization or subject matter.
• Proven expertise taking complicated information from various sources and synthesizing it to identify and clarify key issues and opportunities, as well as developing a compelling message.
• Excellent written and spoken communication skills.
• Manage multiple details while adhering to a broader concept or purpose.
• Understand finance and quantitative documents.
• Capacity for identifying and evaluating basic issues, for bringing together information from a variety of sources, and for selecting appropriate analytical and creative approaches in dealing with immediate responsibilities.

Responsibilities

• Writes a broad spectrum of fundraising materials created for a specific audience such as a prospective donor, family foundation, corporation, or volunteer solicitor.
• Takes comprehensive responsibility for the materials such as, but not limited to: building a persuasive case for each written piece; considering the specific audience; identifying influential facts or statistics; fact checking; and establishing, monitoring, and executing a timeline.
• Responsible for written materials and projects such as: proposals; correspondence including acknowledgement letters; cultivation visits/meetings; stewardship reports; Power Point presentations; and conceptualization of a stewardship meeting.
• Project manages the team’s activity and implements tactical next steps to ensure goals and objectives are met.
• As such, closely monitors team activity and anticipates and tracks deliverables, including letters, briefings, reports, presentations, and proposals.
• Facilitates internal meetings and fundraiser visits with donors and prospective donors to advance prospect strategy.
• Researches, writes, and edits a variety of communications, publications and/or reports.
• Writes analytic, interpretive, or highly individualized features utilizing personal subject matter expertise.
• Determines, researches, verifies, writes and edits content material.
• Coordinates efforts and collaborates with other teams at MBSD such as Communications (including graphic design and the Senior Writers); Protocol; Events; Strategic Research and Analysis.
• Under supervision, may assist with writing and/or editing technical/scientific material for manuals or journals.
• From time to time, may be asked to take on a project that requires project management or analytical skills (examples include: budget analysis and prospect portfolio analysis).
• Researches, verifies, writes and edits publications, which can includes technical/scientific material for manuals or journals.
• Participates in the design and planning of communications strategies.
• 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