Senior Associate, Principal Gifts & Engagement

Obama Foundation • Chicago, IL

5d • $79,040 - $98,800 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Associate, Principal Gifts & Engagement is a vital strategic and operational role designed to directly support the Vice President, Principal Gifts & Engagement in launching, building, and executing the Obama Foundation's inaugural principal giving strategy program. In this capacity, the Senior Associate serves as a core engine of the subteam, managing critical operational pipelines, driving comprehensive prospect briefing processes, and tracking metrics that empower the Vice President to effectively manage a premier portfolio of ultra-high-net-worth individuals focused on eight-figure, transformational investments. This role offers a unique opportunity for an entrepreneurial, highly detailed, and collaborative professional to build systemic infrastructure during a period of landmark growth. The Senior Associate will work across divisions—liaising closely with Donor Relations, Events, Prospect Research, and Central Operations—to ensure that high-stakes interactions, personalized proposals, and executive or Board briefings are executed with absolute precision and alignment with the Foundation’s long-term sustainability goals.

Requirements

• A minimum of 3-4 years of professional experience in nonprofit development, strategic operations, or executive-level frontline fundraising support, preferably within a complex institution or capital campaign environment.
• Proven capability to handle hyper-sensitive donor information and navigate complex external and internal environments with absolute discretion, high integrity, and mature emotional intelligence.
• Excellent project management skills, with a track record of driving multi-layered processes across diverse, cross-functional teams under tight deadlines.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with sharp attention to detail required to produce board-ready briefings and high-quality stewardship collateral.
• Strong systems literacy, featuring advanced proficiency in donor management systems (Salesforce preferred) and the ability to utilize data analytics to inform fundraising strategy.

Responsibilities

• Partner directly with the Vice President to build out, operationalize, and track the long-term roadmap for the principal giving team.
• Manage the day-to-day coordination of the Vice President’s premier donor portfolio, tracking movement, multi-year engagement schedules, and critical next steps within the pipeline.
• Serve as a key operational bridge between the Principal Gifts subteam and Team CEO to streamline calendar alignment, track executive fundraising actions, and facilitate seamless execution of follow-up deliverables from high-priority meetings.
• Partner extensively with programmatic, leadership, and operational teams across the entire foundation to unify fundraising strategies, cultivate a shared culture of philanthropy, and mobilize cross-functional resources for principal-level donor engagements.
• Oversee the end-to-end briefing process for principal-level solicitations and meetings involving the Vice President, CEO, Board of Directors, or Obama network surrogates.
• Coordinate the development of highly personalized, visionary proposals, bespoke stewardship materials, and comprehensive briefing memos.
• Act as the primary operational liaison between the Principal Gifts subteam and the Donor Relations & Events team to ensure top-notch execution of "white glove" donor experiences, custom pitch decks, and landmark on-site engagement opportunities at the Obama Presidential Center.
• Collaborate closely with the Prospect Research & Portfolio Insights subteam to monitor and synthesize profile analytics for top-tier prospects, ensuring that newly qualified leads are
• Perform other duties as assigned.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed