Executive Director Jobs

About The Position

Requirements

• College or university degree in a related field.
• At least seven years of work experience in a related job discipline.
• At least seven years of professional experience with demonstrated depth in annual giving, direct-response fundraising, or a closely related discipline such as nonprofit management, development, alumni relations, marketing, public relations, or sales.
• At least four years of staff management experience.
• At least two years of experience developing and monitoring budgets.
• Outstanding interpersonal and communication skills, including the ability to listen, speak, and write effectively and explain complex ideas clearly.
• Ability to manage confidential information with discretion and tact, and to act with integrity and professionalism.
• Ability to work collegially and collaboratively, take initiative, prioritize multiple projects, and follow through independently with attention to detail.
• Ability to work evenings and weekends as needed.
• Ability to travel to campus and/or non-campus locations for University business.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university or college.
• Experience hiring and building teams.
• Experience in a research university or another large, decentralized, multi-unit organization.
• Knowledge of, or ability to quickly learn, the University’s internal operations and Advancement technology, including Phoenix, the University’s Donor Relationship Management System.
• Proficiency in a Microsoft Windows computer environment, especially Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement comprehensive annual giving strategies for University Advancement-managed units, aligning them with institutional priorities and consistent messaging and donor experience standards.
• Advise and partner with unit leadership and Directors of Development to identify opportunities to build lasting fundraising capacity.
• Design and manage multi-channel fundraising programs, including direct mail, digital campaigns, and events, tailored to donor segments and personas.
• Steward the rollout of the Chicago Fund and maintain productive relationships with units adapting to the cross-institutional annual fund.
• Analyze giving trends, donor behavior, acquisition and retention rates, and campaign effectiveness; establish performance indicators and provide actionable insights.
• Recruit, train, manage, and develop annual giving staff and fundraisers, supporting collaboration and professional standards across the federated structure.
• Bring external best practices and new ideas to the annual giving team, including practices from higher education beyond direct marketing.
• Develop and oversee budgets for central annual giving operations and coordinate resource allocation with federated units to support cost-effective operations and return on investment.
• Ensure annual giving activities comply with institutional policies, legal requirements, and ethical standards; partner with donor relations on recognition and stewardship.
• Pursue professional development, including webinars and seminars, and build networks within the University and with peer institutions.
• Plan, manage, support, and develop annual giving fundraisers and staff, and facilitate sharing resources, ideas, and information for cross-functional work.
• Participate in and advise on annual giving objectives, goals, and strategies.
• Collaborate with communications staff on annual and strategic communications, solicitations, newsletters, senior class campaign materials, volunteer and staff training presentations, and audience-specific marketing plans.
• Work with annual giving and University leadership, faculty, and staff to align alumni and friends’ interests and philanthropic capacity with efforts to increase giving and the number of annual donors.
• Segment audiences to maximize unrestricted support for the University.
• Work with Information Technology to develop, evaluate, and implement management information systems, and use them to synthesize data and draw conclusions.
• Develop and manage relationships with donors, volunteers, and senior administrators.
• Perform other related work as needed.

Benefits

• Health benefits
• Retirement benefits
• Paid time off