Assistant Director, Advancement Operations

Job Summary

Reporting to both the Senior Director of Alumni Relations and the Director of Development, the Assistant Director of Advancement Operations will support the Advancement team at the Harris School of Public Policy. Harris Advancement is dedicated to building lifelong relationships to maximize the intellectual, social, professional, and financial engagement of all Harris Public Policy alumni, parents, and friends to advance the strategic objectives of the school. Our work has a transformative impact on Harris students and faculty, driving significant contributions of time, talent, and resources back to Harris. The Assistant Director will provide critical support to the operations and functions of the entire Advancement team, including project management, data management, communications functions, and event operations.

Responsibilities

• Project management: Serves as project manager across Advancement programs, including event technology initiatives and projects that improve management operations.
• Data management: Serves as the in-house Phoenix (Salesforce-based) power user, extracting and analyzing data and maintaining constituent records. Creates and implements an annual data management calendar to keep alumni and donor records current.
• Prospect Management: Maintains accurate record of communications-related activity in the CRM. Enters contact reports, prospect strategies, and proposals on behalf of the Dean and Harris leadership.
• Event management: Manages the full event cycle for Advancement events, including building and maintaining Cvent registration forms and event websites, managing RSVP reporting and registration changes, and tracking attendees. Oversees production of event materials such as nametags and seating materials, and oversees onsite registration and operations.
• Digital communications: Designs, writes, and deploys email communications in HubSpot, including event invitations, newsletters, stewardship materials, and solicitations. Develops content for the Advancement pages of the Harris website and manages graduate student assistants who maintain website data.
• Fundraising writing: Coordinates written materials supporting fundraising, including donor correspondence such as acknowledgments, prospect strategy briefings, event remarks, talking points, and gift proposals.
• Gift acknowledgment: Manages the gift acknowledgment process for alumni, parents, and friends, including personalized thank-you messages on behalf of the Dean and Advancement leadership. Oversees a weekly deployment schedule and uses technology to ensure timeliness and efficiency.
• Volunteer and annual giving programs: Collaborates with colleagues to execute volunteer, such as but not limited to Inspire, and annual giving programs (such as giving day) that increase alumni participation, revenue, and engagement.
• Reporting and analysis: Prepares custom and ad hoc reports to support planning and operational decisions across events, volunteer programs, annual giving, and donor and prospect management. Synthesizes data on the Development team's fundraising progress, pipeline, and prospect pool, and organizes materials related to fundraising and campaign operations.
• Seeks opportunities for professional development that will enhance job performance, including building networks within the University and with colleagues at peer institutions.
• Supports business activities during staff vacancies, ad hoc projects or other duties as assigned.
• Has a moderate/solid understanding of fundraising operations for a school or department of the University.
• Identifies budget requirements and staffing needs on a project or event basis.
• Plans somewhat complex activities of volunteer and support groups.
• Recruits members and provides guidance and support to leadership activities.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

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

Preferred Qualifications

Experience: Experience in a job discipline such as nonprofit management, development, alumni relations, marketing, or similar work. Experience with fundraising, database management, or contact management preferred. Experience working with volunteers preferred. Experience with event logistics management preferred.

Preferred Competencies

• Strong verbal and writing skills with high attention to detail.
• Flexibility and adaptability to new programs in a quickly changing environment needed.
• Emotional intelligence and the ability to work collaboratively in a team setting.
• Willingness to serve as a brand ambassador for the Harris School of Public Policy and University of Chicago.
• Ability to foster partnerships across teams.
• Demonstrated skill and knowledge of, or ability to learn quickly, the internal workings of the University as well as the technology tools available to the Office of Advancement, including Phoenix (the University's Donor Relationship Management System), HubSpot, Cvent, Microsoft Windows computer environment, Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Adobe products including design software, and project management software.
• Willingness and ability to travel to campus and/or non-campus locations for University business.
• Willingness and ability to work evenings and weekends as needed.
• Demonstrated track record of personal initiative and excellent organizational skills.
• Mental demands: Self Motivation and ability to take initiative.
• Ability to prioritize multiple projects and independently follow through with detail.

Working Conditions

Hybrid role – 3 days in-person weekly.