Department
ADV Professional Schools 1.2
About the Department
The Advancement Office engages alumni (~220k), current students, parents, and friends of the University through intellectual, professional and social activities on campus, around the world and online. Advancement raises $600 Million annually to support faculty and researchers, practitioners and patients, and students and programs across the University. Our work supports priorities in every division, school, department, and institute.
The Prospect Development and Decision Support (PDDS) team maximizes the value of fundraising data and systems to Advancement staff and the University. We offer insight derived from analytics and qualitative research to drive fundraising strategy. We help staff members to work more effectively with data and technology through staff education programs, process and system design services, and change management planning. Working at the individual, team, and organizational level, we help make Advancement staff informed, efficient, and successful in their efforts to maximize the University of Chicago’s fundraising and engagement potential.
Job Summary
This role conducts biographical and financial research on individuals, corporations, and/or foundations to support fundraising. Identifies prospective donors using research and analysis through use of standard procedures. Forecasts and measures the effectiveness of the fiscal year and overall campaign progress, which will help employees in the job acquire higher-level knowledge and skills.
Prospect Management, as a component of Prospect Development, involves strategically managing donor portfolios, informing institutional fundraising strategy, and developing and maintaining reporting that enhance fundraising efficiency and success. This role builds relationships with individual gift officers in order to optimize their portfolios and solicitation pipelines and with fundraising managers to develop unit-wide fundraising strategies. In addition to this client-services component, the role is also expected to develop reporting solutions, build effective data visualizations, and generate actionable insights using advanced institutional tools. We value potential as much as experience, seeking candidates who are eager to grow and excel in this dynamic field.
Responsibilities
- Conducts reviews focused on pools, portfolios, and pipelines to maximize fundraising potential.
- Monitors portfolio health and takes proactive action to address portfolios not meeting standards through prospect assignment strategy and data-informed recommendations focused on improving donor engagement.
- Tracks and reports on the performance of portfolios and pipelines, using key metrics to identify trends, successes, and areas for improvement.
- Develops and presents data-informed strategic analyses and recommendations focused on helping gift officers and staff manage their portfolios, and pipelines effectively.
- Monitors and audits prospect management data to maintain a high level of data quality and integrity.
- Ensures that gift officers are aware of and adhere to prospect management policies, providing support and resources to facilitate compliance.
- Serves as a central point of contact for gift officers when needed and facilitates connection and collaboration between gift officers and relevant ARD teams. Establishes a feedback loop with gift officers to gather their input on prospect management practices and uses this feedback to continuously improve processes and strategies.
- Uses advanced technology and data tools such as Salesforce, Tableau, Business Objects, Python, and CRM Analytics to create reports and dashboards to generate insights.
- Stays current with industry trends and innovative practices in portfolio and pipeline management, integrating new approaches to improve overall effectiveness of the program.
- Trains gift officers and other applicable staff on policy and best practices for portfolio and pipeline management.
- Works with prospect management University-wide to design and execute strategies to grow the size of the prospect pool with a moderate level of guidance and direction.
- May provide guidance to analysts, train staff members on fundraising, report writing, and research.
- 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:
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Preferred Qualifications
Education:
Experience:
- Minimum of two years experience analyzing and synthesizing complex data sets.
Technical Skills or Knowledge:
- Demonstrated skill and knowledge of, or ability to learn quickly, the internal workings of the University as well as the technology tools available to Advancement, including Phoenix, the University's Salesforce Donor Relationship Management System.
- Proficient in Tableau and SAP BusinessObjects.
- Proficient in a Microsoft Windows computer environment.
- Produce highly readable, informative reports.
- Understanding of basic statistics.
Preferred Competencies
- Outstanding interpersonal and communications skills characterized by the ability to listen, speak, and write effectively.
- Make focused recommendations to business leaders
- Expertise with a variety of analytical and database software.
- Analytics skills.
- Manage confidential information with discretion and tact.
- Act with integrity, professionalism, and confidentiality.
- Work collegially and collaboratively in a team setting.
- Self-motivated and take initiative.
- Prioritize multiple projects and independently follow through with detail.
Working Conditions
- This position has a hybrid work schedule which includes weekly in office presence.
- Standard office environment.
- Travel to campus and/or non-campus locations for University business.
- Work evenings and weekends as needed.
- This position is located in Hyde Park at 5235 South Harper Court.
Application Documents
- Resume/CV (required)
- Cover Letter, addressed to Hiring Committee (preferred)
When applying, the document(s) MUST be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.
Job Family
Alumni Relations & Development
Role Impact
Individual Contributor
Scheduled Weekly Hours
37.5
Drug Test Required
No
Health Screen Required
No
Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required
No
Pay Rate Type
Salary
FLSA Status
Exempt
Pay Range
$65,875.00 - $77,500.00
The included pay rate or range represents the University’s good faith estimate of the possible compensation offer for this role at the time of posting.
Benefits Eligible
Yes
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.
Posting Statement
The University of Chicago is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or expression, national or ethnic origin, shared ancestry, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.
Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.
All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history. A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment. Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.
The University of Chicago's Annual Security & Fire Safety Report (Report) provides information about University offices and programs that provide safety support, crime and fire statistics, emergency response and communications plans, and other policies and information. The Report can be accessed online at: http://securityreport.uchicago.edu. Paper copies of the Report are available, upon request, from the University of Chicago Police Department, 850 E. 61st Street, Chicago, IL 60637.