Assistant Director, Advancement Operations

University of Chicago; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Chicago's Harris School Alumni Relations seeks an Assistant Director of Advancement Operations to support the Alumni Relations team. The role focuses on project management, data handling in Salesforce-based Phoenix, and coordinating communications and events for alumni, donors, and friends.

The position involves managing prospect activity, crafting donor communications, and supporting annual giving programs to strengthen engagement and fundraising outcomes.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.
• 2–5 years of work experience in a related role.
• Experience with fundraising operations is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Project management across Advancement programs and events.
• Manage data in Salesforce-based Phoenix and maintain constituent records.
• Maintain CRM activity logs and prepare prospect strategies and proposals.
• Oversee event lifecycle from planning to registration and materials.
• Design and deploy email communications using HubSpot.
• Support fundraising writing and donor communications.

Skills

Project management

Data management

Communications

Event operations

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Salesforce (Phoenix)

HubSpot

Cvent

Job description

Department

Harris School Alumni Relations

About the Department

Why policy? For a better world. Why Harris Public Policy? Because when it comes to better policymaking, evidence matters. We work at the frontiers of data collection and analysis, using the latest technology and social science methods to design policies that work for society. We conduct rigorous inquiry in an environment of innovation and risk taking, fearlessly questioning the status quo. We collaborate across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors, adopting new methodologies to drive better solutions. We engage with our city, our world, and our leaders every day to evaluate and test our ideas. And we lead with our passion for driving social change, knowing that passion alone does not equal impact. With passion and precision, we figure out what's best for society-and get it done. This is Harris Public Policy: Social impact, down to a science.

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