Executive Assistant to the Vice Chancellor for Advancement

University of Illinois at Chicago; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 65,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health

Dental

Vision

Life Insurance

Retirement plan

Paid time off

Tuition waivers

Job summary

The University of Illinois Chicago is seeking an exceptional Executive Assistant to the Vice Chancellor for Advancement to provide high-level administrative support, operate with discretion, and strengthen relationships across campus. This role partners with senior leaders to advance the university’s fundraising priorities and strategic initiatives.

You will manage complex calendars, coordinate meetings and travel, prepare briefing materials, and ensure seamless operations of the VC’s office.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree or a foreign equivalent.
• Minimum 5 years of executive support experience in fundraising, development or a related field.
• Advanced proficiency in MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).
• Excellent written and verbal communication, organizational, interpersonal, and computer skills.
• Ability to prioritize multiple high-visibility tasks and meet deadlines.
• Ability to work effectively with diverse, high-profile donors and university executives.

Responsibilities

• Proactively manages VC’s calendar and aligns with strategic priorities.
• Acts as gatekeeper to the VC, maintaining professional access and responsiveness.
• Prepares briefing materials and coordinates with the Advancement team.
• Coordinates complex travel arrangements and logistics.
• Serves as liaison among executive offices, university colleagues, donors, and UIF staff.
• Manages communications routing and escalates urgent items as needed.
• Maintains CRM notes and donor meeting follow-up.

Skills

Executive support

Calendar management

Communication

Relationship building

Project coordination

Discretion

Education

Bachelor's Degree or foreign equivalent

Tools

MS Office suite

Job description

Are you an exceptional organizer, trusted communicator, and strategic partner who thrivesin a dynamicand fast-pacedacademic environment?Join UIC as theExecutive Assistant to the Vice Chancellorfor Advancementto provide outstandinghigh-levelsupportto a senior university leader and contribute to the advancement of the institution’s mission,priorities, relationships, and vision.This is more than an administrative role—it’s an opportunity to work alongside a senior leader,building relationships across the campus community, andensuringthe Vice Chancellor’s office operates with excellence, discretion, and impact.

The UIC Office of the Vice Chancellor for Advancement seeks ahighly capable administrativeprofessional to serve as theExecutive Assistant to the Vice Chancellor for Advancement. This positionhandles a wide range ofhighly confidential matters and provides information and services to a diverse spectrum of internal and externalconstituencies, requiring deep knowledge of University, University of Illinois Foundation (UIF), and departmental policies.

Key Responsibilities

• Proactively and efficiently manages the VC’s daily, weekly, and monthly calendar, ensuring schedules are aligned withstrategic priorities.
• Serves as the primary gatekeeper, managing access to the VC while maintaining a professional and welcomingenvironment.
• Collects and organizes comprehensive briefing and meeting materials for the VC, collaborating closely with theAdvancement executive team and staff to ensure readiness.
• Manages all complex travel arrangements, itineraries, and associated logistics for the VC.
• Serves as the principal liaison between the executive team, the Chancellor’s Office, university colleagues, external groups,UIF staff, and internal staff to ensure seamless communication and operations.
• Identifies and prioritizes incoming communication, answers and routes phone calls/emails, handles wide-range informationdissemination, and escalates urgent matters as needed.
• Reviews, assesses, routes, and monitors follow-up action steps on all correspondence related to VC and OVCA activities toensure a timely and accurate workflow.
• Tracks all follow-up actions stemming from VC donor meetings.
• Enters detailed contact reports into the alumni and donor database (CRM), coordinates post-meeting correspondence withdevelopment officers, and assists in the delegation of subsequent action steps.
• Monitors activity reports and takes a proactive approach working alongside the VC to ensure fundraising objectives andstrategic plans are consistently met.
• Schedules and facilitates all activities, logistics, and arrangements for VC-led advancement meetings and special events.
• Develops systems and procedures to manage presentation materials, handouts, graphics, catering, RSVPs, and audio-visualsupport. Responsible for taking official minutes when appropriate.
• Responsible for overall executive office management, including developing and optimizing office procedures, systems, andworkflows.
• Gathers, analyzes, and synthesizes complex information required for administrative reporting and special projects.
• Purchases and maintains the inventory of supplies for the VC’s office. Utilizes multiple technical applications (wordprocessing, CRM database, spreadsheets, presentations, and electronic calendars) to drive efficiency.
• Performs other related duties and participates in special projects as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree or a foreign equivalent.
• A minimum of 5 years of successful experience in fundraising, development or a related field,Five (5) or more years of progressively responsible administrative experience supporting executives within a complexworking environment.
• Advanced proficiency in the MS Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).
• Exceptional communication (written and verbal), organizational, interpersonal, and computer skills.
• Demonstrated ability to prioritize multiple complex tasks, manage high-visibility projects, and stay ahead ofdeadlines.
• Proven ability to work effectively, tactfully, and confidently with diverse, high-profile audiences (including topdonors and university executives).
• Highly responsible, self-motivated, possessing exceptional attention to detail, and a proven ability to actindependently without direct guidance.

PreferredQualifications

• Experience within a donor-based organization, advancement office, or institution of higher education is highlypreferred.
• Proven experience working with a constituent relationship management (CRM) database.

Why Join Us?

This is more than an administrative position;it is an opportunity to be at the heart of the university’s philanthropic mission and help turn generosity into meaningful impact.

About the University of Illinois Chicago

UIC is among the nation’s preeminent urban public research universities, a Carnegie RU/VH research institution, and the largest university in Chicago. UIC serves over 34,000 students, comprising one of the most diverse student bodies in the nation and is designated as a Minority Serving Institution (MSI), an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPSI) and a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). Through its 16 colleges, UIC produces nationally and internationally recognized multidisciplinary academic programs in concert with civic, corporate and community partners worldwide, including a full complement of health sciences colleges. By emphasizing cutting-edge and transformational research along with a commitment to the success of all students, UIC embodies the dynamic, vibrant and engaged urban university. Recent “Best Colleges” rankings published by U.S. News & World Report, found UIC climbed up in its rankings among top public schools in the nation and among all national universities. UIC has nearly 260,000 alumni and is one of the largest employers in the city of Chicago.

About theUICOffice of the Vice Chancellor for Advancement

The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Advancement connects the vision and passion of UIC’s alumni, friends, faculty, staff, and corporations and foundations, with the pieces of our mission most meaningful to them. We help donors create the impact they envision, whether it be scholarship for a promising student seeking a life-changing education, funding for researchers working to discover new knowledge in a particular arena or support for a university-community collaboration that will anchor stronger, healthier societies.

This position is intended to be eligible for benefits.

• health
• dental
• vision
• lifeinsurance
• aretirementplan
• paid timeoff
• and tuition waivers for employees and dependents.

The University of Illinois System is an equal opportunity employer, including but not limited to disability and/or veteran status, and complies with all applicable state and federal employment mandates. Please visit Required Employment Notices and Posters to view our non-discrimination statement and find additional information about required background checks, sexual harassment/misconduct disclosures, and employment eligibility review through E-Verify.

The University of Illinois may conduct background checks on all job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent offer. Background checks will be performed in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools may be used in some portions of the candidate review process for this position, however, all employment decisions will be made by a person.