Executive Director, Alumni Engagement & Annual Giving and Executive Director, UChicago Alumni

Executive Director, Alumni Engagement & Annual Giving and

Executive Director, UChicago Alumni

The University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

The Search

The University of Chicago seeks an experienced and aspirational advancement professional to serve as its next Executive Director, Alumni Engagement & Annual Giving. This individual also serves as Executive Director of the University’s global alumni association, UChicago Alumni. The Executive Director will expertly lead and manage University-wide alumni engagement and annual giving (AEAG) efforts during a momentous time as the University recently welcomed its next leader, President Paul Alivisatos, and celebrated the successful conclusion of The University of Chicago Campaign: Inquiry and Impact which raised a groundbreaking $5.43 billion to support pioneering scholarship, transformative education, and the University’s impact in Chicago and around the world. Along with its impressive fundraising goal, the campaign was the first in the University’s history to set an engagement goal, surpassing its ambitions for engaging 125,000 alumni by engaging more than 134,000 of the University’s graduates through intellectual, professional, and social activities on campus, around the world, and online. Building upon this momentum, the University is preparing to unveil a comprehensive strategic plan for alumni engagement, which the Executive Director will play a critical role in implementing to drive the institution’s AEAG efforts for the next five years and beyond.

Since 1890, the University of Chicago has been an intellectual destination with a belief in the power of inquiry, innovation, and impact. The University’s values and dedication to providing a distinctive and empowering education have endured, and just as each individual school, division, and department contributes to the University’s eminence, so does its alumni body. Today, more than ever, the University is committed to a comprehensive alumni engagement strategy that builds upon its history while seizing the opportunity to expand engagement and deepen connections, enhance volunteer impact, transform the young alumni experience, develop communications that delight and inspire, and embrace a new standard of excellence and innovation. Core to the University’s strategy is also programming and communications that initiate and strengthen lifetime bonds between the University and its alumni and provide the groundwork for successful advocacy and an ambitious annual giving fundraising program. 

Reporting to Katie Malmquist, Associate Vice President of Development, the Executive Director is responsible for providing innovative leadership and strategic vision for all aspects of the University’s alumni programs, outreach, and annual giving efforts. In collaboration with trustees, University leaders, and colleagues across Alumni Relations & Development (ARD), the Executive Director will formulate a roadmap for success that will lead to greater alumni participation; innovative and robust programming; stronger ties between the University’s more than 190,000 alumni and their alma mater; and higher levels of annual giving and alumni participation. Overseeing an integrated team of approximately 40 alumni relations staff, communication professionals, and annual giving officers, the Executive Director will foster a culture of high achievement, accountability, and collaboration to boost constituent engagement and retention; raise annual funds; manage strategic alumni events and services; and operate the University’s alumni association. 

This is a rare opportunity for an enterprising and collaborative alumni engagement and annual giving professional to join an institution that continually surpasses prior achievements, sets clear and ambitious strategic goals, and has a deep and lasting commitment to excellence. The Executive Director will be a natural convener, a thoughtful strategist, and an effective communicator with a proven track record of successfully building and elevating programs that have transformed overall advancement efforts for an institution. With a transparent and collaborative leadership style, this individual will also possess a depth of leadership experience having managed and mentored a professional staff in a complex environment. The Executive Director will bring a minimum of ten years of substantial, progressively responsible experience, ideally in advancement or nonprofit management, or in marketing, public relations, sales, or a similar professional environment. Exceptional communication skills, wise judgment, and emotional intelligence are all desirable traits. A bachelor’s degree is required; an advanced degree is preferred. 

The University of Chicago has retained Jack Gorman of the national executive search firm Isaacson, Miller to conduct this important recruitment. For more information, to submit a nomination, or to apply for this role, please visit: 

https://www.imsearch.com/8159 

The University of Chicago does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, status as an individual with a disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law.