Department
ADV Prospect Management 1.1
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.
Prospect Development and Decision Support (PDDS) is a strategic partner to fundraising and engagement teams across the University of Chicago. We manage the research, analytics, and prospect management functions that support a strong, sustainable institutional pipeline. Our work helps staff focus their time, make informed decisions, and build meaningful relationships with donors and volunteers.
Job Summary
This role develops and implements programs related to biographical and financial research on individuals, corporations, and/or foundations to support fund-raising. 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.
Responsibilities
- Serves as the strategic lead for principal and planned giving prospect development, integrating research and prospect management to support the cultivation and solicitation of gifts at $10M+ and significant planned gifts.
- Supervises and mentors other analysts, guiding project prioritization, quality control, and professional development with a focus on pipeline development for transformative philanthropy.
- Acts as the primary liaison for principal and planned giving leadership, providing both research insight and portfolio management support to ensure strategic movement of prospects through the pipeline.
- Develops and maintains collaborative partnerships with gift officers, alumni relations, donor relations, and Advancement leadership to support cross-functional strategy for high-capacity donors.
- Leads the creation and delivery of research products, strategic briefings, and prospecting tools that synthesize wealth, philanthropic intent, engagement behavior, and reputational signals.
- Oversees the management of the presidential and VP portfolios, ensuring that portfolios reflect strategic alignment, effective use of the PM policy, and support for organizational goals.
- Designs and executes strategic prospecting projects and pool development efforts related to trustees, key advisory councils, and emerging areas of giving capacity or intent.
- Develops and recommends overarching strategies for optimizing portfolio composition and movement, particularly for principal gift officers and campaign priority initiatives.
- Interprets data from Salesforce and analytics tools to deliver actionable insights, evaluates progress against pipeline goals, and recommends course corrections.
- Identifies and analyzes macro trends, such as economic shifts, market activity, philanthropic trends, that impact principal and planned giving strategies; translate findings into usable intelligence for Advancement teams.
- Ensures compliance with prospect management policy, supporting strategic exceptions, documentation, and education efforts for assigned teams.
- Contributes to ongoing PDDS strategy, operations, and team development, especially in embedding a data-informed, decision-science-aligned approach to principal and planned giving.
- Champions a culture of learning and excellence, modeling continuous development, contributing to training, and representing the team in institutional or professional settings.
- Seeks opportunities for professional development that will enhance job performance, including building networks within the University and with colleagues at peer institutions and with an eye towards broadly diversifying the advancement profession.
- Has a deep understanding of prospect research, prospect management, strategic planning and market research on donors prospects.
- Develops, maintains, and updates information on new and existing prospects, solving problems as they arise.
- 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 5-7 years of work experience in a related job discipline.
Certifications:
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Preferred Qualifications
Education:
- Bachelor’s degree.
- Coursework in project management, business, finance, economics, analytics, library and information science, or non-profit management.
Experience:
- Minimum five years of professional experience in nonprofit management, development, alumni relations, marketing, public relations, sales or similar professional field.
- Minimum two years of experience leading a project team or managing staff.
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 the Office of Advancement, including the University's donor relationship management system, Salesforce, Tableau.
- Proficient in Microsoft Windows computer environment, Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Project.
Preferred Competencies
- Build, lead, mentor, and motivate a diverse team, and to encourage growth and change in both people and programs. A strong commitment to personal and professional development, and foster a collaborative and inclusive team environment.
- Outstanding interpersonal and communications skills characterized by the ability to listen, speak, and write effectively.
- 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
$74,375.00 - $87,500.00
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 theBenefits 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.
