Associate Dean for External Affairs

About the Department

The University of Chicago Law School occupies a unique niche among this country's premier law schools. Located on a residential campus in one of America's great cities, UChicago Law offers a rigorous and interdisciplinary professional education that blends the study of law with the humanities, the social sciences, and the natural sciences. Students, faculty, and staff form a small, tightly knit community devoted to the life of the mind.

This position leads the University of Chicago Law School’s Office of External Affairs (OEA), which oversees and executes all aspects of alumni engagement and fundraising for the Law School. This 16-member team collaborates closely with Law School leadership, faculty, staff, and students. Through programming, visits, stewardship, and communications, the team engages with Law School graduates and connects them to opportunities that support the Law School’s mission of providing transformative legal education to its students. OEA is also part of the University’s larger Alumni Relations and Development (ARD) function and works closely with our ARD colleagues to develop and execute University strategy in a manner that resonates with Law School alumni.

Job Summary

Reporting to the Dean of the Law School, the Associate Dean for External Affairs is responsible for leading all alumni relations and development functions of the Office of External Affairs (OEA). As a senior member of the Law School Administration, this position is responsible, along with the Dean of the Law School, for determining fundraising priorities and strategy. The Associate Dean for External Affairs supervises a team of alumni relations, major gift, leadership annual giving and annual giving fundraising staff and sets goals, conducts performance reviews, and provides professional growth opportunities. The Associate Dean for External Affairs maintains strong relationships with donors, volunteers, and key constituents at the Law School, University, and other relevant institutions. This role manages a portfolio of Principal Gift prospects and drives strategy within the Law School and in conjunction with other University-wide partners, and attends Law School events, including Law School Council, Reunion, and special donor events.

Responsibilities

• Works with faculty, staff, clinicians and other internal stakeholders to develop gift opportunities and communicate those priorities to the External Affairs team.
• Responsible for the success and strategic performance of all functional areas for the Law School’s External Affairs team, including Principal Giving, Alumni Relations, Annual Giving, Major Giving and Leadership Annual Giving.
• Works with the Major Gifts team to create portfolios, as well as financial and visit goals for major gift officers. Oversees leadership annual giving program, including reunion fundraising and execution of other annual giving programs, focusing attention on best practices in the industry to acquire and retain new donors through a combination of approaches.
• Oversees alumni relations function, which is responsible for all alumni engagement activities including regional programming, affinity and leadership networks, and volunteer activities.
• Oversees all staffing and personnel matters for External Affairs team, working with managers to develop onboarding, professional development, and retention plans, build team morale, and undertake organizational initiatives.
• Establishes, evaluates and tracks all metrics pertaining to team performance including Fundraising Progress (FRP), Annual Fund giving, participation, and expendable cash.
• Serves on Alumni Relations and Development (ARD)-wide Senior Leadership Team that develops and implements the University-wide fundraising strategy. Communicates Law School goals and priorities to the Vice President of ARD and ensures cohesive inter-unit strategies.
• Serves as relationship manager for approximately 40 principal gift prospects capable of making commitments of $1,000,000 and more. Works closely with the Dean of the Law School and University-wide administration to develop and implement cohesive strategies for these individuals. Determines visit strategy, prepares visit materials, and accompanies the Dean on visits.
• Serves as a chief development officer for a unit with significant responsibility for setting the strategy for the identification, cultivation and solicitation of a portfolio of the highest level of individual major and principal gift prospects.
• Structures annual and long-term activity goals and short-term operating plans for alumni fundraising programs. Develops and manages the annual operating budget.
• 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 10+ years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Preferred Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in business, public relations, philanthropic studies, or a related field strongly preferred.
• Advanced degree strongly preferred.

Experience:

• A minimum of five years of progressively responsible professional experience in nonprofit management, development, alumni relations, marketing, public relations or similar work strongly preferred.
• Experience with successfully soliciting and closing 6+ figure gifts strongly preferred.
• Experience managing large, multi-functional teams strongly preferred.
• Experience developing and monitoring budgets strongly preferred.

Preferred Competencies

• Demonstrated comfort, ability and success in individual gift solicitation and donor cultivation, including working with volunteer support groups.
• Demonstrated record of organizing successful fundraising, marketing or membership programs.
• Demonstrated experience working with the highest levels of board members, executives, deans, donors or similar.
• Demonstrated experience planning and executing fundraising events.
• Demonstrated experience developing successful corporate, foundation and/or government proposals.
• Demonstrated experience with capital campaigns.
• Ability to participate personally in successful high-level gift strategies and solicitations.
• Ability to work under intense pressure and respond positively to deadlines and requests imposed by others.
• Strong verbal and writing skills, high attention to detail and follow-up, and excellent organizational skills.
• 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 Alumni Relations and Development, including Griffin (the University's Donor Relationship Management System), Microsoft Windows computer environment, Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access.
• Strong leadership qualities, including the ability both to delegate and to execute, thereby leading by word and by example.
• Understanding of the University of Chicago, its history, organization and modus operandi.

Working Conditions

• This position is available for partially remote work depending on the business needs of the Law School.
• Evening and weekend hours are required for fundraising, alumni, and occasional other events.
• Willingness and ability to travel to campus, non-campus, domestic and/or global locations for University business.

Application Documents

• Resume/CV (required)
• Cover Letter (required)

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

People Manager

Scheduled Weekly Hours

1. 5

Drug Test Required

No

Health Screen Required

No

Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required

No

Pay Rate Type

Salary

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FLSA Status

Exempt

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Pay Range

$205,000.00 - $260,000.00

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.

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