Description:

Associate Dean for Advancement

Gies College of Business

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The Gies College of Business (Gies) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign seeks an experienced, strategic, and collaborative advancement leader to serve as its next full-time Chief Advancement Officer (CAO) and Associate Dean for Advancement. Joining the Dean of Gies College of Business and serving as an integral member of the Dean’s leadership team, the CAO will provide strategic vision, leadership and direction for all fundraising, alumni engagement, and advancement operations for Gies.

For more than 100 years, Gies College of Business has intentionally designed its innovative programs, leading-edge curriculum, and experiential learning opportunities to empower and prepare students to turn big ideas into meaningful actions. Today, Gies faculty prepare more than 7,000 future business leaders, including 3,100 undergraduates, from around the world to put their purpose into practice and provide transformative leadership in a global economy. The college has a loyal community of over 70,000 alumni and friends around the globe.

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a global, preeminent research university. Since its founding in 1867, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has earned a reputation as a world-class leader in research, teaching and public engagement.

On October 13, 2017, the University publicly launched its fourth comprehensive campaign. “With Illinois” is the most ambitious philanthropic initiative in its history. The goal is to raise $2.25 billion in support of Illinois students, faculty, research, and infrastructure; and to continue to elevate the values that make Illinois distinctive: a sense of boundless aspiration, collaborative research, and global perspective. The Gies College of Business was named in 2017 with a gift of $150 million and is 90% of the way to its $300 million “With Illinois” campaign goal.

The University of Illinois is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action employer. Minorities, women, veterans and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply. For more information, visit http://go.illinois.edu/EEO.

Organizational Relationship

Based in the Gies College of Business, the Associate Dean for Advancement reports jointly to the Dean of the Gies College of Business and to the Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement. The Associate Dean serves as the head fundraiser for the college and also coordinates all alumni relations, stewardship, donor relations, and related activities with the assistance of an Executive Director for Advancement Operations. The position leads an overall team of approximately 25 professionals.

Primary Responsibilities

Strategy and Planning (35%)

• Provide guidance as the Dean’s chief advisor in matters related to advancement.
• Build and maintain productive working relationships with academic department heads, associate deans, faculty and administrators throughout the Gies College of Business in order to thoroughly understand their programs and priorities and to collaborate on engaging alumni and donors in support of advancement activities.
• Plan and implement a comprehensive development strategy for the College and its units.
• Working with the Dean and associate deans and other college faculty and staff, utilize College-specific partnerships to develop new and innovative ways to engage alumni and involve donor prospects in the mission, life and priorities of the College.
• Work collaboratively with the Chief Marketing Officer and team, providing input and direction to the public relations and marketing programs for the College, and advance communications related to fundraising and engagement activities.
• Facilitate effective collaborative relationships with other advancement offices across campus, the Office of Institutional Advancement, the University of Illinois Foundation, and the University of Illinois Alumni Association.

Major Gifts (40%)

• Facilitate the Dean’s engagement with a portfolio of the College’s most important major donors and prospects. Regularly travel with the Dean to meet with alumni, friends, corporations and foundations.
• Manage a personal portfolio of high-level major prospects, using a focused and accountable approach of strategy development and implementation. Oversee and provide direction for the College’s overall prospect portfolio, and gift officer assignments.
• Manage the Gies Dean’s Business Council, a group of approximately 50 distinguished alumni and friends who meet twice a year on campus and provide advice to the Dean. Identify, recruit and orient board members, organize bi-annual board meetings, and cultivate board members to grow support of the college.
• Lead a major gift team tasked with identifying, cultivating and soliciting major donors; creating, coordinating and writing funding proposals directed at individuals, corporations and foundations; and ensuring consistent message throughout the College and its units.

Constituent Engagement (15%)

• In alignment with the strategic priorities of the college, oversee coordination of enhanced, comprehensive and meaningful alumni and corporate engagement activities that foster lifelong connections between the College and its constituents.
• Ensure that the College’s significant stewardship program is functioning at the highest level. Provide strategic leadership to ensure appropriate processes and procedures for gift documentation and acknowledgement, stellar fund management processes and outstanding donor recognition and reporting.
• Develop strategies and tactics to share the College’s vision, mission and goals with important external stakeholders, including alumni, friends and parents.

Management and Budget (10%)

• Effectively implement technology solutions to achieve engagement goals of a rapidly changing alumni base.
• Set policy, procedures and best practices for the College’s advancement program inspiring innovation and collaboration across its functions. Determine appropriate staffing levels in consultation with the Dean. Oversee the development of programs to recruit, hire, mentor and evaluate advancement staff.
• Maintain familiarity with current academic issues in higher education and colleges of business. Retain knowledge and understanding of the specific programs, degrees and strengths of the College.

Required Qualifications

• A commitment to the mission and values of the University of Illinois and the Gies College of Business.

• Bachelor’s degree.

• A minimum of ten years of advancement experience, preferably in a higher education environment.

• Ability to work in a highly self-directed, proactive and creative manner.

• Ability to maintain a travel schedule of 30-40% including some evenings and weekends.

• Superb oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills.

• Experience supervising a large professional team.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s Degree.
• Knowledge of the principles of advancement, fundraising and administration in a university environment.
• Completion of Plus Delta Discipline of Frontline Fundraising program or similar training in academic advancement best practices.
• Advanced knowledge of the major components of advancement including development, communications and public relations, alumni engagement, and special events. Advanced knowledge of planned giving fundraising vehicles.

Salary

Competitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience.

To Apply

To ensure full consideration, application materials must be received by September 18, 2020. Please complete your candidate profile at http://jobs.illinois.edu and upload a letter of application, resume and the names, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of three professional references. For further information regarding application procedures, contact Katie Walker at walker74@illinois.edu. The proposed starting date is as soon as possible after the closing date.

The University of Illinois conducts criminal background checks on all job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent offer. As a qualifying federal contractor, the University of Illinois System uses E-Verify to verify employment eligibility.

College Name or Administrative Unit:Gies College of Business Category:2-Administrative Title:Associate Dean for Advancement - Gies College of Business (131654) Open Date:05/14/2020 Organization Name:Ofc VC Inst Advancement