Associate Dean for Advancement - Grainger Engineering

Duties and Responsibilities Major Gifts 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 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, engaging the dean as appropriate. Manage the volunteer advisory boards by defining roles for advisory board(s) that support the priorities of the college. Identify recruits and orient board members, lead board meetings, and evaluate board performance. Prepare volunteers to participate in cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of major gifts as needed. 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. Encourage and facilitate collaboration with other advancement professionals across campus. Strategy and Planning Plan and implement a comprehensive strategic plan and goals for the college’s advancement program in support of the University’s mission, vision, and goals. Provide guidance as chief advisor to the Dean in matters related to advancement. Build and maintain productive working relationships with academic department heads, associate deans, faculty and administrators throughout The Grainger College of Engineering to thoroughly understand their programs and priorities and to collaborate on engaging alumni and donors in support of advancement 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. Work collaboratively with the Assistant Dean for Marketing and Communications, providing input and direction to the public relations and marketing programs for the College, and advance communications related to fundraising and engagement activities. Serve as a member of the Dean’s Cabinet and the GCOE Administrative Committee. Work with other senior administrators and faculty to identify and define priority needs to be funded through private support. Constituent Engagement 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 through public relations, communications, and marketing efforts. Management and Budget Plan and administer the budget for the advancement office to ensure operation within fiscal constraints. 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. Retain knowledge and understanding of the specific programs, degrees and strengths of the College. Perform other duties as assigned.