Associate Vice President, Alumni and Community Experiences

About The Department

The University of Chicago has retained Lindauer, a global search and talent firm, to support this recruitment. Faith Montgomery, Executive Vice President, is leading this search. Inquiries, applications, and nominations must be sent by email to Andrew Machado, Senior Consultant.

All job seekers wishing to be considered for the position must also submit their materials through the University’s Workday site at https://www.uchicago.edu/careers/#staffjobs.

Job Information

Job Summary

Reporting directly to Vice President Armin Afsahi, this leader will join the Advancement executive leadership team and provide strategic direction and oversight for key teams that drive community building and engagement. This role demands a collaborative, change-oriented leader who will strengthen the University’s capacity to deliver meaningful experiences, develop talent across the organization, and ensure its global community remains deeply connected to the institution’s mission and future.

This role is central to executing the University’s ambitious Chicago Minds campaign launching in 2026, positioning this leader as a key architect in achieving historic fundraising and engagement goals. The successful candidate will bring a passion for creating meaningful, human-centered experiences that deepen constituent connection, a talent for inspiring and developing high-performing teams, and a proven ability to innovate and execute programs that resonate with today’s alumni and donors.

Responsibilities

• Experience Architecture
• serve as the institution’s chief architect of constituent experiences, designing a cohesive and intentional experience pathway that deepens connection, inspires belonging, and reflects the University’s values at every engagement touchpoint.
• Identify and strengthen the signature experiences that define the UChicago community and give alumni, parents, and friends compelling reasons to remain engaged across a lifetime.
• Strategic Leadership and Vision
• develop and implement a comprehensive vision for alumni and community engagement that aligns University priorities and the goals of the upcoming campaign, setting measurable objectives that drive participation, donor retention, and volunteer leadership.
• Change Leadership
• lead thoughtfully and ambitiously through a period of meaningful organizational change. Assess current capabilities and performance with honesty and rigor, establish a clear direction for growth, and bring staff and partners forward with confidence.
• Balance the need to preserve what is working with the imperative to strengthen and evolve what is not.
• Integrated Portfolio Oversight
• provide oversight and strategic direction for critical Advancement functions, including alumni relations, stewardship, annual giving, communications, and event programming while ensuring cohesive, innovative, and mission-driven initiatives.
• Campaign Strategy Execution
• lead the campaign execution in partnership with the Advancement leadership, ensuring volunteer leaders are activated and prepared to serve as effective ambassadors of the University, and create intentional experiences that drive constituent engagement and philanthropic support.
• Donor Relations Strategy
• drive the development of a comprehensive donor relations operating strategy that strengthens stewardship and impact communication.
• Annual Giving
• design an innovative, centralized direct marketing / annual giving program to strengthen and expand the institutional pipeline, increasing donor acquisition and retention rates and generating critical unrestricted resources on a yearly basis.
• Team Development
• invest actively in identifying, nurturing, and developing talent across the organization. Understand what individual team members need in order to grow and create conditions where they are empowered to take ownership, assume accountability, and build meaningful careers.
• Model the caliber of leadership expected throughout the organization.
• 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.

Competencies

• Vision and Enthusiasm for the Role
• The successful candidate will be genuinely inspired by this opportunity and energized by the scope of change already underway at UChicago Advancement. This leader will bring a clear point of view about where the work must go and a deep commitment to helping the institution realize its most ambitious aspirations.
• Strategic Alignment
• Work across the enterprise to foster cohesion among systems, people, culture, strategies, and tactics. Ensure teams have clear, shared priorities and hold staff responsible for focusing on and implementing the strategy. Build talent and operational capacity to meet current and future enterprise needs.
• Continuous Improvement
• Drive a culture of data-informed decision-making, continuous evaluation, and innovation to adapt to evolving institutional needs and the dynamic landscape of higher education advancement.
• Team Development
• Provide guidance and support to help team members learn and grow. Create a challenging and supportive environment for direct reports and others to assume ownership for programs and results, take intelligent risks, and learn from mistakes. Provide direct feedback and coaching that ensures accountability, professional development, and team success.
• Innovative and Accountable Leadership
• Approach the work with a spirit of experimentation and measured risk-taking, accepting the invitation to test new ideas, learn from outcomes, and build a culture where thoughtful failure is a pathway to growth. Champion shared accountability by fostering mutual trust and ensuring that bold ambitions are matched by disciplined follow-through.
• Partnership and Collaboration
• Cultivate strong, collaborative relationships with University leadership, volunteer leaders, and other partners across schools, divisions, and units to amplify engagement efforts and foster a unified, university-wide approach to advancement. Connect with peer organizations and professional associations to build UChicago Advancement’s national reputation and presence. Ensure partners’ experience is top of mind in all areas of Advancement activity.
• Operational Excellence and Fiscal Management
• Oversee departmental budgets and resources with financial acumen, fostering operational excellence and ensuring efficient, timely, and cost-effective execution of programs and initiatives.
• Executive Leadership Presence
• Operate as a sophisticated, emotionally intelligent member of the Advancement executive team, bringing the strategic perspective, interpersonal acuity, and institutional awareness required to lead at this level of a complex research university.

Additional Responsibilities

• Education, Experience or Certifications
• Bachelor’s degree required. Advanced degree preferred.
• Minimum ten years of professional work experience in nonprofit management, development, alumni relations, marketing, or similar field.
• Minimum five years of successfully managing, coaching, and motivating staff required.
• Minimum three years of experience developing, and monitoring budgets required.
• Superior analytical and prioritization skills; embrace challenges and thrive in a demanding, fast-paced environment.
• Strong leadership qualities, including the ability both to delegate and execute, thereby leading by word and example required.
• Flexibility to adapt in an emerging and changing environment required.
• Technical Knowledge or 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 Advancement, including Phoenix, the University's Donor Relationship Management System.
• Proficient in a Microsoft Windows computer environment, especially Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access.

Working Conditions And Physical Requirements

• 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.