Assistant director / associate director of development

College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Based in Urbana-Champaign with hybrid opportunities

The Office of Advancement within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences invites applications and nominations for one full-time major gift officer to secure private support for department funding priorities in LAS. The Assistant/Associate Director of Development will play a critical role to maximize overall support and opportunities for collaborative giving. The successful candidate will serve as a member of the advancement team in the College.

The scope of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences spans the breadth of human endeavor. Within its more than 70 academic units, faculty and students are pursuing knowledge on scales that stretch from the subatomic to the cosmic and from the individual to the global.

On October 13, 2017, the university publicly launched its fourth comprehensive campaign. With Illinois is the most ambitious philanthropic initiative in its history. This $2.25 billion campaign will support Illinois students, faculty, research, and infrastructure; and continue to elevate the values that make Illinois distinctive: a sense of boundless aspiration, collaborative research, and global perspective. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences recently met its $200 million With Illinois goal with six months left in the campaign.

Organizational Relationship

The Assistant/Associate Director of Development reports to the Senior Director of Development and will work closely with advancement colleagues, the Heads of the departments and members of the faculty. This position will assist the College and its departments in designing strategies to broaden and strengthen development activities and will require travel of varying duration's, up to 30-50%, including some evenings and weekends. The successful candidate will be a collaborative team member who values inclusion and is skilled at building strong internal and external collaborative relationships. This position will be responsible for identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major gift prospects and donors to increase private giving in support of the college and the philanthropic interests of donors.

Job Summary This position will be responsible for identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major gift prospects and donors to increase private giving in support of the college and the philanthropic interests of donors. Duties & Responsibilities

• Identify, assess, analyze, and design appropriate strategies for approaching prospects and donors, making the vitally important connection between donors’ philanthropic interests and the College’s programmatic and curricular needs. Plan and implement effective outreach and cultivation activities to enhance prospect identification and move solicitation and stewardship processes forward. Qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward a portfolio of major gift prospects, with an emphasis on gifts of $25,000 or more, determining the frequency of contact needed. A maximum of 20% of the time can be dedicated to Leadership Annual Gifts valued at $1,000 - $24,999.
• Develop and maintain close collaborative partnerships with faculty and staff to gain a strong knowledge of the academic and research programs in order to identify and define priorities to be funded through private support. Partner closely with other advancement professionals, including gift officers and corporate relations professionals.
• Determine and prioritize lists of donor prospects, alumni, and other stakeholders to be contacted for personal visits.
• Prepare faculty and other volunteers to participate in cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of major gifts as needed.
  
  

Impact in Your First Year

At Advancement at Illinois, we value our employees and provide resources to help you continually learn and grow. We foster a strong, collaborative community of people who are driven by their ability to make a difference.

Within 3 months, you will:

• Become familiar with the strategic vision and priorities of the College/specific departments
• Meet your assigned Prospect Development Analyst and begin to dig into your portfolio
• Attend professional development and networking activities for newcomers within Advancement
• Be introduced to fundraising fundamentals terminology adopted from Plus Delta Partners
  
  

Within 6 months, you will:

• Begin cultivating relationships with key prospects/donors/alumni in an effort to create and implement solicitation strategies
• Partner with stewardship and donor relations, events, alumni relations, and communications colleagues on department and College-wide initiatives
• Be able to share multiple meaningful impact stories of transformative gifts
  
  

By the end of the first year, you will:

• Cooperatively set annual goals with your supervisor and portfolio management team
• Continue portfolio growth of qualified prospects and successful solicitation strategies
• Receive one-on-one coaching from Talent Management to help transition to your new role
• Build a robust network of colleagues across campus
  
  

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree
• For the title of Assistant Director, a minimum of two years of successful advancement experience or more than three years of experience in a closely related field which requires strong relationship building and outcome driven components. For the title of Associate Director , a minimum of three years of successful advancement experience or more than six years of experience in a closely related field which requires strong relationship-building and outcome driven components.
• Demonstrated understanding of major donor prospect qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship, preferably in a higher education environment.
• Experience working in a collaborative, team-oriented environment. Preferred Qualifications
• Documented success as a major gift fundraiser.
• Advancement experience in an academic unit that produces degrees and conducts rigorous academic research.
• Experience working with faculty leaders.
• Experience managing alumni and/or student programs and devising innovative programs to engage alumni and/or donors to support academic priorities. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
• Superb oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills, with an emphasis on engaged, active listening.
• Demonstrated ability to represent an organization in visits with key constituents
• Understanding of major donor prospect qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship
• Strong relationship management skills
• Knowledge of advancement strategies including best practices related to development at institutions of higher education
  
  

Appointment Information

This is a 100% full-time Academic Professional position, appointed on a 12-month basis. The expected start date is as soon as possible after the close date. Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience, while also considering internal equity. The budgeted salary range for the title of Assistant Director is $65,000 to $75,000; for the title of Associate Director is $75,000 to $85,000.

Application Procedures & Deadline Information

Applications must be received by 6:00 pm (Central Time) on October 16, 2025. Apply for this position using the Apply Now button at the top or bottom of this posting and upload a resume, cover letter, and the names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses of three professional references.. Applications not submitted through will not be considered. For further information about this specific position, please contact Amanda Wahba at [email protected] and/or visit our Application Tips site for helpful tips . For questions regarding the application process, please contact 217-333-2137.

Please note: Immigration sponsorship is not available for this position.

The University of Illinois offers a very competitive benefits portfolio, depending on the position. Click for a complete list of Employee Benefits .

The Illinois Advancement community is committed to an ongoing, proactive process to foster and achieve diversity and inclusion in its development, alumni relations and communication activities. Wewillrespectandencouragedifferentvoices, perspectivesandideasaswestriveto represent individuals of all backgrounds and cultures which includes but are not limited to the following: nationality, ethnicity, race, gender, sexuality, spirituality, age and ability who represent our alumni, donors and friends of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

CAMPUSAND COMMUNITY:

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a comprehensive and major public land-grant university(Doctoral/ResearchUniversity-Extensive)thatisrankedamongthebestintheworld. Chartered in 1867, itprovides undergraduate and graduate education in more than 150fields of study, conductstheoreticalandappliedresearch, andprovidespublicservicetothestateandthe nation. It employs about 3,000 faculty members who serve over 33,000 undergraduates and 17,000 graduate and professional students. More information about the campus is available at

TheuniversityislocatedinthetwincitiesofChampaignandUrbana(totalpopulation226,000) in east-central Illinois, and is situated about 140 miles south of Chicago, 125 miles west of Indianapolis, and 170 northeast of St. Louis. The University and its surrounding communities offer a cultural and recreational environment ideally suited to the work of a major research institution. For more information about the community, visit: Living in Champaign-Urbana , Experience Champaign Urbana , or Champaign County Chamber of Commerce .

Health insurance is available to employees (with the option to purchase coverage for spouse and dependents),requiredparticipationinStateUniversitiesRetirementSystem(SURS),withseveral options for participation in additional retirement plans. Learn more about employee benefits at the University of Illinois . Newly hired employeesare covered by the Medicare portion of Social Security and are subject to this deduction.

TheUniversityofIllinoishasastrongcommitmenttowork-lifebalanceandfamily-friendly programsforfacultyandstaff: Work-LifeBalance&Family-FriendlyPrograms and Other Work-Life Programs .

When you pursue a career with Illinois Advancement, you’ll join our tight-knit community of professionals who treat each other with as much care and respect as we treat our donors. At Illinois, we invest in you. Our leaders are eager to partner with you on the next phase of your career and have the tools and experience to help you succeed. Illinois Advancement values creativity and fosters a collaborative, flexible environment to develop new ideas that become bestpractices–andwe’relookingfor your uniqueskills. Learnmoreaboutwhatothershaveto say about their experiences: Opportunity Awaits .

The University of Illinois System is an equal opportunity employer, including but not limited to disability and/or veteran status, and complies with all applicable state and federal employment mandates. Please visit Required Employment Notices and Posters to view our non-discrimination statement and find additional information about required background checks, sexual harassment/misconduct disclosures, and employment eligibility review through E-Verify .

Applicants with disabilities are encouraged to apply and may request a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (2008) to complete the application and/or interview process. Accommodations may also be requested on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions, or religion. Requests may be submitted through the reasonable accommodations portal , or by contacting the Accessibility & Accommodations Division of the Office for Access and Equity at 217-333-0885, or by emailing [email protected] .

Requisition ID : 1032896

Job Category : Professional and Administrative

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