Campaign Director

Employment Opportunities Designed to Help Us Collaborate in Creation!

Position Title:

Campaign Director
Position Number: 8102875
Work Modality:
Hybrid – 4 In-Person
Job Type: Full-Time (Exempt)
Campus:
Chicago-Water Tower
Department:
Development & Donor Services

Summary:

The Campaign Director provides strategic leadership in planning, developing, and executing the university’s comprehensive fundraising campaign. Reporting to the Vice President for University Advancement, this role collaborates closely with University Advancement senior leadership, university leadership, and academic partners to design and implement a multi-year campaign strategy that advances university priorities and secures transformative philanthropic support.

This role serves as a central point of coordination across advancement functions, ensuring a unified approach to donor engagement, campaign messaging, and execution. The Campaign Director is responsible for campaign reporting and performance tracking, managing principal gift operations, overseeing the development of proposals and cases for support, and providing regular updates to university leadership and the campaign committee. As a member of the University Advancement senior leadership team, the Campaign Director contributes to divisional planning, campaign strategy, and overall fundraising performance.

• Provide strategic leadership for the university’s comprehensive campaign, including planning, priority setting, and execution.
• Collaborate with advancement and university leadership to develop, refine, and implement long-term campaign strategies aligned with institutional priorities and goals.

• Oversee the development of campaign materials, including cases for support, proposals, and funding priorities.
• Partner with internal stakeholders to create compelling campaign messaging, donor collateral, and philanthropic opportunities that clearly articulate institutional priorities.

• Partner with development leadership to align campaign priorities with major and principal gift strategies.
• Oversee principal gift operations, including the coordination of strategy, proposal development, and tracking for top prospects, ensuring alignment across advancement and university leadership.

• Lead and manage a team responsible for campaign strategy, proposal development, and case development. Provide direction, establish priorities, and ensure high-quality execution of campaign initiatives, materials, and timelines.

• Oversee the planning and execution of the campaign, including timelines, phases, and key milestones.
• Track and analyze campaign metrics, develop reporting tools and dashboards, and provide regular updates to university leadership and the campaign committee to inform strategy and ensure progress toward goals.
• Partner with the advancement events team to design, coordinate, and execute campaign-related events that support donor cultivation, stewardship, and campaign visibility.

• Serve as a primary point of coordination for campaign efforts across advancement and the university, ensuring alignment in donor engagement and communications.
• Work closely with the campaign committee and volunteer leadership to support engagement, coordinate activities, and ensure alignment with campaign priorities.
• Other duties as assigned.

• A bachelor’s degree is required.
• Minimum 5-7 years of experience in higher education development in a mission focused institution, alumni relations, annual giving and corporate & foundation relations, and comprehensive campaign management experience required.

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred.
• 8–10+ years of progressive experience in advancement, fundraising, campaign management, or related fields.
• Demonstrated experience leading or supporting comprehensive campaign planning and execution.
• Strong understanding of major and principal gift fundraising strategies and experience supporting principal gift…