Laboratory Schools: Associate Director of Community Engagement (Hybrid

Associate Director Of Community Engagement

The associate director of community engagement will be responsible for building and managing a comprehensive volunteer and stewardship program that deepens community connection and supports philanthropic growth. The role creates strategic and structured opportunities for parents, alumni, and friends to engage meaningfully with Lab, while ensuring that Lab community experience consistent, thoughtful, and mission-driven stewardship, including support and execution of Lab's ARD-based parent/family and alumni relations programs.

The associate director of community engagement will coordinate parent events and assist with parent communications across all four divisions within Lab Schools. The associate director of community engagement will plan and execute Lab activities and events that are grounded in the culture of Lab Schools with an end goal of increased engagement. The successful candidate will be a collaborative team player who is able to work well independently and be able to interact and coordinate with administrators of the schools, faculty, and staff.

The primary constituents will be current Lab families and parents, but will also include current students, Lab alumni, and parents of Lab alumni. The ideal candidate will be entrepreneurial, curious, enthusiastic, and will help build a broad understanding of Lab's philanthropic value to donors and prospective donors.

Responsibilities include:

• Working under the direction of the director of alumni relations and community engagement, and in collaboration with the director of development to oversee key volunteer groups including the Parents Development Committee (PDC), the Alumni Association Executive Board, and Maroon Key Society, event hosts and community ambassadors, Maroon Key Society, and senior class scholarship chairs.
• Serving as the liaison to the Parents Association.
• Leading recruitment and engagement of volunteers.
• Volunteer constituent communications and reporting.
• Supporting transition of engaged volunteers into donor pipelines.
• Collaborating with fundraising staff to align engagement with cultivation strategies.
• Tracking movement from volunteer engagement to philanthropic participation.
• Playing a key role in supporting Lab's campaign priorities through volunteer engagement, stewardship, constituent activation, and pipeline development.
• Developing and executing engagement strategies that identify, cultivate, and advance volunteer leaders and highly engaged constituents toward philanthropic participation and major gift opportunities.
• In coordination with the associate director of special events, providing direction, leadership and volunteer management on parent-focused events including Connections, Dewey Dance, new family events, parent social and educational engagement events.
• Collaborating with Lab's frontline fundraisers to ensure appropriate handoff and interactions with annual and major gift prospects.
• Collaborating to create strategic interaction between current Lab families and Lab alumni.
• Participating in and being visible in the life of Lab Schools.
• Establishing and maintaining metrics of success and making sure those are present in departmental strategic plans, goals setting, and the annual budget.
• Identifying, cultivating, and training volunteers and alumni leaders to help with committees and design programs to engage students and alumni in meaningful ways to advance objectives of the alumni association and broader University.
• Performing other related work as needed.

Minimum qualifications include a college or university degree in a related field and 2-5 years of work experience in a related job discipline. Preferred qualifications include five years or more in schools, non-profit organizations, or businesses with high levels of relationship-building and customer service. Preferred competencies include good time management, team building and collaboration, excellent short and long-range planning skill, proficiency with Google work networks, databases and network-based environments, commitment to the values of the University of Chicago Lab Schools, proven desire for continuing education, exceptional written and verbal communication skills, proven ability to analyze processes and plan improvement initiatives, outstanding interpersonal and organizational skills, ability to work on own initiative, develop rapport, and work well with others, ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously and accurately under deadlines, experience with fundraising databases and reporting tools such as Salesforce, and ability to travel to campus and/or non-campus locations for Lab Schools business.

Willingness and ability to work evenings and weekends for Lab ARD events and activities is also preferred.

Working conditions include a standard office environment (hybrid available).

Application documents required include a resume, cover letter, and three professional references.