Laboratory Schools: Assistant Director of Operations, Stewardship and Communications

Assistant Director Of Operations, Stewardship And Communications

The Assistant Director of Operations, Stewardship and Communications at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools (Lab) provides high-level strategic, administrative, and project support for alumni relations and development efforts at the Laboratory Schools, helping advance team priorities and annual fundraising goals. It involves coordinating donor stewardship, alumni engagement, volunteer activities, and cultivation efforts. This position also manages a wide range of communications, including donor acknowledgments, stewardship reports, presentations, briefing materials, and other internal and external correspondence.

A major responsibility is maintaining accurate constituent and donor records through systems such as Salesforce and Power School, while also analyzing fundraising and engagement data to produce reports, dashboards, and other materials that inform planning and decision-making. This position also helps plan and execute meetings and events, improves workflows and operational practices, supports scheduling and office management tasks, and participates in professional development to strengthen advancement knowledge and effectiveness.

Responsibilities:

• Provides strategic, administrative, and project support for the Laboratory Schools alumni relations and development function, independently managing assigned activities and advancing team priorities.
• Coordinates and supports fundraising, stewardship, alumni engagement, cultivation, and volunteer activities in support of annual goals and long-term campaign success.
• Cultivates and maintains relationships with donors, alumni, volunteers, advisory council members, and other key constituents; responds to inquiries and supports ongoing engagement strategies.
• Drafts, edits, and manages correspondence and related materials, including donor acknowledgments, annual stewardship reports, leadership communications, presentations, briefing materials, solicitation/support materials, and other internal and external communications.
• Coordinates record-keeping within Lab ARD in partnership with Lab's advancement services. This includes, but is not limited to, becoming a proficient database/resource user of Salesforce, Power School and any other platform required to maintain accurate constituent and donor records, tracking giving history and demographic information, fulfilling query/report requests, and ensuring data integrity.
• Analyzes and interprets fundraising and engagement data; prepares reports, dashboards, spreadsheets, graphs, charts, and presentations to support strategic planning, performance tracking, and decision-making.
• Supports gift administration by preparing gift documentation, coordinating with Lab Finance and central Advancement gift processing, tracking pledge and fund activity, and assisting with stewardship reporting and donor acknowledgments.
• Assists with prospect research and fundraising strategy by gathering background information, identifying prospective donors or sponsors, and helping prepare solicitation, grant, and campaign materials.
• Partners to plan, coordinate, and execute meetings and events, including donor cultivation events, donor appreciation activities, advisory council meetings, staff meetings, annual giving efforts, and other strategic engagement programs; manages logistics, vendors, and collaboration with campus partners and volunteers.
• Develops, documents, and improves procedures, workflows, and operational practices to enhance team effectiveness, cross-departmental coordination, and compliance with institutional policies and applicable regulations.
• Participates in professional development opportunities to strengthen job knowledge, institutional partnerships, and advancement best practices.
• Proof-reads written materials for ARD's external audiences.
• Assists the Director of ARD with the scheduling of meetings within ARD, the University and within the Laboratory Schools broader community.
• Assists with office functions, as assigned, including the filing of ARD documents, expense and travel reports as well as budget monitoring.
• Has a deep understanding of fundraising operations for a school or department of the University. Participates in the development of fundraising goals, policies and short and long-term strategies. Assesses, analyzes and evaluates fundraising programs, specialized projects or major events.
• Identifies, cultivates and solicits major prospects. Designs strategies for cultivating participation.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications:

Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 5-7 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Preferred

Competencies:

• Superior written communication skills.
• Create and execute annual strategic plans.
• Outstanding interpersonal and organizational skills.
• Work on own initiative, develop…