IFMA Foodverse

Assistant Director of Advancement
University of Illinois Extension

WE TRANSFORM LIVES.
Everything we do is designed to improve the quality of life of the people in the state of Illinois, across the nation, and around the world. We discover, develop, translate, and disseminate knowledge to address societal concerns and train the next generation of experts and leaders in a way that empowers them to expand the boundaries of science to higher levels of understanding and influence.

University of Illinois Extension in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign seeks a full-time major gift officer. The Assistant Director of Advancement will secure private support for funding priorities as determined by the Associate Dean and Director of University of Illinois Extension & Outreach. The major gift officer will play a critical role in efforts to implement an integrated approach for impact- and mission-driven priorities across University of Illinois Extension.

University of Illinois Extension transfers discoveries, best practices, and knowledge to Illinois residents through a variety of educational programs and services. For over 100 years, Extension educators and field staff have conducted needs assessments with residents in rural and urban settings to understand the gaps in knowledge and understanding from which programs, trainings, and services are developed. Emphasis areas for Illinois Extension include community, economy, environment, food, and health, and these grant challenge areas are addressed through six programmatic areas including agriculture and agribusiness, community and economic development, family and consumer sciences, integrated health disparities, natural resources, environment and energy, and 4-H youth development.

University of Illinois Extension is available in all 102 counties of Illinois and to every resident of our state. In 2022, Illinois Extension served 735,000 program attendees, through about 25,000 in-person and 12,000 on-line educational sessions. Roughly 900,000 video views were logged by learners. There were 12,824,000 engagements with Illinois Extension's web pages. University of Illinois Extension is known for being a reliable source of unbiased research-based information.

The Assistant Director of Advancement will secure private support for funding priorities as determined by the Associate Dean and Director of University of Illinois Extension & Outreach. The major gift officer will play a critical role in efforts to implement an integrated approach for impact- and mission-driven priorities across University of Illinois Extension. The major gift officer will also collaborate with the College of ACES advancement team and participate in strategy and advancement team meetings.

This position will assist University of Illinois Extension in designing strategies to broaden and strengthen development activities across the state and in defined territories, with an emphasis on agriculture and agribusiness, community and economic development, family and consumer sciences, integrated health disparities, and natural resource, environment and energy. This position will require substantial travel of varying durations, up to 50-70%, including some evenings and weekends.

The successful candidate will be a collaborative team member who is a self-starter 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 University of Illinois Extension and the philanthropic interest of donors.

One full time position is available.
Location: Urbana-Champaign Campus
(Hybrid work schedule is available)

This is a security-sensitive position. Comprehensive background checks, including but not limited to a criminal conviction information check, a CANTS check, and a review of the Registered Sex Offender list, will be conducted.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Fundraising

• Identify, assess, analyze, and design appropriate strategies for approaching prospects and donors across the state and in defined geographic regions.
• 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, making the vitally important match between donors' philanthropic interests and the programmatic vision of University of Illinois Extension.
• Determine and prioritize lists of donor prospects, friends, and other stakeholders to be contacted for personal visits with defined regions and across the state.
• Participate in advancement trainings and professional development opportunities as a part of the Illinois Advancement community.
• Document all activities and interactions in the alumni-donor database.

Campus Fundraising Relationship Building

• Develop and maintain close collaborative partnerships with campus and community leaders to gain a strong knowledge of relevant programs and initiatives 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 in the College of ACES and across the campus.

Training and Educating of Extension Staff

• Prepare staff and other volunteers to participate in cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of gifts.
• Develop training programs regarding fundraising for University of Illinois Extension.

Organizational Engagement

• Participate in Extension leadership team meetings, county director meetings, and other meetings as requested.

Other Information

• Comply with all University of Illinois Extension Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity policies and guidelines in all aspects of Extension and Outreach work, assist as requested with data collection for Affirmative Action, Gender, and Targeted reports.
• Assume additional related responsibilities to enhance the mission of the organization.
• Local, regional, statewide, and national travel required; personal transportation required for local, regional, and statewide travel. Evening/weekend work are an integral part of this position. Travel reimbursement is provided for either personal vehicle use or other means of transportation as coordinated by employee in accordance with University policies.
• Conduct all activities in accordance with the Civil Rights Act, Title IX, Rehabilitation, Americans with Disabilities Act, and the University of Illinois Extension Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity Plan.
  

Additional Physical Demands
To perform the functions of this position, the employee will be required to perform work both within an office and outside in the communities that are served across Illinois Extension and Outreach. Must have the capability to travel from one location to another in a timely fashion. Employee is responsible for securing personal transportation. Evening/weekend work are an integral part of this position. When working, the employee may be exposed to a variety of environmental factors to include, but not limited to, hot or cold weather, exposure to noise, allergens, infectious agents, and uneven ground. In performing the functions of this position, the employee may be subjected to various mental and physical demands as well to include, but not limited to, independently traveling to and performing work at different locations, lifting and moving items that may occasionally weigh up to forty (40) pounds and frequently weigh up to twenty (20) pounds, and twisting, pushing and pulling movements. Reasonable accommodations may be requested. The incumbent will assume additional related responsibilities to enhance the mission of Illinois Extension.

Organization Relationship
The Assistant Director of Advancement reports to the Associate Dean and Director of University of Illinois Extension & Outreach and the Assistant Dean for Advancement (ACES) and works closely with Extension staff, along with advancement colleagues across the College of ACES and campus, to successfully carry out the Advancement priorities.

Impact in the First Year
At University of Illinois Extension, we value our employees and provide resources to assist you in continually learning and growing. We foster a strong, collaborative community of people who are driven by their ability to make a difference. By the end of the first year, the incumbent will have received relevant training, developed a growth portfolio of qualified prospects, successfully solicited donations, built a network of colleagues across campus, and developed stewardship and impact stories related to transformative gifts.

Within 3 months, you will:

• Become familiar with the strategic vision and priorities of University of Illinois Extension.
• Meet your assigned Prospect Development Analyst and begin to manage your portfolio.
• Attend professional development and networking activities within the Illinois Advancement community.

Within 6 months, you will:

• Begin cultivating relationships with key prospects/donors/alumni to create and implement solicitation strategies.
• Partner with stewardship and donor relations, events, alumni relations, and communications colleagues within Illinois Extension and as appropriate within the College of ACES and across campus.
• Be able to share multiple meaningful impact stores of transformative gifts.

By the end of the first year, you will:

• Cooperatively have set annual goals with your supervisor and portfolio management team.
• Continue portfolio growth of qualified prospects and successful solicitation strategies.
• Receive individualized coaching from Advancement Talent Management to assist in the transition to the role.
• Build a robust network of colleagues across campus.
  

Minimum Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor's degree. Candidates with a Bachelor's degree in progress may be considered for interviews, but degree must be completed by hire date.

Experience:

• Minimum of two years of successful advancement experience or three years of experience in a closely related field which requires strong relationship-building and outcome-driven results.
• Experience working in a collaborative, team-oriented environment.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience managing alumni, donors, and/or volunteer programs and devising innovative programs to engage external audiences to support programmatic priorities.
• Experience working with academic and/or community leaders.
• Experience identifying new ways to engage individuals with high net worth who are unfamiliar with philanthropy.
• Experience working with entrepreneurs, in an entrepreneurial organization, and/or building entrepreneurial programs.
  

Training, Licenses or Certifications:

• Valid driver's license.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Demonstrated understanding of major donor prospect qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship, preferably in a higher education environment. Superb oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills, with an emphasis on engaged, active listening. Demonstrated ability to follow through on action items. Demonstrated ability to represent an organization in visits with key constituents. Strong relationship management skills. Self-motivation and drive to succeed in fundraising.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality in business transactions and discussions. Excellent time management skills, including the ability to prioritize work and manage a variety of fundraising projects simultaneously with accuracy and detail is preferred.

Appointment Information
Immigration sponsorship is not available for this position. This position is a full-time, benefits-eligible, non-tenure academic professional position appointed on a 12-month service basis. The expected start date is as soon as possible after the closing date. Salary is commensurate with experience and qualifications. Generous vacation and sick leave. State Universities Retirement System. Group health, dental, vision and life insurance.

Application Procedures & Deadline Information
Applications must be received by 6:00 pm (CST) on October 8, 2023 (extended closing date). Apply for this position using the Apply Now button at the top or bottom of this posting. Please upload a resume, cover letter, and the names and contact information for three professional references. Resume dates submitted must be in month/year format and employment history, at a minimum, should include all work dating back to the completion of your undergraduate degree. Positions that were less than full-time/100% must be noted as being part-time. Transcripts may be requested at a later date. Applications not submitted through https://jobs.illinois.edu will not be considered.

For further information about this specific position, please contact Christina Edgington at chrisedg@illinois.edu. For questions regarding the application process, please contact 217-333-2137.

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, COVID-19 vaccination requirement, 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. 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 accessibility@illinois.edu.

Requisition ID: 1020135
Job Category: Off-Campus

To apply, visit https://illinois.csod.com/ux/ats/careersite/1/home/requisition/7900?c=illinois







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