Director of Alumni Relations and Development

Director of Alumni Relations and Development

The Laboratory Schools are home to the youngest members of the University of Chicago's academic community. We ignite and nurture an enduring spirit of scholarship, curiosity, creativity, and confidence. We value learning experientially, exhibiting kindness, and honoring diversity. (Mission Statement)

The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools invite nominations and applications for the position of Director of Alumni Relations and Development.

At the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, students in Nursery through Grade 12 experience a world-class educational journey. Founded in 1896 by John Dewey as a place for educators to develop and explore novel approaches to pedagogy and curriculum, Lab continues to provide excitement and imagination in learning to this day. Academic rigor, experiential learning, and intellectual discourse are hallmarks of a Lab education. Lab educators are recognized for excellence in teaching and pride themselves on innovation in the classroom. Students in every grade have access to unparalleled resources, and all members of the Lab community benefit by partnerships and connections with the University of Chicago. Families who choose Lab care deeply about curiosity, inquiry, and creativity. No less than scholarship, Lab’s mission prioritizes honoring diversity and exhibiting kindness. We are committed to building and supporting a teaching and learning community where young people see aspects of their backgrounds and identities reflected around them, where they feel a deep sense of belonging, and where they discover and use their voices to full effect.

The Director of Alumni Relations and Development serves as the chief development officer for the Laboratory Schools. Reporting to and working closely with the Director of Schools, the Director of Alumni Relations and Development is the senior administrator responsible for generating annual and endowed philanthropic revenue, building, and maintaining alumni engagement, and building and maintaining relations among Lab parents and other community members.

The Director is responsible for designing and executing a comprehensive fundraising plan for the Schools that encompasses annual and capital campaign components. In addition to Lab’s annual fund, known as the Fund for Lab, the Schools implement significant fundraising events, giving drives, and engagement with scholarship granting organizations. The Director also bears significant responsibility for the identification, cultivation, and solicitation of a portfolio of individual major gifts prospects, supports the management of the Director of Schools’ portfolio of prospects, and has a key role in Board development. In addition, the Director provides leadership, mentorship, and support for a staff of seven, with a planned expansion to ten.  The Director also oversees staff with responsibilities in managing alumni relations and generating alumni engagement, as well as staff with responsibilities in planning and implementing special community events involving parents, students, alumni, representatives of the University of Chicago, and other donors and friends of the Schools.

The ideal candidate will bring deep experience in alumni relations and development and a proven track record of leadership. They will be a seasoned manager with demonstrated success in mentorship and support of colleagues. 

For additional details, visit the full position profile: https://diversifiedsearchgroup.com/search/uclab-director-of-alumni-relations-and-development/

For best consideration, please send all nominations and applications—electronically and in confidence—to Storbeck Search at the email address below. In addition, all applicants are asked to apply directly to the University of Chicago HERE.  

Susan VanGilder, Managing Director
Kamilah Allen, Senior Associate
Storbeck Search
LabSchoolDirectorAlumDev@storbecksearch.com

Employees must comply with the University’s COVID-19 vaccination requirements. More information about the requirements can be found on the University of Chicago Vaccination GoForward.

The University of Chicago is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity/Disabled/Veterans Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, status as an individual with a disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

Staff Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.

We seek a diverse pool of applicants who wish to join an academic community that places the highest value on rigorous inquiry and encourages a diversity of perspectives, experiences, groups of individuals, and ideas to inform and stimulate intellectual challenge, engagement, and exchange.

All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history.  A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment.  Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.

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