Senior Associate Director, Learning and Development

Department

• ADV Staff Development
• About the Department

The University of Chicago Advancement team cultivates lifelong connections with more than 220,000 alumni, current students, parents, and friends worldwide, building community through intellectual, professional, and other meaningful experiences on campus, around the world and online. Advancement empowers every division, school, department, and institute to thrive, generating support for esteemed faculty, pioneering researchers, visionary practitioners, and ambitious students.

During the Chicago Minds campaign, Advancement seeks to raise over $1 billion annually. This unprecedented philanthropic effort is designed to stretch the boundaries of what is possible, fueling bold discovery and amplifying the University’s global impact.

Our work is rooted in the belief that meaningful connection and lasting experiences inspire ambassadorship and enduring commitment. We champion a culture of innovation and excellence, inviting every member of our community to participate in a future defined by creativity, intellectual rigor, and shared purpose. Through collaborative partnerships, strategic stewardship, and investment in talent, Advancement is reimagining alumni and donor engagement while ensuring UChicago remains a catalyst of impact for generations to come.

• The Advancement People and Culture team plays a crucial role in cultivating a supportive and thriving workplace environment. The team is dedicated to attracting top talent through effective recruitment strategies and ensuring a smooth onboarding process for new hires. Additionally, the team champions ongoing professional development and learning programs to empower staff to excel in their roles and contribute meaningfully to Advancement’s goals. By fostering a culture of inclusivity, collaboration, and accountability, the People and Culture team enhances employee satisfaction and retention, ultimately strengthening and extending the work of Advancement for the University.
• Job Summary

Provides strategic direction and direct management for the design, delivery, and evaluation of frontline training programs related to fundraising, alumni relations, campaign education, systems, and data. Develops scalable, evidence-based learning solutions across multiple delivery formats and partners with key stakeholders to ensure training remains current, effective, and aligned with organizational needs and goals. This position manages the design and delivery of training offerings for all employees. Develops and implements a strategy for targeted market training courses and evaluates the efficacy of current programs. Coordinates in-person and web-based trainings and provides necessary materials and instruction to those individual trainers.

This position is not eligible for employer-sponsored employment authorization.

Responsibilities

• •Provides strategic direction and direct management of the design, implementation, and delivery of frontline training programs related to fundraising, alumni relations, and campaign education.
• •Assesses organizational needs to establish training priorities and partners with gift officers, alumni relations staff, business analysts, and leadership to tailor curricula and training initiatives accordingly.
• •Develops session agendas, learning materials, tools, case studies, guides, and facilitation strategies grounded in adult learning principles and evidence-based practices, with an emphasis on data, reflection, and practice.
• •Creates training storyboards and videos, and assists subject-matter experts with writing scenarios and implementing new learning activities, providing feedback as necessary.
• •Delivers training through multiple modalities, including in-person, virtual, blended, self-paced, workshops, and boot camps, and creates scalable learning solutions, such as e-learning modules and toolkits, that extend reach and reduce reliance on live facilitation.
• •Ensures training content remains current and aligned with industry best practices, organizational goals, and evolving business needs.
• •Maintains professional expertise in online teaching and learning, electronic pedagogy, and technology-based course delivery, including learning management systems, multimedia and instructional course software, adaptive learning tools, multimedia presentations, web conferencing, and classroom technologies. Incorporates University-approved AI tools ethically and responsibly to enhance the work.
• •Proactively learns new technologies, plans associated roadmaps, and anticipates emerging issues that may affect training or require additional support.
• •Defines, measures, and communicates relevant success metrics to stakeholders, demonstrating the value of training programs, learning experiences, and investments in employees. Continuously refines professional learning offerings based on participant feedback, reflection, and outcomes.
• •Proactively recommends audits, adjustments to existing training, or new training to improve the effective and accurate use of systems and data.
• •Serves as the internal liaison between Advancement and external consultants engaged in delivering frontline training.
• •Manages training logistics, including scheduling, communications, materials, and attendance tracking.
• •Seeks opportunities for professional development that will enhance job performance, including building networks within the University and with colleagues at peer institutions and with an eye towards broadly diversifying the advancement profession.
• •Manages front-end needs assessments, identifying key learning outcomes, writing training objectives, applying and modifying various instructional design methods, designing practice activities and scenarios, sequencing instructional content, and writing tests and learning assessments.
• •Develops and updates online manuals and user reference documentation.
• •Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• Work Experience:

• 5-7 years of work experience in a related job discipline.
• Certifications:

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Preferred Qualifications

Education:

Bachelor’s or advanced degree.

Experience:

• •Minimum five years of experience designing and facilitating professional learning for adult audiences.
• •Minimum five years of project management experience.
• •Minimum three years of experience designing or delivering training in a fundraising or sales environment.
• •Partnering with practitioners and organizational stakeholders to develop professional learning experiences.

Technical Skills or Knowledge:

• •Demonstrated skill and knowledge of, or ability to learn quickly, the internal workings of the University as well as the technology tools available to Advancement, including Phoenix, the University's Donor Relationship Management Salesforce System.
• •Proficient in a Microsoft Windows computer environment, especially with Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access.
• •Ease and facility with technology systems and descriptive data reporting.

Preferred Competencies

• •Excellent presentation, interpersonal and customer service skills with a strong orientation toward helping others succeed.
• •Creativity and comfort with teaching and public speaking in classroom, small group, and one-on- one formats.
• •Strong organizational, project management, and detail-oriented skills.
• •Dedication to reviewing and using team performance data.
• •Build, lead, mentor, and motivate a diverse team, and to encourage growth and change in both people and programs. A strong commitment to personal and professional development, and foster a collaborative and inclusive team environment.
• •Excellent translator of technical or complex information.
• •Outstanding interpersonal and communications skills characterized by the ability to listen, speak, and write effectively.
• •Manage confidential information with discreti