Job  Board

The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement (OVCIA) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign seeks an Assistant/Associate Vice Chancellor for Engagement & Involvement (AVC-EI) to provide strategic leadership for constituent engagement, annual giving, donor relations and stewardship, volunteer leadership, and lifelong involvement across the university’s advancement enterprise. This position will develop and advance enterprise-wide engagement strategies that strengthen connections with alumni, donors, volunteers, students, families, and friends of the university – creating meaningful experiences that inspire philanthropic support, deepen institutional affinity, and contribute to long-term fundraising success. 

The ideal candidate is a collaborative and forward-thinking leader who brings strategic vision, organizational leadership, and a passion for building relationships at scale. This individual will demonstrate exceptional communication, sound judgment, and the ability to lead through influence in a complex, decentralized environment. The successful candidate will have experience guiding cross-functional teams, developing innovative engagement strategies, and partnering with senior leaders to drive organizational alignment, constituent participation, and philanthropic impact.

Organizational Relationships & Job Summary

Reporting to the Vice Chancellor of Advancement, the Assistant/Associate Vice Chancellor for Engagement & Involvement (AVC‑EI) serves as a senior member of the advancement leadership team and provides institution‑wide strategic leadership for engagement, experiences, and involvement that inspire philanthropic support and lifelong connection. The AVC-EI leads through influence, collaboration, and shared accountability to establish engagement frameworks, stewardship standards, and involvement strategies that can be adapted across colleges, schools, and administrative units.  

Operating within a decentralized environment, the AVC-EI partners closely with OVCIA leadership, unit-based advancement teams, the University of Illinois Alumni Association (UIAA), the University of Illinois Foundation (UIF), and university stakeholders to develop and implement enterprise-wide strategies that strengthen constituent involvement and long-term institutional engagement and affinity. During times when the university is in a fundraising campaign, the AVC-EI will also work very closely with the Executive Director of Campaign Strategy and Stakeholder Engagement to ensure application of enterprise engagement frameworks to deliver a cohesive, high-impact campaign. This role is centered on engagement as a strategic driver of constituent involvement, philanthropy, and long‑term institutional loyalty, rather than frontline gift solicitation.

Managing multiple areas and a team of approximately 20 staff, with growth expected, the AVC-EI integrates engagement, marketing, volunteer leadership, annual giving, and donor relations and stewardship strategies across the full constituent lifecycle, ensuring that programs, communications, and experiences deliver meaningful value to alumni, donors, volunteers, students, families, and other university stakeholders. 

Duties and Responsibilities

Engagement & Experiences

1. Develop and lead a comprehensive constituent engagement strategy for domestic and international audiences across in-person, virtual, and hybrid channels
2. Design and manage intentional engagement arcs guiding constituents from awareness to involvement, volunteerism, and giving.
3. Elevate high-impact engagement moments including events, programming, volunteer leadership, and recognition experiences.
4. Ensure engagement strategies reflect institutional values of inclusion, belonging, access, and global reach.

Annual Giving (Centralized Model)

1. Provide strategic leadership for OVCIA’s centralized annual giving program and team
2. Ensure annual giving functions as a primary driver of involvement, donor retention, and pipeline development.
3. Embed annual giving into broader engagement pathways while respecting school and unit-level priorities.
4. Coordinate with the AVC responsible for the leadership annual giving program to ensure alignment.

Alumni & Stakeholder Engagement

1. Set the OVCIA’s vision for alumni engagement as a lifelong value proposition across regional, global, and affinity audiences.
2. Oversee the alumni association liaison function to align institutional engagement, programming, volunteer leadership, communications, and data sharing.
3. Guide engagement strategies for parents, families, students, young alumni, patrons, and community supporters.

Volunteer & International Engagement

1. Build and sustain enterprise volunteer governance and leadership pipelines aligned with engagement priorities.
2. Provide strategic oversight for international engagement programs, including global alumni networks and international events.

Donor Relations & Stewardship (Engagement Centered Model)

1. Provide strategic leadership for donor relations and stewardship, ensuring acknowledgment, recognition, reporting, and impact communications are delivered as intentional engagement experiences that reinforce donor trust, satisfaction, and long term philanthropic relationships.
2. Establish enterprise stewardship standards, recognition frameworks, and impact reporting approaches.
3. Align stewardship strategies with engagement arcs and lifetime donor milestones.
4. Partner with the Executive Director of Campaign & Stakeholder Engagement to ensure donor relations and stewardship support campaign momentum and donor retention.
5. Integrate donor communications, recognition events, and impact storytelling into broader engagement and involvement strategies.

Communications & Marketing Enablement

1. Provide leadership for marketing and communications to support the work of OVCIA including involvement-driven campaigns through strategic design and content development.
2. Oversee and guide the development of shared messaging frameworks, toolkits, and assets in partnership with the university’s Strategic Communications and Marketing team (StratCom) and in collaboration with other university units.

Collaboration & Integration

1. Partner with the University of Illinois Foundation (UIF), the University of Illinois Alumni Association (UIAA), and other university offices to develop engagement strategies and processes that provide guidance to colleges and units, maximizing resources and impact.
2. Work closely with frontline fundraising partners and UIF to ensure engagement and donor relations/stewardship strategies support cultivation and retention without duplicating solicitation.
3. Partner with OVCIA and university corporate and foundation relations teams to align engagement opportunities for external partners.
4. Collaborate with other OVCIA leadership to ensure academic and advancement leaders connect mission driven programming to engagement.
5. Partner with university Student Affairs, Enrollment, and Career Services offices to strengthen the student‑to‑alumni continuum.

Minimum Qualifications

1. Bachelor's degree
2. For the title of Assistant Vice Chancellor, a minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible professional experience in advancement, alumni relations, constituent engagement, annual giving, donor relations, stewardship, communications, nonprofit leadership or related fields. For the title of Associate Vice Chancellor, a minimum of 12 years of progressively responsible professional experience in advancement, alumni relations, constituent engagement, annual giving, donor relations, stewardship, communications, nonprofit leadership or related fields.
3. For the title of Assistant Vice Chancellor, a minimum of 5 years of leadership experience, including responsibility for managing staff, teams, programs, or organizational functions. For the title of Associate Vice Chancellor, a minimum of 7 years of leadership experience, including responsibility for managing staff, teams, programs, or organizational functions.
4. Demonstrated success developing and implementing strategic initiatives that drive engagement, involvement, relationship-building, philanthropic support, or organizational growth.
5. Experience leading complex, cross-functional initiatives and building partnerships across diverse stakeholder groups.
6. Experience utilizing data, metrics, and constituent insights to inform decision-making, assess, outcomes, and improve performance.

Appointment Info

This is a 100% full-time Academic Professional position, appointed on a 12-month basis. The expected start date is as soon as possible after the close date. The budgeted salary range for this position is $200,000-$220,000 at the Assistant Vice Chancellor level and $210,000 at the Associate Vice Chancellor level. When extending job offers, the University of Illinois carefully considers factors such as (but not limited to) the role's responsibilities, the candidate's experience and education, essential skills, internal peer equity, budget constraints, and the market trends. The rate provided reflects the University's good faith and reasonable estimate at the time of posting. It is not typical for an individual to be offered a salary at or near the top of the full range for a position.

This position is not eligible for any type of sponsorship for work authorization.

Application Procedures & Deadline Info

Applications must be received by 6:00 pm (Central Time) on August 17, 2026. Apply for this position HERE and upload a resume, cover letter, and the names, addresses, phone number, and the email addresses of three professional references. Applications not submitted through https://jobs.illinois.edu will not be considered. For further information about this specific position, please contact Katie Walker at walker74@illinois.edu and/or visit our Application FAQ site for tips. For questions regarding the application process, please contact 217-333-2137.