Celebrating its centennial anniversary in 2022, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs is where your world and the world meet. The Council is a nonpartisan, non-profit organization that empowers more people to help shape our global future. Through content and engagement experiences that offer diverse, fact-based perspectives and in-depth analysis, we foster dialogue on the world’s most critical issues. We are committed to building an inclusive community of globally conscious people who want to actively participate in global affairs and gain the knowledge that can help them make a tangible impact – big or small – in the world.

As the Council enters its second century, we are embarking on an ambitious digital transformation and are growing our development team to reach and engage more people in Chicago and beyond.

The Role

Reporting to the Assistant Director, Individual Giving (AD), the Officer is responsible for raising support from the general membership and is the primary contact for general donor inquiries.

The Individual Giving Officer (Development Officer) is a hybrid role and requires some in-person attendance at our Downtown Chicago location based on work activities and peak seasons.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Solicit and serve as a point of contact for thousands of general members by providing excellent donor relations and answering member inquiries, such as donation and contact information, interest in programs, event registration assistance, and adjusting payments
• Work with the Assistant Director to help develop, write, and coordinate member renewals and acquisition appeals through direct mail, email, and social media to increase revenue and grow the membership
• Produce membership emails from start to finish, including drafting, editing, running approvals, set up, segmentation, and testing
• Maintain individual donor records in the Salesforce database; track touch points including emails, calls, and meetings; prepare and track acknowledgments, invoices, and pledges
• Administer the Council’s monthly and quarterly giving program, including reviewing open balance accounts, updating credit card information, and collecting overdue payments
• Help develop and project manage membership promotions for both general membership and the President’s Club at Council events and digital promotions (website, social media), working closely with the Communications and the Next Generation teams
• Create and run database reports to track general membership fundraising efforts, promotions, monthly revenue, renewal statuses, donor conversion rates, and the number of members
• Promote membership with prospective members at major Council events
• Problem solves for members, respond to inquiries or registration and membership questions
• Participate collaboratively with the Development team’s diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies
• Occasionally assist at the front desk in meeting/greeting Council constituents and answering or routing incoming calls
• Provide support at Council events approximately 3 – 4 times monthly (registration, ushering, etc.), requiring some evening and early morning hours
• Perform other projects as assigned

Qualifications

• A bachelor’s degree preferred, or some college with equivalent work experience will be considered
• A minimum of two years of experience in fundraising, marketing, or communications preferably in a non-profit organization
• Creative and analytical thinker; detail-oriented problem solver who meets deadlines, shows initiative, works well independently and as part of a team, is flexible, has high emotional intelligence, and adapts easily to new situations
• Excellent verbal and written communication and donor relations skills to encourage new member registration and existing member upgrades
• Extensive knowledge of and experience using MS Office (Word, Excel, and Outlook)
• Experience with customer relations management (CRM) software such as Salesforce; and email marketing software, such as Pardot, preferred
• Ability to work evening and early morning programs

Council Benefit Highlights 

There are many benefits to working at the Council, including a flexible remote/in-office work environment, half-day summer Fridays, paid parental leave, employer-subsidized medical/dental/vision insurance, generous paid time off, retirement match, mobile phone stipend, commuter accessible, fitness center membership, and more.