Northwestern University - Corporate Relations

Asst Dir Corporate Relations
Northwestern University - Evanston
Job Summary:

The Assistant Director Corporate Relations serves as the "Front Door" for OCR, effectively managing projects for internal and external parties through four key result areas: Program and Prospect Management, Stewardship, Outreach, and Operations. External parties include corporations, key executives, NU administrators, faculty, business administration staff, and student leaders

Specific Responsibilities:

Manages the GIft-In-Kind (GIK) Program to encourage reporting of gifts made to all areas and departments in the University, including the Chicago and Evanston campuses;
Maintains the GIK notice and interactive form on the OCR website;
Generates annual email reminder to University community to stress the importance of GIK reporting;
Administers an ongoing employee incentive program to promote reporting;
Using CASE guidelines, assesses whether the contribution qualifies for charitable gift purposes;
Serves as the primary solicitor for a portfolio of 5 or fewer corporate prospects;
Serves as the OCR representative for the day-to-day conversations and inquiries from Ford Motor Company and 3M;
Works as an "account manager" with strategic guidance from Director, providing updates on reporting, account balances, and fund distribution, as requested;
Directs efforts of undergraduate student groups seeking corporate support for special events, student activities or entertainment, conferences, contests, etc., with particular emphasis on the NU Solar team in McCormick Engineering;
Instructs group leaders on proper solicitation procedures through PowerPoint presentations;
Serves as front-line contact to students and Northwestern's Student Affairs office;
Provides suggestions for potential funders, conducts research, assists with the drafting of solicitation letters, and oversee mailings, as requested;
Processes incoming gifts and establish new NUFS accounts as necessary;
Maintains reporting systems to monitor and create pledge reminders, grant reports and endowed fund reports;
Maintains the pledge tracking system to ensure all payments are recorded;
Reports to OCR staff on status of pledges and non-endowed grants;
Assists departments and schools with annual reports on corporate gifts;
Coordinates annual endowed fund report mailing;
Assists Donor Relations team with stewardship and gift acknowledgement as requested;
Collaborates with Associate Directors and Director to plan corporate site visits involving the President of the University, the Vice President for University Development and Alumni Relations, University Trustees, deans, and faculty;
Coordinates gathering and preparation of material;
Assists with logistical planning as necessary;
Manages special events and projects for OCR as required;
Designs PowerPoint presentations as needed, coordinating with other development and Northwestern staff to include appropriate content;
Represents OCR in meetings with corporate executives, special visitors, NU administrators, and students;
Professionally represents OCR as a campus-wide resource to all constituencies;
Travels to corporate offices to steward existing relationships and presents new gift opportunities as appropriate;
Attends certain local corporate events as assigned to maximize the outreach of the OCR;
Attends presentations about new program initiatives or group events held at Chicago area corporations to provide information to grantees;
Represents OCR at certain campus events involving corporations, as requested;
Develops proposals and draft solicitation letters and gift idea menus at the request of the Director and Associate Directors;
Researches corporations and corporate foundations to establish a "match" between the funder and the program;
Interviews principals involved in making the request and contact the funder to determine giving guidelines, as necessary;
Assists the Director and Associate Directors with gift strategy;
Uses giving guidelines and gift strategy to develop proposal language and completes all relevant materials to submit to corporate funder;
Processes corporate gifts and pledge payments sent to OCR;
With OCR researcher, monitors and researches the monthly grants that are reported through Office of Sponsored Research to determine charitable status;
With corporate researcher, takes responsibility for documenting grants that should be entered into AIMS;
Writes news bulletins for the OCR website and works with the OARD Marketing and Communications team to post gift announcements and photos;
Supervises student intern who will take on all manner of duties as required including filing, mailings, messenger duties, and data management projects;
Performs monthly and midyear budget reviews with the OARD Finance and Business Performance Management team;
Manages the NUFS financial interface to initiate payments to external vendors and reimbursement to OCR team members;
Assists corporate researcher when necessary, including the preparation of corporate briefings as a stewardship and cultivation tool;
Conceives solicitation strategies that meet priority fundraising needs;
Maximizes the outreach of the OCR by attending certain local corporate events as assigned;
Attends presentations about new program initiatives or group events held at Chicago area corporations to provide information to grantees;
Represents OCR at certain campus events involving corporations, as requested;
Oversees processing of corporate pledges and gifts sent to OCR;
With OCR researcher, monitors and researches the monthly grants that are reported through Office of Sponsored Research to determine charitable status;
With corporate researcher, takes responsibility for documenting grants that should be entered into BSR Advance;
Oversees the OCR web presence by working with the Office of Alumni Relations and Development Web Associate to post gift announcements and photos;
Oversees changes to web site when necessary;
Designs PowerPoint presentations as needed, coordinating with other development and Northwestern staff to include appropriate content;
Oversees work-study student's contributions to OCR, including filing and management of the central files, mailings, messenger duties as assigned and all other data management projects as assigned;
Manages special events and projects for OCR as required;
Assists corporate researcher when necessary, including the preparation of corporate briefings as a stewardship and cultivation tool;
Performing related duties as required or assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

Formal presentation skills;
Open to change and able adapt work methods and behaviors;
Successfully uses multiple software programs independently including Microsoft Office applications such as PowerPoint, Word, Excel, and Access, email, web browsers, and PeopleSoft;
Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively one-to-one, in small groups and in public speaking contexts;
Ability to write precise, well-organized emails, letters and proposals while using appropriate vocabulary and grammar;
Displayed consistency and success in adhering to deadlines;
Experience with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access;
Demonstrated ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously;
Demonstrated ability to formulate realistic plans and contingencies and establish appropriate measurements of anticipated results;
Ability to build collaboration by encouraging trust, mutual respect and shared purpose among various participants in an engagement.

Preferred Qualifications:

A bachelor's degree or the equivalent combination of education, training and experience from which comparable skills can be acquired;
Two or more years of work experience, preferably in development, or related field;
Excellent written and oral business communication skills;
Interest in current events and corporate news is a plus;
Experience developing grant proposals desirable;
Ability to work well on a team;
Flexibility to take on a project in mid-stream;
Ability to delegate when appropriate;
Well developed problem solving abilities;
Must be able to develop systems and procedures for managing cyclical activities such as periodic meetings, pledge reminders process, website maintenance;
Ability to independently juggle longer-term research and writing assignments with day-to-day operations;
Capacity to think strategically and creatively is necessary, including the ability to inquire about and listen to a company's needs, and then to understand and determine how to market to that company with compelling benefits;
Willingness to work in a challenging environment and meet short deadlines;
Sense of ownership for her or his work and the output of OCR;
Experience with Windows Microsoft Office and Adobe Acrobat Professional.