Director of Civic Leadership Initiatives
The University of Chicago

Job Info

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Department

Civic Engagement OCE Directors

About the Department

At the University of Chicago, civic engagement is an institution-wide commitment that encompasses our contributions to the enrichment of human life through research and education, our work to increase economic opportunities on the South Side, and our support for the open exchange of ideas with our broader community. Our relationship and engagement with the City of Chicago was of critical importance at the time of our founding and continues to guide the University's contributions to the city and the South Side today. The University approaches civic engagement in a comprehensive and deliberate way: we approach civic engagement as a University-wide commitment that furthers our core mission of research and education and reflects our core values; we build meaningful, mutually-beneficial partnerships that increase civic participation, expand educational access, and create economic and social opportunity; we apply an interdisciplinary approach that brings our best thinking across multiple domains to advance innovative initiatives that enrich human life in our city; we solve real world problems with rigor by supporting our faculty, students, staff, and alumni to engage with the community and the world around them as they address the most pressing urban challenges and build evidence-based solutions; and we measure and communicate our impact, sharing what we are doing and learning as we partner with others to contribute to the public good.

Job Summary

The Director of Civic Leadership Initiatives will work with the Executive Director of Civic Leadership to advance OCE's educational offerings for civic leaders. The civic leadership portfolio supports both civic leadership activity throughout campus as well as conducts OCE-led civic leadership programming including: Civic Actor Studio with Court Theatre, the Civic Leadership Development Exchange (CLDE), The Board Service Initiative, and humanities-based civic engagement programming. In partnership with academic and administrative units, the Director will advance a university-wide approach to help convene, create, communicate, and fund the infrastructure that can establish UChicago as a premier destination for the scholarship, teaching, and practice of civic leadership. Civic leaders include educators, non-profit leaders, government leaders, faith-based leaders, artists, journalists, local park councils, corporate social responsibility leaders, foundation program officers, community organizers, activists, advocates, and volunteers.

The Director of Civic Leadership Initiatives will support all aspects of the civic leadership portfolio, and lead on many of the relevant initiatives and relationships, particularly with the humanities-based civic engagement. This position will work closely with OCE program directors, directors across campus, and civic leaders to support program design, recruitment, implementation, and evaluation of the University's civic leadership efforts.

Responsibilities

• Engages University deans, faculty, staff and, community leaders to implement a coordinated University-wide commitment to the scholarship, teaching and practice of civic leaders to convene, communicate, create and fund existing and new civic leadership programming.
• Incubates initiatives that advance the scholarship, teaching, and practice of civic leadership. In particular, the Director engages faculty whose scholarship relates to civic leadership.
• Identifies potential philanthropic partners (foundations, corporations, and individual donors) and helps secure financial commitments for the Civic Leadership Initiatives.
• Leads existing OCE humanities-based civic leadership programs including Poetry in Public (Coffee with Langston, Everyday Shakespeare), Stoa Civic Café, Phenomenal Women Retreats, Progressive Conversations, Built Environment Breakouts, Finance Breakout, Sustainability Partners, and Equity in the Arts.
• Manages the Civic Leadership Development Exchange (CLDE), the Senior Leadership Boards Service initiative and the Civic Actor Studio at the University of Chicago.
• Leads and manages special projects and OCE-related initiatives including organizing and coordinating programmatic events and activities.
• Acts as a liaison between the OCE and various external agencies, organizations, and institutions with whom the Office of Civic Engagement may collaborate.
• Represents the team in key internal and external meetings.
• Manages key internal and external partnerships to help achieve program goals.
• Works with leadership on the development of new programs and policies within the civic leadership portfolio, including relevant research and writing of concept papers and program memos.
• Collaborates with the Senior Director of Communications to share stories of impact, highlight case studies, and raise visibility of the civic leaders.
• Collaborates with the Senior Director of Development and Program Evaluation to identify funding sources for program area and manage the development of funding proposals and final reports.
• Develops and communicates program priorities and performance standards and assesses operations using these criteria. Plans and conducts quality assurance reviews and recommends changes as appropriate.
• Manages program budgets and recommends or makes budgetary recommendations.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

Education:
Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.
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Work Experience:
Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 5-7 years of work experience in a related job discipline.
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Certifications:

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Preferred Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor's degree.

Experience:

• Experience working with Chicago's civic community and familiarity with South Side community-based organizations with proven effectiveness in civic engagement field.
• Demonstrated track record of assuming increasing responsibility within an institution, building partnerships to design and implement programming.

Technical Skills or Knowledge:

• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, Airtable and PowerPoint) and Google Docs.
• Demonstrated use of social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook).

Preferred Competencies

• Lead recruitment, marketing, facilitation, and evaluation for OCE-led civic leadership programming.
• Outstanding group facilitation skills for civic leadership programming.
• Identify and secure funding opportunities (foundations, corporations, and individual funders) for the civic leadership portfolio.
• Work effectively across the University and the South Side, including students, faculty, and staff and community members and civic organizations to creating meaningful and sustainable partnerships.
• In collaboration with other team members, work to create an environment and culture that enables Civic Engagement to fulfill its mission.
• A demonstration of knowledge of the histories of the South Side of Chicago and the landscape of Chicago's civic community
• Excellent verbal and written skills; facilitation skills, organizational skills; ability to work independently with a high degree of initiative; ability to meet deadlines; maintain confidentiality, and problem solve.
• Competence with maintaining contact databases and social media platforms related to civic leadership activity.
• Competence with graphic design for marketing materials related to civic leadership programming.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including for executive-level audiences.
• Self-motivated and able to work independently.

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Working Conditions

• Flexibility to work outside the confines of normal business hours.

Application Documents

• Resume/CV (required)
• Cover Letter (required)

When applying, the document(s) MUSTbe uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.

Job Family

Administration & Management

Role Impact

Individual Contributor

FLSA Status

Exempt

Pay Frequency

Monthly

Scheduled Weekly Hours

37.5

Benefits Eligible

Yes

Requires Compliance with University Covid-19 Vaccination Requirement

Yes

Drug Test Required

No

Health Screen Required

No

Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required

No

Posting Statement

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.

The University of Chicago's Annual Security & Fire Safety Report (Report) provides information about University offices and programs that provide safety support, crime and fire statistics, emergency response and communications plans, and other policies and information. The Report can be accessed online at:http://securityreport.uchicago.edu.Paper copies of the Report are available, upon request, from the University of Chicago Police Department, 850 E. 61st Street, Chicago, IL 60637.

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