Associate Director, Onboarding and Events

Overview

Department ADV People and Culture

The Advancement Office engages alumni (~220k), current students, parents, and friends of the University through intellectual, professional and social activities on campus, around the world and online. Advancement raises $600 million annually to support faculty and researchers, practitioners and patients, and students and programs across the University. Our work supports priorities in every division, school, department and institute.

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.

The Associate Director, Onboarding and Employee Events, partners with People and Culture and Advancement leadership to design and implement effective employee experience programming, including onboarding, all-staff meetings, and other staff events. This role utilizes knowledge about Advancement as a profession, as well as current advancement priorities across the University, to align all-staff programming and content with organizational needs. Works with colleagues in Advancement and across the University to plan event logistics, prepare agendas, coordinate speakers, and write talking points.

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.

• Contributes to the strategy, design, and implementation of Advancement onboarding programs, and serves as a facilitator for select programs.
• Works with stakeholders across Advancement and the University to ensure onboarding content meets teams’ needs, aligns with programs offered by other units, and ensures new hires have a strong understanding of Advancement’s work, culture, and structure.
• Manages a suite of Advancement meetings and programs, including regular all-staff meetings, weekly stand-ups, and other staff gatherings. Serves as event host or speaker as needed.
• Maintains awareness of trends, initiatives, events, and employee needs across the University of Chicago Advancement enterprise and uses this knowledge to inform programming that allows all staff to become strong ambassadors of the University of Chicago.
• Crafts event objectives, agendas, and talking points to align with People and Culture and Advancement strategy. Develops clear plans to ensure strong execution of events, delegating to People and Culture team members as appropriate.
• Leads all logistical planning and support for Advancement staff learning and development programs and events, within budget.
• Collects participant information and feedback after all staff programs, ensuring alignment with People and Culture data collection strategy. Creates and manages electronic invitations, response forms, and evaluations.
• Analyzes and synthesizes data to prepare custom and ad hoc reports for presentations and meetings.
• Ensures that programs and other initiatives are effectively marketed and communicated through the intranet, newsletter, and other channels.
• Assists People and Culture team members with meeting and event planning, ensuring a strong, cohesive employee experience across programming.
• Seeks opportunities for professional development that will enhance job performance, including building networks within the University and with colleagues at peer institutions.
• Works with minimal guidance to design and evaluate instructional programs, materials, and…