Development Director Jobs in Illinois
Development Director jobs in Illinois are in strong demand, with concentrated hiring in nonprofit organizations, higher education, healthcare systems, and arts and cultural institutions, serving candidates from fundraising coordinators stepping up to seasoned vice presidents of development. Chicago anchors the market by a wide margin, but Springfield and Evanston also generate consistent openings, with major employers including Northwestern University, Rush University Medical Center, and the Chicago Community Trust maintaining ongoing development leadership needs. Planned Giving and major gifts fundraising are the most sought-after specialties across Illinois listings. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.
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Pregis is Hiring!
Why Join Pregis?
Pregis is in the packaging business to protect what matters. We are committed to providing our customers and employees sustainable growth through purpose-driven innovation and customer-centric packaging solutions. If you are looking for a company that is thriving across various high growth industries and is innovative, customer focused, high integrity, believes in strong teamwork and collaboration, Pregis is the company for you. Check out the Pregis Purpose to learn how sustainability and social responsibility is at the very core of our company DNA.
Director, Sales Excellence & Development
Position Summary
The Director, Sales Excellence & Development is responsible for building the capabilities, processes, and programs that enable Pregis' commercial organization to achieve sustainable growth. This role leads the development of sales professionals and sales leaders by driving onboarding, coaching, training, leadership development, and sales effectiveness initiatives across the organization.
Reporting to the VP, People & Rewards, this individual will partner closely with Sales Leadership, Revenue Operations, Marketing, Category Management, and Learning & Development to improve sales productivity, accelerate new-hire ramp time, strengthen leadership capability, and support commercial growth.
This is a highly visible, enterprise-level role that provides broad exposure across the commercial organization and offers an excellent development opportunity for future sales, commercial, category management, or general management leadership positions.
Travel Requirement: up to 75%
Key Responsibilities
Sales Training & Development
- Lead the strategy, design, and delivery of sales development programs across the employee lifecycle, from onboarding through advanced development.
- Own and continually improve the Pregis sales training curriculum, including Dimensions in Professional Selling (DPS), product training, sales leadership development, and onboarding programs.
- Partner with Sales Leadership to identify capability gaps and implement targeted development solutions.
- Conduct periodic field travel and ride-alongs to assess effectiveness and identify coaching opportunities.
- Evaluate training effectiveness through participant feedback, performance metrics, and business outcomes.
- Design and deliver development programs for Regional Sales Managers and other commercial leaders.
- Support the onboarding and development of new sales managers.
- Coach sales leaders on performance management, talent development, accountability, and leadership effectiveness.
- Partner with HR to align commercial development efforts with broader leadership and talent management strategies.
- Develop and manage KPIs that measure onboarding effectiveness, sales readiness, productivity, and sales performance.
- Partner with Revenue Operations and Sales Leadership to analyze performance data and identify opportunities to improve sales productivity and effectiveness.
- Support the development of sales playbooks, best practices, and performance frameworks.
- Help drive adoption of commercial processes, CRM tools, enablement technologies, and sales methodologies.
- Partner with Marketing, Revenue Operations, and Category Management to develop sales tools, playbooks, messaging, and customer-facing resources.
- Ensure sales teams are equipped to effectively communicate value propositions, competitive differentiators, product benefits, and sustainability solutions.
- Support commercial readiness for new product launches and strategic growth initiatives.
- Participate in Voice of Sales activities and champion continuous improvement initiatives across the commercial organization.
- Participate in customer interactions, field visits, and commercial meetings to maintain a strong understanding of customer needs and market trends.
- Support customer and channel partner training initiatives where appropriate.
- Partner with commercial teams to identify opportunities to improve customer experience and sales performance.
Required Experience
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Sales, or related field or equivalent work experience
- 7+ years of progressive experience in sales, sales leadership, commercial excellence, category management, or sales enablement.
- Demonstrated success driving sales performance, coaching teams, and leading commercial initiatives.
- Experience developing talent and building high-performing teams.
- Strong business and financial acumen.
- Experience in manufacturing, packaging, industrial, automation, or other B2B environments.
- Experience with consultative, solution-based selling methodologies.
- Experience partnering across Sales, Marketing, Operations, Revenue Operations, and Product Management teams.
- Commercial Acumen
- Sales Leadership & Coaching
- Strategic Thinking
- Change Leadership
- Executive Communication
- Data-Driven Decision Making
- Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Project & Program Management
- Talent Development
- Customer Focus
Reports To:
- VP, People & Rewards
- Chief Sales Officer
- VP, Sales
- Sales Leadership Team
- VP, Revenue Operations
- VP, Marketing
- Category Management Leadership
- Director, Learning & Organizational Development
- Sales Enablement Manager
This role offers enterprise-wide visibility and the opportunity to influence nearly every customer-facing employee at Pregis. Successful candidates will gain broad exposure to sales strategy, leadership development, commercialization, revenue operations, and business performance management, making this an excellent development opportunity for future senior commercial, category management, or general management roles.
Compensation
The listed annualized base pay range is primarily based on analysis of similar positions. Actual base pay could vary and may be above or below the listed range based on factors including but not limited to performance, proficiency and demonstration of competencies required for the role. The base pay is just one component of Pregis’ total compensation package. The base pay range for this role is estimated to be $195,000 to $234,000, depending on experience and skills.
Compensation details listed in US job postings reflect base salary only and do not include benefits. Learn more about Benefits at Pregis.
#corp1
Diversity and Inclusion
We believe in diversity of thought and bringing together other traits and characteristics that make an individual bring a unique experience to Pregis. We strive to foster an inclusive environment where behaviors and social norms ensure people are welcome.
Affirmative Action/EEO Statement/Inclusion
We offer equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type based on race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. We support inclusion and believe in welcoming a collective sum of individual differences, thoughts, traits, and characteristics to represent Pregis’ culture and achievements.
Visit us at www.pregis.com for more information about Pregis LLC.
See All 168+ Development Director Jobs in Illinois
Find roles in Illinois that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Development Director JobsDevelopment Director Jobs by City in Illinois
Where Illinois roles are concentrated, by current openings.
Development Director Job Market in Illinois
A snapshot from current Illinois openings, updated as new roles post.
Who's Hiring



Top Industries Hiring
- Education
- Technology & Software
- Marketing & Advertising
- Construction & Real Estate
- Manufacturing
What Illinois Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in development director jobs across Illinois.
- Bachelor's degree in nonprofit management, communications, or a related field required
- Five or more years of progressively responsible fundraising or development experience
- Demonstrated success managing donor portfolios and meeting annual fund targets
- Proficiency with donor management software such as Raiser's Edge or Salesforce Nonprofit
- Experience planning and executing major gifts, planned giving, or capital campaigns
- Strong written and verbal communication skills for donor cultivation and board engagement
Development Director Jobs in Illinois: Frequently Asked Questions
How do you become a development director in Illinois?
Most development director roles in Illinois require a bachelor's degree in nonprofit management, communications, business, or a related field, with a master's degree increasingly preferred at larger institutions. Illinois does not require a state-issued license for this role, but the Certified Fund Raising Executive credential, administered by CFRE International, is widely recognized by Illinois employers as the professional standard. Candidates typically build the required years of major gifts or campaign management experience at Illinois nonprofits, universities, or healthcare systems before advancing to director level.
Which companies hire development directors in Illinois?
Employers hiring development directors in Illinois right now include AbbVie, NielsenIQ, and IQVIA, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of September 2026. Illinois's dense concentration of large nonprofits, research universities, and health systems in the Chicago metro makes it one of the more active states for development leadership hiring year-round.
Which Illinois cities have the most development director jobs?
Chicago, North Chicago, and Aurora have the most development director openings in Illinois. Chicago drives the overwhelming share of listings because it is home to the state's largest nonprofits, major hospital networks, and research universities, while smaller cities like Springfield and Evanston generate steady demand through state-affiliated institutions, community foundations, and liberal arts colleges anchored there.
Are there remote development director jobs in Illinois?
Yes, though they are less common than in purely analytical fields because development directors typically need to be present for donor meetings, board events, and internal leadership work. About 74% of development director openings tied to Illinois are remote or hybrid as of September 2026, with the remote-eligible share mostly concentrated in planned giving, grant writing leadership, and roles at smaller foundations that operate without a central office.
How can I get hired as a development director in Illinois with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path is a development associate or annual fund coordinator role at a mid-size Illinois nonprofit or university, which provides the donor stewardship and solicitation experience hiring managers look for. Large Illinois institutions such as Advocate Health Care, the University of Illinois system, and the Chicago Public Library Foundation regularly hire entry-level development staff who move into leadership over time. Pursuing the CFRE credential while in an associate role signals seriousness and accelerates promotion consideration.
Where can I find and apply to development director jobs in Illinois?
You can find and apply to development director jobs in Illinois on Migrate Mate, which lists current Illinois openings updated regularly. Search the listings, find roles that match your background and preferred location, and apply directly to the employers posting them.
See All 168+ Development Director Jobs in Illinois
Find roles in Illinois that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
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