Senior Director of Prospect Development
8692BR
University Advancement
Development
Job Summary
The Sr. Director of Prospect Development leads a team of prospect research and management professionals, and collaborates closely with senior staff and frontline fundraisers to help steer and achieve University-wide fundraising goals. This person is responsible for setting the vision, goals and strategies for building a robust donor pipeline while optimizing portfolio assignments and providing research in order to position fundraisers and RIT Advancement as a whole for growth and success. Further, this role provides vision and leadership to Prospect Development functions by designing, implementing, and overseeing strategies for gathering, analyzing, and presenting prospect intelligence to drive data-informed fundraising. The Senior Director leads the team’s efforts to provide strategic information throughout the fundraising cycle, providing research support to ensure fundraisers have the prospect intelligence needed to advance solicitation strategy. The ideal candidate for this role possesses exceptional interpersonal skills, project management acumen, and a strategic mindset to navigate complex organizational dynamics effectively.
Job Responsibilities
Major Responsibilities
- Set the vision, goals, and strategies to optimize portfolio assignments, ensure a steady flow of new prospects into fundraisers’ portfolios, review progress moving all assignments in portfolios through the donor cycle, provide additional research throughout the donor cycle when requested, and maximize portfolio effectiveness
- Coordinate all prospect research – including establishing priorities and managing research workflow to ensure deadlines are successfully met and align with fundraising goals
- Manage production of impactful research deliverables for fundraisers and leadership, including critical briefing materials for dean, vice president, and president meetings
- Leverage prospecting methodologies and utilize data sources internal and external to RIT to develop prospect lists for specific fundraising initiatives and priorities
- Manage Prospect Development budget and regularly evaluate the effectiveness of paid resources while also identifying new research tools and technologies
- Drive external wealth screenings and predictive modeling for lead identification and collaborate with the Advancement Systems, Data, and Analytics team to grow and refine internal model and analysis to aid in refined prospecting. Create guidelines to translate wealth indicators into prospect ratings and gift estimates
- Lead the Prospect Development team, including hiring, training and managing staff
- Ensure Prospect Development's work with data adheres to all legal requirements and standards
Required Qualifications
Experience:
- Minimum seven years of experience in fundraising, prospect research, or related fields
- Minimum two years of experience managing and coaching a team
???????Skills:- Fluency in industry-accepted best practices in fundraising, prospect identification, moves management, donor research methodologies, wealth analysis, and prospect management
- Ability to effectively communicate and generate buy-in at all organizational levels
- Sense of curiosity, ingenuity, and perseverance
- Ability to handle multiple tasks and competing priorities
- Excellent writing and verbal communication skills
- Strong analytical, organizational and interpersonal skills
- Strong sense of ethics, sound judgement, and strict adherence to confidentiality policies
Preferred Qualifications
Skills:
- Proficient with Customer Relationship Management databases
- Knowledge of market trends in research resources, such as electronic wealth-screening services and methodologies, news databases, and business directories
Required Minimum Education Level
Bachelors or Equivalent Experience
Work Location
Hybrid — Remote/On-campus
Wage Band
121A
FLSA Category
Exempt
Employment Category
Fulltime
Required Application Documents
Cover Letter, Curriculum Vitae or Resume, List of References
What do we believe at RIT?
Rochester Institute of Technology is a diverse and collaborative community of engaged, socially conscious, and intellectually curious minds. Through creativity and innovation, and an intentional blending of technology, the arts and design, we provide exceptional individuals with a wide range of academic opportunities, including a leading research program and an internationally recognized education for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. We are dedicated to building a diverse community, one where employees feel a sense of belonging, and are valued for their contributions and the perspectives they bring.
As a member of the RIT community, you'll receive a comprehensive employee benefits package that offers multiple options and access to additional employment advantages. You can tailor your benefit elections to meet your needs (affordable medical/dental/vision benefits; paid vacation/sick time/retirement saving plan with exceptional employer match; and tuition assistance for you and your family, to name a few).
Department/College Description
At Rochester Institute of Technology, our mission is to shape the future and improve the world through creativity and innovation. As an engaged, intellectually curious, diverse and socially conscious community, we leverage the power of technology, the arts, and design for the greater good. In the Division of University Advancement at RIT, we are dedicated to advancing this mission by fostering deep and meaningful connections with alumni, parents, friends, and organizations with the goal of increasing the resources available to the university through greater volunteer engagement and increased philanthropic support. As Advancement professionals, we seek support from a variety of investors to ensure a life-transforming RIT education is accessible to the talented students who seek to join us.
RIT’s Division of University Advancement (UADV) is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion. We believe the power of diversity enriches all of us by exposing us to a range of ways to understand and engage with each other, our constituents and our broader communities. We are dedicated to developing and implementing best practices to promote even greater diversity through our employee retention and hiring, accessibility, marketing materials, constituent engagement and in pursuit of our philanthropic goals.
How To Apply
In order to be considered for this position, you must apply for it at: http://careers.rit.edu/staff. Click the link for search openings and in the keyword search field, enter the title of the position or the BR number.
Additional Details
In compliance with NYS's Pay Transparency Act, the salary range for this position is listed above. Rochester Institute of Technology considers factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, as well as, market and organizational considerations when extending an offer. The hiring process for this position may require a criminal background check and/or motor vehicle records check. Any verbal or written offer made is contingent on satisfactory results, as determined by Human Resources. RIT does not discriminate. RIT promotes and values diversity, pluralism and inclusion in the work place. RIT provides equal opportunity to all qualified individuals and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, age, marital status, sex, gender, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, veteran status or disability in its hiring, admissions, educational programs and activities. RIT provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities under the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the New York Human Rights Law, or similar applicable law. If you need reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please contact the Human Resources office at 585-475-2424 or email your request to hr@rit.edu. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.
Hourly/Salary Minimum
68800
Hourly/Salary Maximum
115200