Director, Prospect Development

To display this page you need a browser with JavaScript support.

Competition Number: J0125-0083

Position Title: Director, Prospect Development

Position Number (Final): 00127798

Employee Group: Managerial & Professional

Job Category: Executive

Department or Area: ADV Research

Location: Kingston, Ontario, Canada (Remote)

Salary: $100,000.00 - $137,000.00/Year

Grade: 11 Review Salary Information Here

Hours per Week: 35

Job Type: Permanent (Continuing)

Shift: 7 Monday - Friday

Number Of Positions: 1

Share Facebook Twitter Email LinkedIn

COVID 19 On-Campus Requirements

Prior to May 1, 2022, the University required all students, faculty, staff, and visitors (including contractors) to declare their COVID-19 vaccination status and provide proof that they were fully vaccinated or had an approved accommodation to engage in in-person University activities. These requirements were suspended effective May 1, 2022, but the University may reinstate them at any point.

About Queen's University

Queen’s University is the Canadian research intensive university with a transformative student learning experience. Here the employment experience is as diverse as it is interesting. We have opportunities in multiple areas of globally recognized research, faculty administration, engineering & construction, athletics & recreation, power generation, corporate shared services, and many more.

We are committed to employment equity and diversity in the workplace and welcome applications from individuals from equity seeking groups such as women, racialized/visible minorities, Indigenous/Aboriginal peoples, persons with a disability, persons who identify in the LGBTQ+ community and others who reflect the diversity of Canadian society.

Come work with us!

Job Summary

Reporting to the Associate Vice-Principal (Development) (AVP (Dev)), the Director, Prospect Development is responsible for overseeing university-wide prospect development which includes both prospect management and prospect research, with the aim of maximizing long-term fundraising support from diverse individual, corporate and foundation donors. The incumbent provides strategic leadership, support and direction to fundraisers, senior development leaders and other advancement staff on the implementation and use of the Prospect Management Framework and Tracking System (PMFTS) with a specific focus on tracking progress on goals, prospect/proposal integrity, and pipeline and prospect analysis and prospect strategy. Working both independently and collaboratively, the Director, drives portfolio performance by introducing and applying best practices in business analytics, modelling, and reporting. The incumbent is also responsible for supporting campaign planning efforts, by assessing the feasibility of philanthropic support through careful analysis of portfolios and pipelines, modelling around campaign potential, and providing analysis around revenue projections.

Job Description

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Designs, implements, and oversees the liaison model to connect prospect development staff with specific fundraising teams, ensuring alignment of strategies and priorities.
• Together with the AVP and Executive Leads in Development, provides strategic oversight on the fundraising pipeline which includes regular reviews with all teams across the institutional advancement enterprise with the aim of providing regular accountability both to individuals and to senior leadership around pipeline movement, trends, and barriers. Provides detailed analysis and interpretation on demographic, giving and geographical proximity breakdowns; major gift prospects per capita and application of the major gift model to assist in the prioritization and identification of Queen’s constituents.
• Leads initiatives to ensure data integrity, develops clear policies for data entry, and provides training for fundraising staff to optimize their use of prospect management tools.
• Provides regular and deep analysis of trends across teams and portfolios, monitoring, and tracking performance over time, advancing recommendations around coaching and training opportunities to the AVP (DEV) and the Advancement Leadership Team (ALT); supports the development of fundraising reports for senior university officials.
• Analyzes data for prospect and donor pools and provides prospect tracking reports. Builds reporting and analytical capacity that informs evidence-based decisions including developing predictive models; completing multi-regression analysis; interpreting prospect and donor information; determining methodology and resource requirements necessary to provide accurate and timely delivery of information to end users to support planning, strategizing, and decision making. Synthesizes large volumes of data from various sources into useful and practical reports and presents findings to diverse audiences.
• Working together with the Associate Director, Research, provides guidance around proactive research that could maximize the success of fundraising activities including the overall prospect pool, top prospect group, and individual, corporate and foundation prospects.
• Facilitates regular meetings between Prospect Development staff and fundraisers for portfolio reviews, strategy discussions, and feedback loops.
• Assists in developing and implementing cultivation and solicitation strategies.
  
  

Develops, implements, and manages policies, procedures and guidelines on the use and support of the Prospect Management Framework to ensure a more donor-centered approach to cultivation and solicitation practices. Advises the AVP (DEV) on policies and escalates issues as required.

• In collaboration with the AVP (DEV), participates in high-level strategic initiatives in both an advisory and project-based role. Specific initiatives include providing recommendations around constituent data, analytics, prospect clearance/management, and pipeline management/analysis.
• Working closely with the Director, Donor Experience, the AVP (DEV) and the Associate Director of Research, conducts due-diligence assessment relating to gift acceptance at the board level. Provides an assessment of the risk and recommendations to the AVP (DEV) around gift acceptance.
• Together with the AVP (DEV), conducts campaign feasibility and valuation analysis for Development Leadership and supports report preparation for external advisory boards on campaign potential and year over year revenue projections.
• Works collaboratively on high-level interdepartmental projects to develop strategies for leveraging constituent data and segmentation insights for fundraising purposes.
• Supports the work of the AVP (DEV) with respect to proposal pipeline and portfolio management; prospect clearance system; maintaining top prospect lists; forecasting and goal setting.
• Takes a lead on the prospect management function for Principal Gifts.
• Flags to AVP (DEV) trends relating to metrics, pipeline, portfolio, and performance; as well as making recommendations to assist in decision-making. Continuously measures and analyzes data and situations quickly to comprehend, capture, illustrate, and communicate identified issues and recommends innovative leading-edge solutions that affect the decision-making process. Conducts periodic competitive audits and ongoing usability tests to gauge fundraising effectiveness.
• Oversees the Prospect Research and Prospect Management functions for Advancement
• Works as a strategic partner in visioning the necessary tools, creating new tools, and designing new systems that manage and monitor progress. Continues to advance technical and business skill competency in relevant areas to maximize value by keeping current on evolving system and business process capabilities, and how they may enhance PMFTS to grow the university’s overall pipeline. Audits best practices among peer institutions, adopting and/or modifying practices as warranted. Through ongoing analysis, effectively manages risk, anticipates challenges, investigates issues, and makes recommendations that may have cross functional impact. Ensures process and program changes meet change management and security specifications.
• Develops clear and measurable key performance indicators (KPIs) and goals for Prospect Development engagement strategies, in collaboration with campus partners/clients. Meets regularly with Development staff and leaders to review prospect strategy and proposals, discusses performance reports, and provides detailed pool of analysis and interpretation of prospect and donor information.
• Plans, prioritizes, and manages the work of employees, providing strategic and tactical advice, guidance, and coaching. Identifies the need for staff resources, participates on staffing committees, and makes effective recommendations regarding employee selection.
• Manages performance by establishing performance standards, reviewing, and evaluating performance on an ongoing basis, and conducting talent reviews and formal annual performance reviews.
• Assesses staff training and development needs and ensures that employees receive training required to improve and sustain successful performance.
• Investigates, addresses, and resolves employee/labour relations issues, including making decisions regarding disciplinary and discharge matters.
• Undertakes other duties as assigned and in support of the unit and/or department.
  
  

Required Background

• University degree.
• Minimum seven years of progressive experience overseeing a prospect management function or unit within a large, complex, multi-constituent organization, preferably in a university setting. Significant experience working as part of institutional fundraising campaigns.
• Some background in frontline fundraising or principal gifts strategy.
• Clear understanding of and strict adherence to ethical fundraising standards and supporting legislation.
• Expertise in advanced online prospecting databases and experience utilizing standard statistical practices and tools. Deep knowledge of best-in-class analytics tools, with a strong ability to forecast and draw insights to drive strategy and understand best practices in reporting metrics.
• Demonstrated understanding of donor and research techniques, financial statements, and philanthropy.
• Competency in interpreting, correlating, and communicating biographical, corporate, and foundation information in relationship to organizational needs.
• Proven track record in strategy development and implementation; project management; program analysis; revenue forecasting; problem recognition, avoidance, and resolution skills; and meeting objectives.
• Experience researching and writing organizational policies, procedures, or planning documents.
• Strong understanding of user and design-centered methodologies driven by qualitative/quantitative data. Ability to work with technical teams to overcome user-experience challenges.
• Proven leadership and relationship building experience, to work effectively with diverse groups of people, projects, and applications to identify and bring together multiple sources in a clear, consistent, valid, and understandable format.
• Comprehensive understanding of the administrative, academic and governance structures of a university environment and the challenges faced by post-secondary institutions.
• Solid understanding of the external environment for universities within the Province, Canada, and trends outside the nation.
• Satisfactory Criminal Record and Judicial Matters Check required.
• Consideration will be given to an equivalent combination of education and experience.
  
  

Special Skills

• Embodies Advancement’s core values of integrity, inclusivity, accountability, collaboration, and service.
• Proven ability to successfully partner, collaborate and build consensus among diverse internal and external constituents and senior leadership across Queen’s to develop processes, systems and tools that enhance performance of the fundraising operation and align with the overall development strategy from conception to implementation.
• Excellent business insight, political and cultural awareness, and influencing skills, with the ability to strategically place fundraising objectives in a larger organizational context.
• An innovative and strategic thinker able to draw on substantial experience to provide clear, focused leadership and advice to achieve organizational priorities.
• Strong analytical, research skills and the ability to strategically use information gleaned through market research to improve and integrate a major and principal gifts fundraising operation.
• Ability to research, develop and write innovative and enhanced strategies and policies. Proven ability to identify operational and system improvements necessary to deliver required services. Leads the innovation charge to achieve greater results by staying abreast of best practices, including the latest technologies and trends, assess innovation for institutional benefits and impact.
• Strict attention to detail and exceptional accuracy. Proven ability to make difficult and complex decisions with good judgment and with acute sensitivity for the implications of errors for the University and the Office of Advancement with respect to reputation and relationship building.
• Strong organizational, problem solving and project management skills. Ability to initiate and coordinate multiple, simultaneous cross-functional projects, while consistently delivering high-quality actionable solutions according to required timelines.
  
  

Decision-making

• In conjunction with the AVP (DEV), determines content of annual and long-term plans and strategies based on sound fundraising principles and in the best interest of the university. Makes decision around how to operationalize the AVP’s vision effectively and efficiently as it relates to the development operation. Evaluates and oversees plans to ensure established fundraising targets are met and philanthropic revenue to the university is maximized.
• Sets the overall strategy, priorities, and goals for the prospect management data analytics program as it relates to university prospects and donors.
• Sets quantitative and quality control targets as they relate to customer service and reporting functions.
• Determines and implements strategies for improving the quality and complexity of prospect and donor information maintained on the Advance database.
• Sets goals and develops strategies to identify and qualify potential major and principal gift donors.
• Makes recommendations to the AVP (DEV) and others on issues of campaign readiness, prospect pool potential, data integrity and interdepartmental data initiatives.
• Develops, tracks and reports on useful performance indicators that will have an impact on planning and productivity across Advancement.
• After prudent analysis, determines content of reports, proposals, correspondence, and research briefs. Directs the flow and prioritization of incoming requests, escalating as needed.
• Prioritizes multiple projects based on the assessment of the relative importance and competing demands.
• Determines necessary strategies to measure and benchmark the effectiveness of the development operation effort. Makes recommendations and implements changes.
• Assesses issues/priorities and provides expert guidance to senior administrators including the Vice-Principal, AVPs, Deans and other members of ALT on strategic planning and operational issues.
• Determines when it is appropriate and/or advantageous to involve the AVP and ALT in new initiatives or on issues that arise during the implementation of activities.
• Recognizes when to call on other staff within Advancement to take advantage of their expertise.
• Makes budget and staffing decisions related to the Prospect Development.
• Evaluates job candidates and make effective recommendations on suitable hires.
• Makes decisions and/or effective recommendations regarding transfers and promotions.
• Evaluates employee performance and decides on appropriate training or coaching to address lack of proficiency in carrying out responsibilities, or remedial action for staff disciplinary situations.
• Assesses investigation outcome of grievances and makes effective recommendations on appropriate course of action or next steps on grievances.
• Makes effective recommendations on level of discipline up to discharge and probationary termination.
  
  

Employment Equity and Accessibility Statement

The University invites applications from all qualified individuals. Queen’s is committed to employment equity and diversity in the workplace and welcomes applications from women, visible minorities, Aboriginal Peoples, persons with disabilities, and persons of any sexual orientation or gender identity. In accordance with Canadian Immigration requirements, priority will be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents.

The University provides support in its recruitment processes to all applicants who require accommodation due to a protected ground under the Ontario Human Rights Code, including those with disabilities. Candidates requiring accommodation during the recruitment process are asked to contact Human Resources at [email protected].

Are you interested in this job?