Director of Prospect Strategy & Research

Harvard University • Boston, MA

5d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Director of Prospect Strategy & Research provides leadership for the institution’s prospect strategy and research function in support of fundraising priorities and long-term pipeline development. Building upon a strong foundation of prospect research expertise and fundraising support, the Director will help advance the organization’s prospect strategy capabilities by strengthening the integration of research, analytics, technology, relationship intelligence, and operational best practices. The Director will lead efforts to develop scalable approaches to prospect identification, qualification, ratings, and prospect prioritization across a large and diverse alumni population. The role is responsible for ensuring that research resources are focused on the highest-value opportunities while leveraging technology, data, and process improvements to expand prospect coverage and support fundraising success. Reporting to senior advancement leadership, the Director will oversee staff, establish operational priorities and service models, foster professional development, and partner closely with fundraising leadership, analytics, and advancement operations teams.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• 10+ years of progressively responsible experience in prospect research, prospect development, fundraising strategy, advancement operations, or a related field required.
• Demonstrated experience leading and developing staff.
• Strong understanding of major gift fundraising, prospect management, and prospect development principles.
• Experience working with prospect research tools, screening resources, and constituent data.
• Experience developing operational processes, metrics, and service delivery models.
• Excellent analytical, organizational, and communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to build relationships and collaborate across teams.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in higher education advancement.
• Experience supporting campaign planning and fundraising strategy initiatives.
• Experience integrating analytics, prospect scoring, or predictive models into prospect strategy efforts.
• Familiarity with relationship intelligence and network analysis methodologies.
• Experience implementing technology solutions, workflow enhancements, automation initiatives, or AI-enabled tools.
• Experience leading organizational change or process improvement efforts.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership for prospect identification, qualification, ratings, screenings, and prospect prioritization efforts.
• Develop scalable approaches to prospect identification and prioritization that leverage research, analytics, constituent engagement data, screenings, and emerging technologies.
• Partner with fundraising leadership to support portfolio strategy, pipeline development, and fundraising planning.
• Support proactive prospecting efforts focused on strategic industries, alumni segments, affinity groups, and emerging opportunities.
• Establish frameworks that help ensure research resources are focused on the prospects and opportunities where strategic analysis adds the greatest value.
• Collaborate with advancement partners to identify opportunities to broaden prospect coverage and strengthen fundraising pipelines.
• Oversee prospect research, ratings, screenings, and constituent intelligence activities.
• Support the continued development of relationship intelligence and network-based approaches to prospect strategy.
• Ensure research products are relevant, actionable, and aligned with fundraising priorities.
• Maintain quality standards and consistency across ratings, screenings, prospect identification, and research practices.
• Evaluate and refine methodologies used to assess prospect capacity, engagement, and philanthropic potential.
• Provide leadership for workflows, service models, and operational processes that support prospect strategy and research activities.
• Develop metrics, dashboards, and reporting that provide visibility into team activities, outcomes, and organizational impact.
• Evaluate opportunities to leverage automation, AI-enabled tools, screening resources, and other technologies to improve efficiency and expand prospect coverage.
• Partner with analytics and advancement operations teams to support data-informed decision making and prospect prioritization efforts.
• Identify opportunities to streamline processes, reduce administrative burden, and improve the deployment of research resources.
• Recruit, manage, coach, and develop prospect strategy and research staff.
• Establish clear expectations, goals, and professional development opportunities.
• Support the documentation of methodologies, workflows, and best practices.
• Foster consistency in ratings, screenings, prospect identification, and research practices.
• Create an environment that encourages collaboration, continuous learning, innovation, and professional growth.
• Build trust and collaboration by being present on-site and engaging directly with colleagues and various constituents.
• This role is responsible for other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Generous paid time off including parental leave
• Medical, dental, and vision health insurance coverage starting on day one
• Retirement plans with university contributions
• Wellbeing and mental health resources
• Support for families and caregivers
• Professional development opportunities including tuition assistance and reimbursement
• Commuter benefits, discounts and campus perks

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director