Manager, Prospect Management & Donor Operations

New England Aquarium•Boston, MA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Manager, Prospect Management & Donor Operations supports the New England Aquarium's fundraising efforts by ensuring data integrity and providing strategic insights. This manager-level role combines project management, donor pipeline management, and CRM data management, serving as a central resource for frontline fundraisers and development leadership. This position oversees the systems, processes, and analysis that support donor identification, portfolio management, forecasting, and reporting, while also providing high-quality research, briefing materials, proposal development and stewardship reporting, and project management support that enable effective cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of the Aquarium's major and principal-gift level donors. This is a full-time regular position offering a comprehensive benefits package. The schedule will be Monday-Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm with the option for a hybrid schedule, working some days on-site and some days remotely. Remote days are only available for residents of MA, RI, NH, ME, NY and VT.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience.
Minimum 4+ years of experience in prospect research, development operations, donor strategy, or nonprofit fundraising.
Proven experience serving as a subject-matter resource on donor strategy, prospect research, and development operations, and managing donor data in a CRM environment.
Strong analytical, organizational, and project management skills.
Capacity to create and maintain documentation, training materials, and best practices to support consistent team performance.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
High level of discretion and attention to detail when handling confidential donor information.
Proficiency with Excel, Word, and PowerPoint; experience with Raiser's Edge or comparable CRM required.
Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends as needed.
Willingness to participate in professional development related to prospect research, development operations, and fundraising analytics.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting major or principal gift fundraising.
Experience producing dashboards, forecasts, and KPI reporting.
Familiarity with nonprofit accounting or gift reconciliation processes.
Passion for ocean conservation and alignment with the New England Aquarium's mission.

Responsibilities

Conduct proactive and responsive prospect research on individual donors, corporate partners, and foundations to support major, principal, and mid-level gift fundraising.
Prepare clear, actionable prospect profiles, donor briefs, and research summaries for frontline fundraisers, senior staff, and volunteer leadership.
Support identification, qualification, and assignment of new prospects through analysis of donor, member, event attendee, and external lists.
Establish and maintain research methodologies, data standards, and documentation to ensure consistency and quality.
Partner with development leadership and frontline fundraisers to manage prospect portfolios and support strategic movement through the fundraising cycle.
Facilitate regular prospect review processes, tracking donor progress, next steps, and portfolio balance.
Work with the Director, Donor Strategy and AVP to provide counsel to fundraisers on donor readiness, capacity, inclination, and engagement strategy based on research and analysis.
Conduct pipeline analysis to identify trends, gaps, and opportunities across donor segments.
Maintain accuracy, consistency, and integrity of donor and prospect records in Raiser's Edge NXT and related systems. This includes entering interactions and meeting notes, and other data entry needs into the database for senior Development team members.
Lead quality control efforts for prospect, proposal, and activity tracking, ensuring reliable data for decision-making and reporting.
Coordinate with Development Operations and Finance to support accurate gift tracking, reconciliation, forecasting, and reporting.
Establish and refine protocols for recordkeeping, reporting, and system usage across the Development team.
Support audit preparation and documentation related to development data and reporting.
Maintain reports, dashboards, and queries that track fundraising progress, proposal pipelines, portfolio performance, and key performance indicators (KPIs).
Produce regular financial and fundraising reports for development leadership, senior management, and board committees as needed.
Support forecasting and goal tracking for annual, campaign, and special fundraising initiatives.
Project-manage development initiatives such as donor reports, proposal workflows, and data clean-up efforts, establishing timelines, responsibilities, and accountability.
As requested by senior Development team members, support preparation of donor meeting and board briefing materials, ensuring accuracy and clarity.
Pull lists, data, and reports to support donor communications, events, mailings, and engagement activities.
Provide occasional backup support across the Development team, including limited event or donor visit support as needed.
For select senior Development team members, prepare and submit expense reports.