Assistant Director of Prospect Research and Management

ABOUT SIMMONS

Located in Boston’s historic Fenway area, Simmons University has a strong tradition of empowering women and challenging traditional gender roles. Simmons was founded for equality 125 years ago as one of the first higher education institutions dedicated to helping women become leaders. Today, our university continues to grow and evolve and now offers Boston’s only women’s undergraduate program and graduate programs open to all.

You’re joining our community at an especially exciting time as we continue to innovate for the future. Simmons recently launched a six-school academic structure that leverages our expert faculty and longstanding expertise in professions that make our communities stronger. In addition, we continue to highlight our high-value education proposition that is delivering greater ROI to students and putting them on the fast track to career growth and success.

You’ll find that people who work here truly believe in our mission of preparing students to become social justice-oriented leaders who excel in their professions and their communities. This commitment and pride make for a dynamic workplace. As a university that values diversity, equity, and inclusion, Simmons encourages applications from all under-represented groups. Simmons is committed to creating, developing, promoting, and enhancing inclusive hiring practices–at all levels, for all positions–ensuring diverse talent pools and the delivery of a consistent positive candidate experience.

Simmons is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to continuing to develop a more diverse faculty, staff, student body, and curriculum.

Simmons University Advancement is seeking an analytical, organized, and collaborative individual to serve as Assistant Director of Prospect Research and Management. As a key member of the Advancement team, the Assistant Director conducts prospect research and analysis and serves as the operational coordinator for the University’s prospect management program. Reporting to the Senior Director of Advancement Services, the Assistant Director manages prospect research, portfolio administration, pipeline tracking, research intake, data, reporting, and prospect management workflows.

Working closely with Development and fundraisers, the position ensures research is actionable, pipelines are actively managed, and decisions translate into effective follow-up. Under the direction of the Senior Director, the Assistant Director analyzes prospect capacity, affinity, relationships, and engagement to identify opportunities and inform qualification, cultivation, and solicitation strategies across the prospect lifecycle. This role is ideal for a prospect development professional who has established foundational skills in researching, identifying, evaluating, and tracking philanthropic prospects.

The Assistant Director will contribute to a collaborative prospect development team working to strengthen the University’s major and principal gifts pipeline.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

• Conduct proactive and responsive prospect research using a variety of tools and sources.
• Review, synthesize, and document biographical, professional, financial, philanthropic, relationship, engagement, and donor information to assess capacity and inclination.
• Prepare clear, concise, actionable prospect profiles, event briefings, research summaries, and other research products for fundraisers and University leadership.
• Conduct capacity assessments and develop research-informed recommendations on giving capacities and ask amounts.
• Conduct affinity analysis and relationship…