Assistant Director, Prospect Research and Management

Department: Alumni Relations & Development

Salary/Grade: EXS/6

Target hiring range for this position will be between $60,000-$64,000 per year. Offered salary will be determined by the applicant's education, experience, knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data.

The Prospect Research and Management (PRM) team works with frontline fundraisers to build Northwestern University's pool of potential donors. The Assistant Director manages relationships with a portfolio of fundraising and engagement teams in Alumni Relations and Development (ARD), and/or in Northwestern University's professional schools. This position conducts wealth and biographical research, provides actionable data on prospects, acts as project manager on proactive prospecting efforts, and partners with gift officers to inform and support strategic outreach and portfolio management decisions.

While past experience in a fundraising environment is an asset, it is not essential. Rather, we are looking for candidates who are energized by working with large amounts of data, have a natural curiosity and a love of research, are excited by the idea of exposure to a varied array of assignments, and are enthusiastic about acquiring a skill set that will contribute to their professional growth within the organization.

The PRM team will appeal to candidates who value higher education institutions and want to contribute to cause-based philanthropy.

Please note:

This role is eligible for a hybrid work arrangement, up to two days remote and three onsite.

• Support assigned fundraising teams by partnering with gift officers to manage and optimize their portfolios—leading portfolio reviews and strategy meetings, advising on prospect lifecycle, portfolio strength, metrics, and identifying opportunities and gaps while ensuring consistent and ethical data handling.
• Contribute to data-quality and data-analysis projects that strengthen the overall integrity of prospect data and provide summaries and trends to support forecasting, pipeline assessment, and strategic decision-making.
• Maintain expertise on alumni and constituents of the schools and programs represented by client teams, keeping abreast of relevant NU activities and initiatives, as well as economic trends affecting these individuals.
• Develop working expertise on prospect data within the department's customer relationship management database; serve as a knowledgeable partner to assign fundraising teams on data entry and reporting.

• Conduct proactive and reactive prospect research by gathering, analyzing, and synthesizing financial, biographical, philanthropic, and relational information—using tools such as wealth screenings, research databases, data-mining platforms, news and financial feeds, and relationship-mapping resources—to assess capacity, affinity, engagement potential, compliance, and reputational risk.
• Produce clear, accurate research deliverables—including profiles, capacity estimates, and analytical summaries—to support prospect identification, qualification, and strategic fundraising decisions.

• Contribute to the discussions on refinement of prospect management policies, business processes, and overall approaches to prospect development at ARD.
• Collaborate with colleagues across ARD—including Reporting & Analytics, User Services, Gift and Record Services, and fundraising and engagement teams—to support shared goals and improve prospect development practices.
• Participate in testing and review of reports, system functionality, and tools used throughout ARD.

• Onboard and support new fundraising officers and support staff by providing training and guidance on PRM products, policies, processes, research tools, and relevant data-management systems.

• Maintain awareness of trends and technologies used in prospect development, fundraising, and the broader development profession and pursue ongoing professional development through conferences, trainings, and engagement with peer institutions and…