Senior Associate Director, Prospect Research

Department

Booth Advancement: Prospect Management

About the Department

The University of Chicago Booth School of Business is the second-oldest business school in the U.S. and second to none when it comes to influencing business education and business practices. Since 1898, the school has produced ideas and leaders that shape the world of business. Their rigorous, discipline-based approach to business education transforms students into confident, effective, respected business leaders prepared to face the toughest challenges.
Chicago Booth has the finest set of facilities of any business school in the world. Each of the four campuses (two in Chicago, one in London, and one in Hong Kong) reflects the architectural traditions of its environs while offering a state-of-the-art learning environment.
Chicago Booth is proud to claim:
-an unmatched faculty.
-degree and open enrollment programs offered on three continents.
-a global body of nearly 56,000 accomplished alumni.
-strong and growing corporate relationships that provide a wealth of lifelong career opportunities.
As part of the world-renowned University of Chicago, Chicago Booth shares the University's core values that shape the distinctive intellectual culture. At Booth, they constantly question and test ideas, and seek proof. This extraordinarily effective approach to business leads to new ideas and innovative solutions. Seven of the Booth faculty members have won Nobel Prizes for these ideas - the first business school to achieve this accomplishment. For more information about the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, please visit: http://www.chicagobooth.edu/.

Job Summary

The Senior Associate Director, Prospect Research, manages a prospect research team responsible for increasing the size and quality of the prospect pool, with an emphasis placed on high-level Major ($100K-$4.9M) and Principal ($5M+) Gift prospects. They work in close partnership with the Director, Prospect Development and Campaign Management to guide overall prospect research strategies. The Senior Associate Director manages and conducts prospect research on individual prospects and donors, including wealth-related insights produced for the Dean, Deputy Deans, and other senior leaders, and capacity ratings and other materials to support frontline development officers' cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship efforts. They maintain best practice methodologies for research techniques and process documentation.
This position is not eligible for employer-sponsored employment authorization.

Responsibilities

• Provides executive leadership and strategic direction to the Prospect Research team, fostering a high-performance culture through the oversight of complex program and process initiatives.
• Directs, develops, and empowers two Associate Directors, Prospect Research, leveraging talent management strategies in collaboration with the Director, Prospect Development and Campaign Management to align team objectives with institutional goals.
• Serves as a collaborative thought partner to frontline fundraisers, alumni engagement staff, advancement operations, and senior staff, architecting and executing high-level prospect research strategies and ensuring seamless integration across advancement functions.
• Oversees and optimizes the execution of enterprise-level prospect identification, capacity assessment, and wealth screening initiatives, setting and monitoring ambitious team goals to accelerate long-term pipeline growth.
• Guides the delivery of strategic wealth and capacity analysis within executive briefing materials for the Dean, Deputy Deans, and senior institutional leaders, ensuring actionable intelligence for advancement initiatives and high-stakes engagements.
• Synthesizes complex data from a range of electronic and print resources to produce information for prospect profiles, evaluating backgrounds, careers, financial capacity, philanthropic priorities, and institutional relationships to inform top-level decision-making.
• Spearheads innovative prospecting initiatives by identifying new leadership gifts, major gifts, and principal gifts prospects, contributing to the development of pipelines.
• Continuously monitors and assesses emerging industry trends, best practices, and regulatory changes, serving as a subject matter expert and champion for professional advancement within the team to drive towards continuous learning.
• Demonstrates expertise in analyzing sophisticated financial and legal documents and maintains advanced proficiency with financial services terminology to enhance analytical rigor and insight.
• Liaise with UChicago Advancement counterparts on prospect research-related projects.
• Manages the process for ensuring that prospect research data is maintained in the database of records.
• Has a deep understanding of prospect research, prospect management, strategic planning and market research on donors prospects.
• Provides guidance to research analysts, train staff members on fundraising, report writing, and research.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 5-7 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Certifications:

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Preferred Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor's degree.

Experience:

• Industry experience in prospect research.
• Management experience.
• Background in an institution of higher education.

Technical Skills or Knowledge:

• Familiar with prospect research tools and applications such as iWave, LexisNexis, Aidentified, Pitchbook, etc.
• Proficiency with the Windows environment and standard MS Office suite.

Preferred Competencies

• Motivate, lead, set objectives for, and manage the performance of a team.
• Work independently with little supervision; possess a self-motivated disposition; identify opportunities for improvement and recommend effective changes, all while achieving key objectives resulting in desired outcomes.
• Work on multiple projects simultaneously, set priorities, and meet short deadlines.
• Superior verbal and written communication skills and the demonstrated ability to articulate complex ideas clearly, accurately, and concisely.
• Knowledge of current trends in prospect research, financial sectors, fundraising and alumni relations, including benchmarking and metrics.
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to customer service.
• Scrupulous attention to matters of discretion and confidentiality.

Working Conditions

• This position is currently expected to work a minimum three days per week in the office.
• Travel to campus and/or non-campus locations for University business.
• Work evenings and weekends on occasion.

Application Documents

• Resume/CV (required)
• Cover Letter (required)

Job Family

Alumni Relations & Development

Role Impact

Individual Contributor

Scheduled Weekly Hours

37.5

Drug Test Required

No

Health Screen Required

No

Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required

No

Pay Rate Type

Salary

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FLSA Status

Exempt

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Pay Range

$89,000.00 - $110,000.00

The included pay rate or range represents the University’s good faith estimate of the possible compensation offer for this role at the time of posting.

Benefits Eligible

Yes

The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off. Information about the benefit offerings can be found in the Benefits Guidebook.

Posting Statement

The University of Chicago is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or expression, national or ethnic origin, shared ancestry, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

 

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