Data and Prospect Management Senior Specialist

The Senior Specialist, Data and Prospect Management plays a critical role in driving the success of fundraising and alumni engagement strategies through strong data governance, strategic research, and robust reporting. This role serves as the Advancement team's expert in list creation, database hygiene, prospect research, moves management tracking, data analysis, and database optimization. Reporting to the Director of Advancement Operations, the Senior Specialist ensures that institutional fundraising decisions are informed by clean data, accurate profiles, and actionable insights. The role supports gift officers, senior leadership, and cross-departmental partners by maintaining a high-functioning CRM system, identifying and tracking high-potential prospects, and delivering timely analysis that supports all philanthropic priorities.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

Data Management and CRM Oversight

The Senior Specialist is the team's primary steward of the database's hygiene, field usage, and data integrity. They ensure that Advancement data is consistent, accurate, and segmented in ways that support analysis, stewardship, and event and all philanthropic execution.

• Oversee data entry standards and ensure consistency across constituent records.
• Perform regular audits to maintain data quality.
• Collaborate with Finance and Advancement Operations to ensure accurate gift designation coding.
• Coordinate with vendors and consultants to support integrations, screenings, or data migrations.
• Maintain constituent coding and tagging systems to support segmentation and reporting.
• Assist in onboarding and training team members on best practices in data entry, queries, and reporting.
  
  

Analytics, Dashboards, and Reports

The Senior Specialist provides insight-driven reports and develops dashboards that supports events, communication, and travel, tracks progress, measures philanthropic performance, and provides forecasting.

• Provide tailored reports/lists to internal and external departments, as requested and needed.
• Design and maintain custom dashboards for campaign, major gifts, annual fund, and alumni engagement tracking.
• Produce regular fundraising reports, prospect status updates, and gift officer activity reports.
• Conduct data analysis to identify trends, gaps, and opportunities across donor pipelines and giving patterns.
• Partner with leadership to support board reporting and campaign counsel with up-to-date fundraising metrics.
  
  

Research and Pipeline Development

The Senior Specialist provides proactive and responsive prospect research to support cultivation and solicitation efforts. They maintain and update prospect information in the CRM, build detailed donor profiles and collaborate closely with frontline fundraisers to identify, verify, and prioritize donor prospects.

• Conduct research to support gift cultivation, annual fund segmentation, and leadership briefings.
• Create concise, well-documented prospect profiles, briefing memos, and event bios.
• Prepare donor intelligence packets for meetings with the President, Dean, and Advancement leadership.
• Conduct wealth screenings and qualify major gift prospects.
• Monitor news, social media, and corporate filings to update donor records with employment, awards, and affiliations.
• Support and refine the prospect pipeline process in partnership with gift officers and campaign leadership.
• Maintain and optimize prospect research workflows and documentation.
  
  

Cross-Functional Collaboration and Operational Support

The Senior Specialist works across Advancement and with campus partners to ensure alignment and data fluency that strengthens relationships and drives revenue.

• Support Advancement events by preparing attendee briefings and donor summaries.
• Collaborate with the Communications and Marketing teams to support accurate segmentation and email list building.
• Provide data and analysis to inform direct mail strategy, digital campaigns, and stewardship
  
  

Other Responsibilities

These duties support the ongoing effectiveness and growth of the Advancement function. They reflect core expectations for professional collaboration, adaptability, and continuous improvement.

• Partner with Advancement leadership on special projects related to campaign planning, data strategy, and donor engagement.
• Serve as a data subject matter expert on cross-departmental committees or initiatives (e.g., CRM enhancements, segmentation strategy, compliance).
• Contribute to team meetings by sharing research trends, data insights, or updates on prospect management best practices.
• Support fundraising and alumni engagement events by preparing lists, bios, and briefings, and assisting with post-event follow-up analysis.
• Provide training and documentation on Raiser's Edge queries, reports, and data standards to Advancement colleagues as needed.
• Assist with preparing Advancement-related materials for board meetings or external partners.
  
  

Secondary Activities

These tasks are cyclical, project-based, or situational but still contribute significantly to Advancement operations and strategy.

• Perform periodic peer benchmarking research to inform prospecting or campaign strategy.
• Support donor pipeline calibration during fiscal year planning and prospect review sessions.
• Participate in database cleanup or audit initiatives, particularly around campaigns, events, or reporting deadlines.
• Coordinate list preparation and segmentation support for email, direct mail, and annual giving campaigns.
• Review and reconcile data in preparation for tax receipting and year-end acknowledgments.
• Support external consultants or vendors with data requests during feasibility studies, campaign counsel, or CRM upgrades.