Job Description

Prospect Development Specialist - Foundation * Days - 40hrs/wk

Requisition #: req12386

Shift: Days

FTE status: 1

On-call: No

Weekends: No

Michigan Medicine is a groundbreaking organization for many reasons, and much of the work that we do is made possible because of philanthropy. Annually, the Michigan Medicine Office of Development raises an average of $200 million, which helps us to be a change agent in the world. Reporting to the Director of Prospect Development, the Prospect Development Specialist partners with Regional Network Development gift officers to identify and meet prospect information needs. The Prospect Development Specialist gathers, analyzes, and summarizes information to support cultivation and solicitation of major and principal level prospects; these activities include proactive prospecting and pipeline building via identifying new and/or renewed individuals and engaging the attention of the appropriate fundraisers. Your efforts will directly support the institution’s mission to enhance healthcare in the West and Mid-Michigan community.

General Summary:

The Senior Prospect Development Consultant partners with Regional Network Development gift teams to identify and meet prospect information needs. The Senior Prospect Development Consultant gathers, analyzes, and summarizes information to support cultivation and solicitation of major and principal level prospects; these activities include proactive prospecting and pipeline building via identifying new and/or renewed individuals and engaging the attention of the appropriate fundraisers.

Requirements:

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree is required, preferably Information Science or Humanities.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience; At least three years of related work experience and at least two years of experience in prospect development or associated fundraising experience; transferable skills from other industries or similar lines of work will be considered.
• Well-developed interpersonal skills and excellent written and oral communication skills, an aptitude for critical thinking and problem-solving; ability to work well under pressure and maintain flexibility.
• Highly developed scanning, skimming, and reading comprehension skills are essential, as well as superior ability to assess the relative value of, synthesize, and summarize relevant information into coherent, well written documents.
• Commitment to professional ethics and confidentiality.
• Ability to interact with executive level clients is essential.
• Ability to learn to navigate unfamiliar information systems and use a variety of computer applications with little or no guidance.
• Strong computing and online research skills, including proficiency with Microsoft Office suite of products, relational database software, online databases, and the Internet.

Desired Qualifications:

• Background in Development Research or equivalent amount of relevant experience in academic, nonprofit, or corporate setting is desired.
• Familiarity with the University organization, policies, and procedures is desirable.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

1. Assume primary responsibility for assessing and meeting the prospect identification and information needs of the Regional Network Development team enabling them to meet their fundraising goals. Initiate regular communications with these individuals, keeping abreast of their current fundraising initiatives. Support prospect strategizing as needed.
2. Consult with development officers to determine feasibility of research requests and special projects. Negotiate project scopes and deadlines directly with regional foundations development officers.
3. Establish and lead regular meetings with liaised development officer teams to maintain an active pipeline of prospects and monitoring of progress towards individual and regional network goals.
4. Establish monitoring and seek feedback to ensure development officers receive appropriate support.
5. Participate in projects to improve development officers’ understanding and strategic use of development data. Examples include portfolio review and user education on modeling and wealth screening data.
6. Engage with and educate development officers regarding the use of individual and executive data reporting and visualization dashboards.
7. Be a resource to fundraisers to translate insights and trends into actionable fundraising strategies.
8. Coordinate development of initiative policies and best practices related to data usage and pipeline development.

Prospect Identification, Research, and Analysis (40%)

9. Conduct reactive and proactive research. Be innovative in devising new ways to secure information of critical importance to the effective solicitation of significant constituents of the regional network.
10. Estimate donor gift capacity through the analysis of complex individual, corporate, and foundation financial and philanthropic information. Summarize information relevant to the timing of a gift.
11. Identify possible areas of philanthropic interest and potential engagement with regional foundations and Michigan Medicine.
12. Participate in projects to proactively identify and qualify segments of the regional network’s various internal and external constituencies using data-driven wealth screening, data mining, and modeling projects. Bring the most promising opportunities for the regional network to the attention of appropriate colleagues.
13. Write confidential research documents on individual, corporate, and foundation prospects for regional network staff members and senior executive officers.
14. Exercise appropriate initiative through troubleshooting and basic project design. Manage special projects as assigned.
15. Submit completed research for data entry into the appropriate database and for electronic storage in research optical imaging system.
16. Synthesize complex data into key metrics and visualizations, including the creation of interactive geographic visualizations, to provide actionable insights for development officers and internal stakeholders.
17. In collaboration with the regional network development team, drive research-related data cleanup and integration techniques that optimize fundraising strategies and decision-making across the team.

Professional and Team Development (20%)

18. Work in a collaborative team environment, sharing knowledge and newly identified sources with broader Michigan Medicine Prospect Development team, and leading or participating in group projects when necessary.
19. Take a proactive role in identifying new projects for the team and continually monitor department projects to identify new techniques for improving future deliverables.
20. Independently plan, organize, coordinate, and handle multiple tasks and responsibilities, prioritizing and organizing work to accomplish departmental goals.
21. Assume responsibility for meeting and maintaining the standards set forth in the Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement (APRA) Skill Set in Prospect Research Fundamentals and Advanced Prospect Research.
22. Always safeguard the confidentiality of donor information. Adhere to ethical and confidentiality guidelines of both U-M, Michigan Medicine, and APRA.
23. Perform other duties as assigned.