Associate Director, Prospect Development

Overview

The Tufts University Advancement Division (UA) is a comprehensive development and alumni relations enterprise with a staff complement of approximately 200 staff members. Functional units within UA include Development / Fundraising, Alumni Engagement, Stewardship and Donor Relations, Special Events, Gift Processing, Research, Prospect Management, Gift Planning, Corporate and Foundation Relations, Information Systems and Management, and Infrastructure Services. UA's mission is to build strong, lifelong relationships with Tufts University's constituents, match donors' interests with the university's needs and priorities, and secure the financial resources necessary for Tufts to achieve excellence in teaching, research, and scholarship. The division is strongly committed to serving the academic agenda of the university, creating a culture of philanthropy in the extended Tufts community, and pursuing excellence and best practices in its work. Integrity, collegiality, diversity, accountability, mutual trust, and respect for the individual as well as the intentions of our donors are the values that guide the division's work.

The Office of Prospect Development and Strategic Analysis (OPD) gathers and analyzes information on, and facilitates and tracks communication with, the university's current and potential prospects and donors, including individuals, corporations and foundations. OPD is primarily responsible for one of UA's key strategic priorities : the expansion of the university's base of support, which complements the other fundamental priorities of building relationships and raising funds. OPD addresses this need by conducting sophisticated research and analysis, identifying new prospects, and managing the processes of assigning the most promising prospects to development officer portfolios and assessing portfolio performance. OPD is also responsible for maintaining current and accurate information on all prospects and ensuring the AIM database represents UA's full knowledge of prospect-related activity.

What You'll Do

The Associate Director of Corporate & Foundation (C&F) Research, Prospect Development will play a key role in advancing Tufts University's corporate and foundation fundraising strategy. This position will serve as a strategic partner to the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations (CFR), delivering high-quality research, analysis, and insights that maximize the philanthropic potential of Tufts' organizational prospect base. Working collaboratively with CFR, the Associate Director will design and implement data-driven prospect identification initiatives aimed at expanding the university's corporate and foundation pipeline and increasing institutional support.

The Associate Director will produce detailed prospect analyses, briefings, and reports for development officers and university leaders, leveraging both internal databases and external resources. In partnership with the Director of Prospect Management, they will help build and maintain a customized CFR prospect management system within AIM, Tufts' advancement database of record. The role will also contribute to optimizing data and reporting processes through Salesforce and Tableau, ensuring greater accuracy, efficiency, and return on investment across CFR's prospect development operations.

In addition to supervising at least one C&F Research team member, the Associate Director will lead the research strategy for the Corporate and Foundation Relations office, working closely with development officers and, when appropriate, faculty members to identify and align prospective funders with University priorities. Serving as Tufts' subject matter expert in organizational research, the Associate Director will champion best practices, emerging tools, and innovative methodologies to strengthen prospect development and enhance the University's overall fundraising success.

Essential Functions :

CFR Prospect Research

Reactive Research

• Provide accurate and timely research products to the CFR team.
• Use broad range of electronic and printed information sources as well as in-house information to research and qualify prospects, with emphasis on uncovering connections between potential funding sources and the funding needs of the University.
• Collect and analyze relevant information on corporations, foundations, and individuals.
• Interpret financial information from IRS Form 990s, SEC documents, corporate press releases, corporate filings and websites, private company data, foundation filings and websites, and other market indicators to assess viability and potential capacity to contribute to Tufts.
• Prepare short biographies and briefs as well as full profiles on organizations and individuals.
• Respond to reference questions from Tufts staff.
• Proactively facilitate information sharing between UA staff members, gift officers, and research staff on high-level corporation and foundation prospects and their relationships with the University's individual prospects and contacts.

Proactive Research

Data and Prospect Management

General Responsibilities

Project Management

Management

Serve as a strategic liaison between the CFR and OPD teams.

What We're Looking For

Basic Requirements :

Preferred Experience :

Pay Range

Minimum $72,500.00, Midpoint $90,700.00, Maximum $108,900.00

Salary is based on related experience, expertise, and internal equity; generally, new hires can expect pay between the minimum and midpoint of the range.