Senior Director, Prospect Strategy and Research

Location: Denton, TX. Full-time (1.0 FTE). TRS retirement eligible.

About the Organization

The University of North Texas System includes the University of North Texas in Denton and Frisco, the University of North Texas at Dallas and UNT Dallas College of Law, and University of North Texas Health Fort Worth. It is the only university system based exclusively in the Dallas‑Fort Worth region, employing more than 14,000 people, educating 49,000+ students, and awarding nearly 12,000 degrees annually. The Division of University Advancement transforms lives and unlocks potential through philanthropy and engagement, awakening and stewarding pride and loyalty for UNT. Established in 1890, UNT is a Tier One research university and a Hispanic‑ and Minority‑Serving Institution with 240 academic programs, 46,000+ students, and 480,000 alumni.

About the Role

This position enhances, manages, and supports the Prospect Strategy and Research program with a focus on leading the team, developing a strategic plan, providing the highest level of research, pipeline analysis, strategy recommendations, prospect identification, and portfolio management for discovery, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship to drive fundraising results.

Responsibilities

• Coach, mentor, and manage team members to achieve the highest level of success.
• Oversee the prospect management system and all aspects of the program.
• Serve as advisor to the Vice President, Associate Vice President, and other leaders, leveraging prospect research, data analysis, and evidence‑based insights to inform portfolio strategy, identify opportunities, prioritize next steps, and optimize portfolio management.
• Develop, enhance, and implement comprehensive policies and procedures (in collaboration with colleagues) to ensure consistency across portfolio, prospect research, and management activities.
• Assess and assign donors and prospects for all team members who hold a portfolio.
• Manage the assignment and reassignment (including prospect clearance) of prospects in consultation with Advancement leadership to ensure coordinated fundraising activity and consistent movement through the fundraising cycle.
• Serve as the contact for external vendors (in consultation with the data team) to advance imperative data and research needed for strategy development.
• Establish prospect pipeline guidelines and workflows.
• Implement a comprehensive program of quality prospect research to support cultivation and solicitation activity with donors, and provide supportive research and data for new market engagement.
• Ensure research is maintained in a current state for the highest‑level prospects as deemed by leadership.
• Proactively manage alerts on top donors and prospects and other research tools to keep the team updated on changes to wealth, employment, philanthropy, and other important news.
• Align current research activities with organizational priorities and revenue goals.
• Assess current prospecting procedures and research queue; make recommendations to improve policies and procedures in collaboration with colleagues.
• Guide and inform external database screening and analysis in close collaboration with internal Advancement and external teams.
• Incorporate new data into current research systems to uncover new donors and update information on current prospects.
• Identify and develop a plan (including highest‑level research and data) for key new markets for leadership involvement to acquire new philanthropy.
• Ensure strategies are in place, managed, and updated for the highest‑level institutional principal, major, planned, and corporate and foundation relations prospects and donors.
• Manage ongoing market analysis and review to monitor economic changes for uncovering new leads for engagement.
• Lead innovation in standards to set key results, goals, and metrics based on expertise and industry best practices.
• Provide background including quantitative and qualitative analysis of pipeline activity and movement to drive strategic planning, modeling, and donor journey analytics.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree.
• Seven years of prospect development and research experience in a non‑profit or similar setting.
• Experience managing teams, data analysis, and translating information.

Skills

• Commitment to the highest standard of ethical and professional conduct in accordance with the CASE Statement of Ethics, the Association of Fundraising Professionals Code of Ethical Principles and Standards, the Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement (APRA) Code of Ethics, and The Donor Bill of Rights (memberships not required).
• Strong work ethic and entrepreneurial mentality.