Job Details
Job no: 560551
Work type: Management (MPP)
Location: San José
Categories: MPP, At-Will, Fundraising & Alumni Relations, Full Time
Job Summary
The Director of Advancement Analytics and Insights is a high-level strategist responsible for designing, deploying, and leading comprehensive business intelligence and analytics functions within University Advancement. This role serves as the primary architect of data-driven fundraising frameworks at San José State University, turning complex data into actionable insights, delivering dashboards, forecasting, and strategic analysis that guide leadership and teams across the division.
The Director oversees a comprehensive philanthropy analytics strategy to support fundraising performance, engagement metrics, and campaign success, and data-informed decision-making across the division. The incumbent acts as a critical bridge between data structure (Advancement IT), data collection (Gifts and Records Administration), and data application (Prospect Research and Management, Development, Alumni Engagement), successfully championing a culture of data literacy, evidence-informed engagement, and proactive analytics across University Advancement.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the multi-year roadmap for advancement analytics, aligning data initiatives with philanthropic and engagement pipelines, university campaigns, and divisional priorities and performance goals
- Serve as the division's lead business intelligence analyst, leveraging data-driven insights to inform decision-making, identify opportunities, and drive strategic initiatives across departments
- Partners with teams on division-wide data operations, guiding divisional staff, partners, and vendors to ensure consistent, high-quality analytical standards in accordance with CASE, AASP, and industry best practices
- Design, implement, and standardize key performance indicators (KPIs), performance dashboards, and accountability frameworks for University Advancement teams and leadership
- Design, build, and continuously optimize a comprehensive institutional suite of interactive dashboards, reports, and data outputs that track philanthropic productivity, pipeline velocity, and fundraiser production
- Oversee the delivery of automated and self-service analytics reports to front-line gift officers and academic leaders, ensuring visual and data consistency
- Translate highly complex multivariate data sets and data science configurations into clear, narrative-driven business insights tailored for non-technical internal users and foundation boards
- Develop, deploy, and validate advanced predictive algorithms and statistical models (e.g., donor propensity, major gift affinity, and lifetime value modeling) to uncover untapped donor capacity
- Build data-driven revenue projection and multi-year forecasting models to determine target objectives and track pipeline gaps
- Integrate external wealth screening and relationship mapping data directly into automated internal scoring models
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
- Ability to communicate with constituents in a professional and respectful manner
- Working knowledge of, or the ability to develop proficiency in, the appropriate and ethical use of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), in higher education and administrative contexts
- Ability to apply emerging technologies to support operational effectiveness, data-informed decision-making, and service delivery to students, faculty, and staff
- Demonstrated ability to support continuous improvement and organizational learning through the responsible application of technology within assigned areas of responsibility
- Deep knowledge of predictive modeling, data mining, multivariate regression, and fundraising forecasting techniques within a higher education environment
- Mastery of visualization software (specifically Microsoft Power BI) and the ability to construct secure, scalable row-level security dashboard architectures
- Comprehensive knowledge of relational database structures and workflows inside complex advancement CRMs (such as Salesforce, Blackbaud CRM/NXT, Affinaquest, or Ellucian)
- Strong understanding of CASE Reporting Standards and AASP data metric models
- Superior capability to synthesize complex data matrices into narrative presentations and clear policy recommendations for university leadership
- Ability to apply emerging technologies to support operational effectiveness, data-informed decision-making, and service delivery to students, faculty, and staff
- Demonstrated ability to support continuous improvement and organizational learning through the responsible application of technology within assigned areas of responsibility
- Ability to evaluate potential applications, promote responsible, ethical, and equitable use, and ensure alignment with institutional policies, regulatory requirements, and strategic priorities
- Demonstrated ability to manage multi-phase analytics projects independently under tight deadlines while successfully driving tool adoption among resistant users
- Exceptional judgment regarding donor data privacy laws (FERPA, GDPR, CCPA) and an uncompromised commitment to professional ethics
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in Data Science, Business Intelligence, Statistics, Computer Science, Economics, or a related field
- Five (5) years of progressively responsible professional experience in data analysis, business intelligence, or institutional analytics
- Experience leading large-scale analytics initiatives or acting as a primary system analyst/strategist in a complex institutional or corporate environment
Preferred Qualifications
- Master's degree or higher in Data Science, Analytics, Business Administration (MBA), or an equivalent field
- Seven (7) or more years of experience in higher education advancement services, prospect development analytics, or public university foundation data systems
- Experience with fundraising principles and methods
- Direct experience supporting multi-million fundraising initiatives using predictive fundraising pipelines
- Experience with the California State University system, auxiliary organization models, and campus data compliance standards
- Experience with SQL for data extraction, Python or R for statistical data modeling, and experience utilizing generative AI plugins for prompt engineering and rapid analytics
Compensation
Classification: Administrator II
Anticipated Hiring Range: $9,167/month - $10,000/month
CSU Salary Range: $5,053/month - $16,221/month
The final hiring salary will be commensurate with experience.
San José State University offers employees a comprehensive benefits package typically worth 30-35% of your base salary. For more information on programs available, please see the Employee Benefits Summary.
Application Procedure
Click Apply Now to complete the SJSU Online Employment Application and attach the following documents:
- Resume
- Letter of Interest
All applicants must apply within the specified application period: July 30, 2026 through August 13, 2026. This position is open until filled; however, applications received after screening has begun will be considered at the discretion of the university.
Contact Information
People and Culture
jobs@sjsu.edu
Advertised: July 30, 2026 (9:00 AM) Pacific Daylight Time
Applications close: Open until filled