"Director Research & Analytics"

Director Research & Analytics

Position Summary:

The CU System Office of Advancement provides excellent customer service, strategy, expertise, and efficiency to our partners on CU's campuses and at the University of Colorado Foundation. We support CU's fundraising and engagement goals through advancement operations that include constituent research and development, data management, business intelligence, technical architecture, annual giving, planned giving, gift administration, marketing and communications, IT, budget and finance, and more. We believe that a healthy office culture is foundational to our success. We create this by bringing together a diverse team of colleagues and infusing our core values-Work Together, Think Big, Be Good and Have Fun-into our work every day.

The Director of Research & Analytics serves as the leader of the Research & Analytics department. They are responsible for hiring, supervising, training, and mentoring a team of seven University of Colorado Development Research Analysts or Senior Development Research Analysts; implementing plans for reactive and proactive research programs including leading the adoption or development of new tools and procedures to improve and grow the department's work; and creating annual strategic and operating plans and budget for the Research & Analytics department. They understand and expertly apply national best practices, processes, and technologies for prospect development and continually seek out new industry knowledge. As a collaborative partner, they meet with campus and System Advancement staff and leadership to consult on or scope out projects and to cultivate a depth of organizational knowledge. They carry out large-scale and complex research and analysis projects.

This position is exempt from the State of Colorado Classified Staff system and reports to the Senior Director of Portfolio Intelligence, Research, and Data Management.

Where You Will Work: Applicants must be Colorado residents or able to relocate to Colorado within a month of starting employment with University of Colorado System Administration. This position can be either hybrid in the state of Colorado (part work from home, part in-office) or fully in-office. There will be occasional travel to campuses to meet with fundraising leadership there. Incumbents are also expected to attend occasional team meetings in System Advancement's Denver office. Please note, leadership may adjust in-office work requirements with a minimum of three months' notice before any change can be implemented.

Duties & Responsibilities:

Supervision

• Hire, train, and mentor Development Research Analysts/Senior Development Research Analysts on standard CU products and protocols, database use, vendor resources, and prospect research and data analysis techniques.
• Supervise Analysts, including preparing annual performance reviews, setting performance goals, and determining glide paths.
• Create annual strategic and operating plans. Monitor and evaluate progress.
• Oversee the prospect research and data analysis workloads, including monitoring SLAs and queue health. + Negotiate the breadth and timeline of prospect research requests as needed. + Review Analysts' work products as needed to ensure consistency and quality.
• In partnership with the Assistant Director of Portfolio Intelligence, ensure Analysts maintain healthy cross-functional processes to ensure high quality deliverables with their counterparts in the Portfolio Intelligence team.

Innovation

• Proactively identify new data sources and tools. Oversee the implementation and training necessary for adoption. + Identify and increase professional development opportunities for Analysts.
• Create tools and reports with Cognos, SQL, Salesforce Reports, or other platforms to make Research & Analytics' work more efficient, effective, and impactful.
• Create new policies and procedures to better track and standardize Research & Analytics work products and processes.

Strategy

• Build and maintain a comprehensive prospect research and analysis program, including reactive and proactive research.
• Conduct high-level research on individuals, corporations, and foundations as needed for high-level customers. Expertly utilize available resources (including LexisNexis for Development Professionals, PRO iWave, DonorSearch, and LiveAlumni).
• Conduct descriptive analysis projects for System and campus Advancement leadership, including the CU President and the CU Advancement Vice President, to help inform staffing levels, goal setting, etc. May work with vendors on predictive analytics projects.
• Communicate effectively with fundraisers, campus/System leadership, and other System units in order to scope and project-manage large projects.
• Stay current on prospect research trends and develop a network of contacts with other development research professionals nationwide.
• Cultivate a broad knowledge of campus priorities and activity and of System projects and capabilities.
• Understand and effectively utilize information in database, including entity records, gift data, and reports.

Campaign and Growth Support

• Work with campus leadership on research and analysis efforts for campus-based campaigns and/or strategic growth plans, including working with the Portfolio Intelligence team in the development of top prospect pools, building guidelines around the management of those pools, and building reports to track penetration of the pools.
• Work with Development Research Analysts to provide key support to campus and system principal gifts teams in principal gift pipeline growth, research, and analysis, to achieve philanthropic goals.

Other Duties

• Participate on committees and/or task forces as requested.
• Participate in testing and implementation of system additions, modifications, and improvement in partnership with the University.
• Participate in employee engagement activities and serve as ambassador for Central Advancement's mission, vision, values, and guiding principles.
• Assist with special projects as requested.

Salary: The anticipated hiring range has been established at $114,000-$120,000.

Qualifications:

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution of higher education, or equivalent professional experience (professional experience may be substituted for the educational requirement on a year-for-year basis)
• Six (6) years' professional experience in the field of prospect research or related field in a higher education fundraising environment
• Two (2) year of experience in a managerial or supervisory role, which includes managing personnel, developing/mentoring direct reports, and completing performance reviews to ensure continuous improvement, high performance, and employee retention

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor's or post-baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution of higher education
• Eight (8) years' professional experience, as indicated above
• Three (3) years' experience in a team lead or supervisory role, as indicated above

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: [list as in text]