Prospect Research Officer

Western University; London; On-site; CAD 64,000 - 91,000; Full time

Job summary

The Prospect Research Officer at Western University plays a crucial role in advancing the university's philanthropic mission by delivering intelligence and strategic insights that boost donor engagement.

Through rigorous analysis of individuals, corporations, and foundations, the role supports Development staff to accelerate pipeline growth, meet campaign goals, and ensure data quality across prospect pools for impactful fundraising outcomes.

Qualifications

• University degree required; Master’s degree preferred.
• At least 1 year of experience in a research development or fundraising environment.
• Experience as a prospect researcher in an academic or healthcare setting preferred.
• Knowledge of privacy legislation and ethics statements by professional bodies.
• Proficiency with prospect research tools (CharityCAN, iWave, Grant Connect, Factiva).

Responsibilities

• Provide intelligence and strategic insight to advance donor engagement.
• Analyze prospects to accelerate pipeline growth and support campaign goals.
• Synthesize diverse data into actionable assessments to enhance fundraising capacity.

Skills

Privacy laws & ethics

Prospect research

Secondary research methods

Wealth indicators literacy

Data management

Microsoft Excel

Effective communication

Education

University Degree

Master’s degree (preferred)

Tools

CharityCAN

iWave

Grant Connect

Factiva

Blackbaud CRM

Excel/Office Suite

PowerPoint

Job description

The base salary will be $63,730 - $90,820 per annum. Starting salary will be aligned with the successful candidate’s experience, skills, and demonstrated qualifications.

Please note, this is a 2-year temporary full-time contract opportunity. This contract includes a comprehensive benefits package.

About Western

Since 1878, Western University has been committed to serving our communities through the pursuit of academic excellence and by providing students, faculty, and community members with life-long opportunities for intellectual, social, and cultural growth. We seek excellent students, faculty, and staff to join us in what has become known as the "Western Experience" - an opportunity to contribute to a better world through the development of new knowledge, new abilities, new connections, and new ways to make a difference.

About Us

The Western Advancement division plays a leading role in strengthening awareness of and support for the University’s mission and goals by leading alumni relations and fundraising efforts across campus and beyond. All departments within the Division build enduring alumni and public trust through understanding and support for Western University in a coordinated campus-wide effort that results in the engagement and funding needed to make an impact. There are 3 departments within the Division – Departments of Development, Alumni Relations and Advancement Operations.

An integral part of Advancement Operations, the Prospect Management team, leads the identification and population of prospect pools for assignment at all giving levels, to support a strong pipeline in meeting fundraising goals. The team conducts regular analysis of prospect portfolios assigned to the development team and ensures business, system and reporting processes are in place to evaluate pipeline progress. The team provides background research on the University’s relationship with prospects and ensures biographical data is accurate, complete and consistent within prospect pools for greater impact. Through the work of the prospect pipeline team, all departments across Western Advancement understand the shared responsibility of the prospect management system and effectively use the system to monitor and evaluate program strategy.

Responsibilities

The Prospect Research Officer plays a critical role in advancing Western's philanthropic mission by providing the intelligence and strategic insight that drives effective donor engagement.

Through rigorous analysis of individual, corporate, and foundation prospects, the role enables Development staff to focus their efforts on the most promising relationships, accelerating pipeline growth and supporting campaign goals.

By critically evaluating information quality and synthesizing an increasingly diverse body of public and proprietary data into actionable assessments, the Prospect Research Officer enhances fundraising capacity and ensures that relationship-building efforts are both targeted and informed.

Qualifications

Education:

• University Degree
• Master’s degree in a relevant field (e.g. in Library Science, Information Management, Economics or Business) preferred

Experience:

• 1 year of experience in a research development or fundraising environment
• Experience as a prospect researcher in either an academic or healthcare setting preferred

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Working knowledge of privacy legislation and ethics statements by appropriate professional bodies
• Proven awareness of confidentiality issues and acceptable methods of information collection and retention
• Proficiency in the use of prospect research and intelligence tools, including platforms such as CharityCAN, iWave, Grant Connect, and Factiva to identify, verify, and analyze information on individuals, corporations, and foundations
• Strong knowledge of secondary research methodologies, with the ability to validate and synthesize information from multiple public and proprietary sources
• Proficiency at understanding wealth indicators, with an ability to understand and communicate financial information clearly as it relates to capacity to give
• Familiarity with complex relational advancement databases (Blackbaud CRM preferred)
• Attention to detail with data management skills and an ability to extract and manage volumes of data and organize it into meaningful reports
• Critical evaluation of information quality, including awareness of algorithmically aggregated, and unverified content in online research sources
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office (particularly Excel, Word, and PowerPoint) to support analysis, reporting, and presentation of research findings
• Proven ability to multi-task and prioritize with an eye to consistently producing high-quality work and meeting deadlines in a fast-paced environment
• Superior verbal communication skills and confidence interacting with internal and external stakeholders at all levels of an organization
• Excellent written communication skills with an ability to summarize information, complete detailed analytics and reports
• Ability to conduct in-depth research, to analyze and synthesize the information, and prepare concise, accurate, and clearly written briefings

Western Values Diversity

The University invites applications from all qualified individuals. Western is committed to employment equity and diversity in the workplace and welcomes applications from women, members of racialized groups/visible minorities, Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, persons of any sexual orientation, and persons of any gender identity or gender expression.

Accommodations are available for applicants with disabilities throughout the recruitment process. If you require accommodations for interviews or other meetings, please contact Human Resources or phone [phone].

Please Note:

This position is an existing vacancy. This position is fully in-person, on-site. We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those chosen for an interview will be contacted.