Advancement Operations & Research Analyst

ADP, Inc.; Houston, Northern (TX, KY); Hybrid; USD 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Star of Hope in Houston is seeking an Advancement Operations & Research Analyst to optimize Raiser's Edge NXT for major gifts, stewardship, and prospect management. You will produce donor profiles, strategic research, and wealth analytics to empower frontline gift officers.

Ideal candidates have 3–5+ years with Raiser's Edge NXT, strong research skills, and the ability to build reports and dashboards that guide fundraising strategy.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in a relevant field.
• 3–5+ years of hands-on Raiser's Edge NXT experience in nonprofit fundraising (4+ years focused).
• Proven ability to develop, manage, and optimize Raiser's Edge for major gifts, stewardship, and prospect management.
• Strong experience in prospect research using Research Point, Wealth Analytics & BI sources.
• Experience building reports, dashboards, and data exports within Raiser's Edge NXT.
• Solid understanding of major gift fundraising, donor lifecycle, and moves management.
• Strong analytical and communication skills; ability to train staff and collaborate across departments.

Responsibilities

• Identify prospects and qualify individuals, corporate, and foundation donors.
• Produce donor profiles, executive briefings, and strategic research reports.
• Maintain wealth screening data and refresh portfolio reviews for gift officers.
• Develop a forward-looking prospect pipeline aligned with goals and campaigns.
• Design and maintain reports and dashboards in Raiser's Edge NXT.
• Collaborate with frontline gift officers and Finance to support solicitation planning.
• Translate data into clear insights for leadership and officers.

Skills

Raiser’s Edge NXT

Prospect research

Wealth analytics

Research Point

Power BI

Excel

Data visualization

Project management

Stakeholder communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in a relevant field

Tools

Raiser's Edge NXT

Research Point

Wealth Analytics

Power BI

Job description

If you are unable to complete this application due to a disability, contact this employer to ask for an accommodation or an alternative application process.

Advancement Operations & Research Analyst

Full Time Professional Houston, TX, US

The Advancement Operations Analyst is the primary partner to the Director of Advancement Operations and a critical engine of the Advancement team's data infrastructure, fundraising intelligence, and operational effectiveness. This role holds 4 or more years of experience commanding Raiser's Edge NXT and is responsible for the development, management, and continuous optimization of the database for all advancement activities including major and corporate gift fundraising, stewardship, and research and prospect management. This is not a passive support role. The Advancement Operations Analyst holds deep expertise in Raiser's Edge, ensuring that the database is configured, maintained, and leveraged to its fullest potential to drive fundraising strategy and data informed decisions. The Analyst is equally responsible for producing actionable dashboards, reports, and wealth intelligence that empower frontline gift officers to build meaningful donor relationships. The ideal candidate brings deep technical mastery of Raiser's Edge, a strategic mindset, a collaborative spirit, and a genuine passion for mission driven work.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Serve as the Advancement team's primary resource for prospect identification, research, and qualification of individual, corporate, and foundation prospects
• Conduct thorough research using Raiser's Edge Research Point, Wealth Analytics, SEC filings, IRS Form 990s, real estate databases, and other business intelligence sources to assess donor capacity, philanthropic inclination, and giving potential
• Develop and deliver high-quality donor profiles, executive briefings, biographical summaries, and strategic research reports tailored to the needs of gift officers and Advancement leadership
• Proactively monitor philanthropic trends, news, and industry activity to surface emerging prospects and changes in donor capacity
• Maintain and regularly refresh wealth screening data for current donors and prospects; conduct annual full portfolio reviews and recommend corresponding updates to gift officer portfolios
• Develop and maintain a forward-looking pipeline of prospects aligned with Advancement goals and campaign priorities
• Recommend prospect assignments, prioritization strategies, and portfolio rebalancing to optimize gift officer effectiveness
• Support moves management by ensuring accurate and timely tracking of prospect identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship stages within Raiser's Edge
• Partner directly with frontline gift officers to provide wealth screening data, prospect intelligence, and portfolio level analysis that enable confident donor conversations and strategic solicitation planning
• Run and interpret wealth screenings through Research Point and Wealth Analytics; translate results into clear, prioritized prospect recommendations for each gift officer
• Assist gift officers with constituent and prospect management within Raiser's Edge including contact management, activity tracking, relationship records, and stage updates
• Provide timely research support for donor meetings, events, board engagement, and leadership briefings
• Respond proactively to research and data requests from Advancement team members, ensuring turnaround times meet operational needs
• Participate in portfolio review meetings and contribute strategic data informed recommendations for prospect movement

Raiser's Edge Database Management & Data Integrity

• Maintain advanced proficiency (4 or more years of experience) in Raiser's Edge NXT, including its full feature set, capabilities, and best practices across all advancement functions
• Develop, configure, and continuously optimize the database to support major gifts, mid-level giving, corporate partnerships, stewardship, and prospect management workflows
• Establish, document, and enforce data entry standards, governance policies, business rules, and coding conventions to ensure consistency, accuracy, and long-term database integrity
• Perform and oversee ongoing data hygiene: deduplication, constituent record cleanup, relationship mapping, and address/contact updates
• Manage and monitor data imports and exports, ensuring accuracy and alignment with advancement and finance systems
• Serve as the liaison between Raiser's Edge and integrated platforms, including Financial Edge, Luminate Online, wealth screening tools, and event management software
• Maintain thorough documentation of all database standards, configurations, integrations, and procedures
• Proactively identify and resolve database issues, inefficiencies, or inconsistencies before they impact operations
• Stay current on all Raiser's Edge NXT updates, new features, and Blackbaud best practices lead internal rollout and adoption of enhancements across all user groups
• Design, build, and maintain reports, dashboards, and queries within Raiser's Edge NXT to support fundraising operations, major gift strategy, campaign tracking, and organizational decision-making
• Translate complex data into clear, actionable insights for both technical and non-technical stakeholders, including Advancement leadership, gift officers, and the Chief Advancement Officer
• Produce weekly, monthly, and annual fundraising reports, pipeline analyses, KPI dashboards, and campaign performance metrics
• Analyze donor behavior, giving trends, and pipeline health to identify gaps, opportunities, and emerging patterns that inform fundraising strategy
• Support forecasting for major gift and campaign initiatives by modeling pipeline performance and donor capacity data
• Leverage tools such as Excel (advanced functions), Power BI, or equivalent platforms to supplement and visualize Raiser's Edge reporting as needed

Workflows & Business Process Optimization

• Design and implement efficient advancement workflows within Raiser's Edge to support gift processing, stewardship, donor acknowledgement, and prospect management functions
• Identify opportunities to automate, streamline, or eliminate redundant processes, reducing manual effort and improving accuracy across advancement operations
• Collaborate with the Director of Advancement Operations to evaluate and implement new tools, integrations, or system enhancements that improve efficiency and data quality
• Document all workflows, processes, and procedures to support staff continuity and organizational knowledge retention

Training & Cross Functional Collaboration

• Provide expert Raiser's Edge training and ongoing support to Advancement staff, including onboarding for new users and continuing education for existing users
• Foster a culture of data literacy, accountability, and continuous improvement across the Advancement team
• Serve as a bridge between technical database operations and non-technical fundraising staff communicating complex data concepts in accessible, practical terms
• Collaborate with Finance to support gift reconciliation, audit preparation, and financial reporting
• Support events, campaigns, and special initiatives with data, lists, segmentation, and reporting as needed
• Support special projects related to data, reporting, or system improvements as assigned

Other Job Responsibilities:

• Participate in Ministry and prayer activities, as appropriate.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

Education, Skills & Experience: Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in a relevant field (Information Systems, Business, Communications, Nonprofit Management, or related discipline)

3–5+ years of hands-on experience working with Raiser's Edge NXT in a nonprofit fundraising environment, with 4 or more years of experience

Proven ability to develop, manage, and optimize Raiser's Edge for major gift fundraising, stewardship, campaigns, and prospect management functions

Strong experience in prospect research, including the use of Research Point, Wealth Analytics, and other business intelligence sources

Demonstrated experience building reports, queries, dashboards, and data exports within Raiser's Edge NXT

Solid understanding of major gift fundraising principles, the donor lifecycle, and moves management processes

Strong analytical skills with the ability to synthesize complex data into clear, actionable insights

Excellent written communication skills, particularly in preparing donor profiles, briefings, and reports

Ability to manage multiple projects, meet deadlines, and prioritize effectively in a fast-paced environment

High attention to detail and an unwavering commitment to data accuracy and integrity

Ability to handle sensitive and confidential information with professionalism and discretion

Demonstrated ability to train and support staff with varying levels of technical skill

Strong collaboration skills with the ability to work effectively across departments, particularly with frontline gift officers and Finance

Be able to work respectfully, professionally and in a Christ-like manner with everyone, able to maintain required client/staff boundaries and possess a willingness to serve the Lord in a ministry that deals with homeless men, women and children.

Equipment Used: Standard office equipment; computer, phone, fax, printers, copiers, etc. Ability to drive personal vehicle as needed. Valid Texas Driver’s License, with acceptable driving record and current liability insurance.

Work Environment: Normal business hours, office environment, occasional weekend or evening events. Occasional visits to program sites may be required. Will occasionally be required to meet in program facilities for some purposes. Work schedule may be subject to change to meet the business needs of the mission. Business casual in accordance with Star of Hope dress code.

Relations with Others: Frequent contact with Advancement staff and frontline gift officers. Regular collaboration with the Director of Advancement Operations and Chief Advancement Officer. Some contact with donors, board members, and volunteers.

Physical Requirements: Ability to move freely upstairs, bend and stoop throughout Star of Hope facilities. Some carrying and lifting is required (up to 20 pounds).

Other: Able to support through word and action the Star of Hope Christ-centered Mission Statement, Faith Statement, Core Principles: Pursue Christ-centered Transformation, Restore Humanity & Dignity to our Residents, Embrace Change, Show Love and Respect, and Strive for Excellence.

Date Job Description Became Effective: 09/15/2026

Star of Hope is a Christ-centered, community funded, non-profit religious organization.

The above job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by an employee in this position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities and qualifications of an employee assigned to this job. I have read and agree to the duties outlined above and understand that in order to adjust to changes in business, it may be necessary to modify the job, add to or remove certain duties and responsibilities, or be reassigned to an alternate position. This statement does not alter the “at will” status of employment at Star of Hope.