Data Analyst, Advancement

University of Houston; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 59,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Houston, within University Advancement, seeks a Data Analyst to support data-informed decision-making across fundraising, donor engagement, marketing, and operations. The role develops recurring and ad hoc reports, dashboards, and insights to help leadership evaluate performance, allocate resources, and measure progress toward goals.

You will collaborate with stakeholders to improve reporting capabilities, translate complex data into meaningful information, and advance

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a data analytics, business analytics, or related field.
• 3+ years of professional data analysis, BI, or fundraising analytics experience.
• Experience developing recurring/ad hoc reports, dashboards, and data visualizations.

Responsibilities

• Collects, analyzes, interprets, and presents data to support planning and decision-making.
• Develops dashboards, scorecards, and recurring reports for leadership.
• Analyzes fundraising, donor, alumni, and prospect data to inform strategy.
• Supports segmentation, portfolio analyses, and solicitation planning.
• Ensures data quality, governance, and documentation for reporting.

Skills

Power BI

Tableau

SQL

Data analysis

Dashboards

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Blackbaud CRM

Ellucian Advance

Job description

Department

University Advancement

Salary

$58,809 - $70,000 (Commensurate with Experience/Education)

Description

JOB SUMMARY

The Data Analyst supports data-informed decision-making across the division by collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and reporting data related to fundraising, donor and alumni engagement, marketing and communications, and divisional operations. The position develops recurring and ad hoc reports, dashboards, performance metrics, and analytical insights that help divisional leadership evaluate performance, identify opportunities, allocate resources, and measure progress toward established goals. The role partners with stakeholders across the division to improve reporting capabilities, support strategic initiatives, and translate complex data into meaningful information that advances fundraising effectiveness, constituent engagement, and organizational performance.

DUTIES

• Collects, analyzes, interprets, and presents data to support strategic planning, operational decision-making, performance measurement, and continuous improvement across Advancement and University Relations.
• Develops, maintains, and enhances dashboards, scorecards, recurring reports, visualizations, and other business intelligence tools that provide insight into divisional goals, key performance indicators, trends, and outcomes.
• Supports analysis of website and mobile app usage data, including user behavior, landing page conversions, form completions, application funnel progression, downloads, active users, task completion rates, engagement patterns across audiences, and other relevant metrics.
• Produces and analyzes fundraising, donor, alumni, and prospect development metrics, including dollars raised, donor participation, donor retention and acquisition, gift activity, pipeline development, portfolio performance, annual giving results, and campaign effectiveness to support fundraising strategy and performance.
• Provides analytical support to Development Directors and Advancement leadership through donor and prospect identification, portfolio analysis, pipeline reporting, prospect qualification, segmentation, capacity analysis, engagement tracking, and solicitation planning.
• Develops reports and analyses that support donor stewardship, alumni engagement, corporate and foundation relations, annual giving initiatives, and other constituent engagement activities by providing actionable insights and performance measures.
• Partners with divisional leaders and stakeholders to establish performance measures, reporting methodologies, and standardized definitions that promote consistency, transparency, and data-informed decision-making across programs and initiatives.
• Prepares recurring and ad hoc reports, presentations, executive summaries, and analytical deliverables for divisional and university leadership, and communicates meaningful trends, variances, opportunities, and risks in a clear and actionable manner.
• Responds to data and reporting requests, consults with stakeholders to identify appropriate metrics and data sources, and provides guidance on the interpretation and application of information to support business objectives.
• Performs data validation, reconciliation, quality assurance, and ongoing monitoring activities to ensure the accuracy, reliability, consistency, and integrity of donor, alumni, prospect, and institutional data used for reporting and analysis.
• Maintains documentation of reporting methodologies, business rules, data definitions, and reporting processes, and supports compliance with applicable privacy requirements, university policies, and professional standards governing data use and stewardship.
• Researches emerging practices and technologies in advancement analytics, prospect development, fundraising performance measurement, data visualization, and business intelligence and recommends opportunities to improve reporting capabilities and analytical effectiveness.

MARGINAL DUTIES

• Perform other duties as assigned.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Data Analytics, Business Analytics, Business Administration, Finance, Economics, Information Systems, Statistics, Marketing, Social Sciences, or a related field.

Experience

• Minimum of three (3) years of professional experience in data analysis, business intelligence, reporting, institutional research, advancement services, fundraising analytics, marketing analytics, or a related area.
• Experience collecting, organizing, analyzing, and interpreting data from multiple sources.
• Experience developing recurring and ad hoc reports, dashboards, scorecards, or data visualizations for business or organizational decision-making.
• Experience working with databases, CRM systems, business intelligence tools, or other systems containing complex constituent or organizational data.

License/Certification

• None

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience in higher education advancement, institutional research, nonprofit fundraising, marketing analytics, or a similar data-intensive environment.
• Experience working with fundraising or Advancement CRM systems, including Blackbaud CRM, Ellucian Advance, or comparable platforms.
• Experience with fundraising analytics and measures such as donor acquisition, retention, reactivation, participation, gift frequency, pipeline value, portfolio activity, solicitations, and dollars raised.
• Familiarity with philanthropic screening data, wealth indicators, donor capacity analysis, and publicly available research sources.
• Experience developing donor segmentation, prospect lists, portfolio analyses, or fundraising campaign reports.
• Experience analyzing marketing, digital, social media, web, or communications performance data.
• Experience with Power BI, Tableau, or comparable business intelligence and visualization tools.
• Experience with Google Analytics 4, Google Search Console, Google Tag Manager, Looker Studio, or comparable web analytics and reporting tools, and with analyzing social media and communications performance data.
• Working knowledge of SQL or experience querying relational databases.
• Experience integrating or analyzing information from multiple systems or data sources.
• Familiarity with data governance, data privacy, reporting standards, and practices for maintaining data integrity in a complex organization.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

Knowledge

• Knowledge of fundraising, donor relations, alumni engagement, and advancement performance metrics.
• Knowledge of data analysis, reporting methodologies, and business intelligence principles.
• Knowledge of data governance, data quality standards, and confidentiality requirements related to constituent and institutional information.

Skills

• Skill in analyzing and interpreting complex data and translating findings into actionable recommendations.
• Skill in developing dashboards, reports, data visualizations, and performance metrics using reporting and analytical tools.
• Skill in technical writing, presentation development, and communicating data insights to diverse audiences.

Abilities

• Ability to identify trends, patterns, risks, and opportunities within large datasets and communicate findings effectively.
• Ability to manage multiple reporting requests, priorities, and deadlines while maintaining a high level of accuracy.
• Ability to collaborate with stakeholders across functional areas to develop meaningful measures, reporting solutions, and data-informed strategies.

WORK LOCATION AND PHYSICAL DEMANDS

Primary Work Location

• Office and out in community settings.

Physical Demands

• Work is performed in a typical interior work environment which does not subject the employee to any unpleasant elements.

• Individual has discretion in relation to walking, standing etc., and has minimal exposure to physical risks. Ability to lift up to 20 lbs.

All positions at the University of Houston-System are security sensitive and will require a criminal history check.

The University of Houston System and its universities are Equal Opportunity Institutions. Everyone is encouraged to apply.