Director of Advancement Services and Prospect Development

Muskingum University; Ohio; On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Muskingum University seeks a Director of Advancement Services and Prospect Development to lead Slate CRM operations, data governance, and analytics that drive fundraising strategy. You will oversee gift processing, reporting, and donor engagement while supervising the Assistant Director of Operations in a donor-centered, compliant environment.

The role requires strong data skills, leadership, and the ability to collaborate across campus, with optional flexible work arrangements and occasional

Qualifications

• Five+ years in donor database and advancement services.
• Experience building reports and maintaining data quality.
• SQL knowledge to extract and validate donor data.
• Familiarity with online giving portals and donor workflows.
• Experience with gift processing, reconciliation, and moves-management.
• Strong communication and ability to handle confidential information.
• Ability to work on campus or virtually within driving distance.

Responsibilities

• Lead Slate CRM administration, data governance, and reporting.
• Develop dashboards and analytics to inform fundraising strategy.
• Oversee gift processing, receipts, and reconciliation.
• Design prospect development processes and portfolio management.
• Coordinate finance reconciliation with the Business Office.
• Provide leadership and supervision of staff.
• Ensure compliance with policies and donor privacy.

Skills

Donor DB systems

SQL proficiency

Data governance

Analytical skills

Project management

Communication skills

Discretion with confidential info

Tools

Slate CRM

Asana

BI tools

Job description

Muskingum University invites applications for the Director of Advancement Services and Prospect Development. This position provides strategic and operational leadership for the systems, data, financial processes, research, and policies that enable the University's fundraising and engagement programs. The Director, along with the Assistant Director of Operations, are the primary managers of Slate, the University's advancement customer relationship management (CRM) platform, and ensures that donor and prospect information is accurate, secure, accessible, and actionable.

Serving as a collaborative partner to annual giving, major gifts, planned giving, foundation relations, and donor relations, the Director translates data into insight, strengthens prospect pipelines, and maintains effective gift administration and reconciliation practices. The Director supervises the Assistant Director of Operations and fosters a collaborative, service-oriented team culture grounded in a donor-centric model.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES

Slate Database (CRM) Management – 25%

• Lead the administration, configuration, data governance, documentation, and continuous improvement of Slate for Advancement.
• Maintain data integrity through standards, audits, duplicate prevention and resolution, validation rules, and routine quality-control processes.
• Develop and maintain queries, in partnership with the assistant director of operations, reports, dashboards, workflows, forms, integrations, and user access appropriate to business needs and security requirements.
• Partner with campus technology and data stakeholders to support integrations, troubleshoot issues, plan upgrades, and improve system performance.
• Train and support Advancement staff in effective CRM use, reporting, data entry, and established business practices.

Prospect Research and Analytics - 25%

• Lead prospect identification, research, qualification, segmentation, portfolio analysis, and wealth-screening activities.
• Produce accurate, concise prospect profiles and briefings that synthesize capacity, affinity, engagement, relationships, interests, and philanthropic indicators.
• Develop analytics, dashboards, and reporting that inform fundraising strategy, resource allocation, and performance assessment.
• Partner with fundraisers to identify new prospects and recommend portfolio assignments, capacity ratings, and engagement strategies.
• Monitor emerging practices and tools in prospect development, research, and advancement analytics.

Gift Processing Oversight - 10%

• Oversee, in partnership with the assistant director of operations, the accurate and timely recording, receipting, acknowledgment, adjustment, and documentation of gifts, pledges, matching gifts, and other charitable support.
• Ensure gift processing reflects donor intent, gift agreements, designation requirements, institutional policies, and applicable accounting and tax guidance.
• Establish quality controls, service standards, documentation, and cross-training to support consistent processing and strong donor service.
• Coordinate with donor relations, fundraising teams, and the business office to resolve questions and ensure donors receive accurate, timely communications.

Prospect Identification and Development - 10%

• Design and administer prospect stages, moves-management standards, portfolio protocols, contact reporting expectations, and next-action tracking.
• Facilitate regular portfolio and pipeline reviews with annual giving, major gifts, planned giving, external relations (for Foundations), and donor relations colleagues.
• Provide reports and analysis on prospect movement, activity, pipeline health, solicitations, proposals, and outcomes.
• Promote consistent CRM adoption and accountability while serving as a solutions-oriented partner to frontline fundraisers.

Oversee Finance and Reconciliation - 10%

• Coordinate with the assistant director of operations and the University's Business Office to reconcile gift activity between Slate and the general ledger and resolve discrepancies promptly.
• Oversee fund and designation setup, campaign and appeal coding, pledge receivables, month- and year-end close, audit requests, and financial reporting.
• Develop clear controls and documentation that support accurate reporting and an appropriate separation of duties.

Policy, Compliance, and Data Stewardship - 10%

• Develop, maintain, and apply policies and procedures related to gift acceptance and processing, data governance, prospect research, records retention, privacy, access, and ethical use of information.
• Help ensure compliance with institutional requirements and applicable legal, regulatory, accounting, and professional standards.
• Manage confidential donor, prospect, financial, and institutional data with sound judgment and the highest level of discretion.
• Maintain procedure manuals, audit trails, and internal controls; support institutional audits and risk-management efforts.

Leadership and Collaboration - 10%

• Supervise, coach, and evaluate the Assistant Director of Operations; establish clear priorities, service standards, professional -development goals, and cross-training plans.
• Build a collaborative, responsive and service-oriented culture that anticipates partner needs and keeps the donor experience at the center of operational decisions.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to the Vice President of Institutional Advancement and a strategic Partner across the Advancement division and University.
• Balance strategic priorities with hands-on execution in a lean, team-oriented environment.

The above statements reflect the general duties and responsibilities necessary to describe the major functions of the position and should not be considered a complete description of the essential functions of the position. This Job Description is not intended to be all inclusive. The employee will be assigned by the immediate supervisor to perform other duties as needed or to perform other reasonably related duties, including special projects.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

• Five or more years of progressively responsible experience with donor database systems, gift accounting, advancement services, prospect research, or prospect management.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex data, building reports and queries, improving business processes, and maintaining data quality.
• Working knowledge of SQL, including the ability to write and interpret queries to extract, validate, and analyze donor and prospect data in support of reporting and fundraising strategy.
• Understanding online giving portals, including Day of Giving platforms, and the underlying logic governing donor workflows, gift designation, matching challenges, data integration, and reporting.
• Working knowledge of charitable gift processing, reconciliation, fundraising operations, and moves-management practices.
• Strong analytical, project-management, problem-solving, documentation, and written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, exercise sound judgment, and handle confidential information with discretion.
• Ability to work effectively and collegially with colleagues of varied technical backgrounds and across organizational functions.
• Ability to work either on campus or virtually within reasonable driving distance of campus, subject to the University’s Flexible Work Arrangements Policy. If working virtually, the Director must be able to travel to campus for team retreats and occasional in-person meetings, approximately 10-12 times per year, with additional travel possible as business needs require.

PREFERRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

• Experience administering Slate in an advancement environment.
• Experience with wealth-screening, prospect-research, board level data-visualization, and business-intelligence tools.
• Supervisory experience and experience in higher education or a nonprofit fundraising organization.
• Advanced understanding of Slate CRM, Asana project management software, data governance, reporting, segmentation, and CRM-supported workflows.
• Knowledge of advancement operations, donor lifecycle practices, prospect research ethics, gift administration, and fund accounting concepts.
• Ability to convert complex data into clear insights and practical recommendations for fundraising strategy.
• Ability to establish scalable processes, controls, service expectations, and performance measures.
• Commitment to accuracy, continuous improvement, collaboration, responsiveness, and donor-centered service.

Muskingum University actively seeks out and welcomes administrators and staff who are committed to excellence in student learning, consider the engagement of diverse viewpoints in the University’s educational programs and activities, and are committed to full inclusivity at the University. Muskingum University is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from all individuals.

Muskingum University does not discriminate in its employment or educational programs or activities. Please visit https://www.muskingum.edu/non-discrimination-statement to review the university’s official non-discrimination statement.