Hybrid Prospect Strategy & Research Lead

Harvard University; Massachusetts; Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Harvard University’s Harvard Business School is seeking a Director of Prospect Strategy & Research to lead the institution’s prospect strategy, research, and pipeline development. You will oversee ratings, screenings, constituent intelligence, and technology-enabled processes across a large alumni population.

Reporting to senior advancement leadership, you will manage staff, set priorities, partner with fundraising and analytics teams, and develop scalable workflows.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• 10+ years of progressively responsible experience in prospect research, prospect development, fundraising strategy, advancement operations, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience leading and developing staff.
• Strong understanding of major gift fundraising, prospect management, and prospect development principles.
• Experience working with prospect research tools, screening resources, and constituent data.
• Experience developing operational processes, metrics, and service delivery models.
• Excellent analytical, organizational, and communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to build relationships and collaborate across teams.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership for prospect identification, qualification, ratings, screenings, and prospect prioritization efforts.
• Develop scalable approaches to prospect identification and prioritization leveraging research, analytics, and emerging technologies.
• Partner with fundraising leadership to support portfolio strategy, pipeline development, and fundraising planning.
• Support proactive prospecting focused on strategic industries, alumni segments, and emerging opportunities.
• Establish frameworks to ensure research resources focus on high-value opportunities.
• Collaborate with advancement partners to broaden prospect coverage and strengthen fundraising pipelines.
• Oversee prospect research, ratings, screenings, and constituent intelligence activities.
• Develop relationship intelligence and network-based approaches to strategy.
• Ensure research products are relevant, actionable, and aligned with priorities.
• Maintain quality standards and consistency across ratings, screenings, and research practices.

Skills

Leadership

Staff development

Stakeholder collaboration

Analytical thinking

Fundraising knowledge

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

Prospect research tools

Screening resources

Constituent data systems

Relationship intelligence tools

Job description

Harvard University’s Harvard Business School is seeking a Director of Prospect Strategy & Research to lead the institution’s prospect strategy, research, and pipeline development. You will oversee ratings, screenings, constituent intelligence, and technology-enabled processes across a large alumni population.

Reporting to senior advancement leadership, you will manage staff, set priorities, partner with fundraising and analytics teams, and develop scalable workflows.