Prospect Research & New Business Growth Lead

Rocky Mountain Institute; Denver (CO); Hybrid; USD 76,000 - 94,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

403b retirement match

Generous PTO & parental leave

Hybrid/remote work options

Team retreats & learning budget

Job summary

Rocky Mountain Institute seeks a Development Lead for Prospect Research and New Business Development to drive funder research, pipeline management, and research operations across multiple revenue streams. You will lead cross-functional collaboration with program teams, Development staff, and executives to prioritize opportunities and improve fundraising outcomes.

The role emphasizes data fluency, Apra-informed standards, and experience supporting discovery across individuals, foundations,

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.
• 5 years of dedicated experience in prospect research, prospect development, fundraising operations, donor services, advancement services, or related nonprofit development.
• Familiarity with Apra Body of Knowledge and ethical research standards; Apra membership or training preferred.
• Experience identifying and qualifying prospects across fundraising verticals, including individuals/HNWIs, family offices, foundations, corporate philanthropy, and public-sector funders.

Responsibilities

• Lead and evolve prospect research and development across the revenue portfolio, maintaining centralized prospect lists and pipelines.
• Actively manage and report on prospect pipelines, status, ownership, and next steps.
• Strengthen data models in Salesforce or data warehouses, with dashboards and data-quality checks.
• Promote and apply responsible use of AI/automation to improve research speed, accuracy, and decision-making.

Skills

Data fluency

Prospect research

Project management

Stakeholder management

Written communication

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience

Tools

Salesforce

DonorSearch

WealthX

Foundation Directory/Foundation Center

Relationship Science

Job description

Rocky Mountain Institute seeks a Development Lead for Prospect Research and New Business Development to drive funder research, pipeline management, and research operations across multiple revenue streams. You will lead cross-functional collaboration with program teams, Development staff, and executives to prioritize opportunities and improve fundraising outcomes.

The role emphasizes data fluency, Apra-informed standards, and experience supporting discovery across individuals, foundations,