Senior Associate Director, Prospect Management and Portfolio Strategy

Columbia University in the City of New York; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Columbia University in the City of the City of New York's Office of Alumni Relations and Development seeks a Senior Associate Director, Prospect Management & Portfolio Strategy to guide the governance of donor portfolios and optimize prospect management across fundraising programs.

Reporting to the Director of Prospect Development, the role builds data-informed strategies, manages assignment and stage processes, and provides strategic guidance to enhance pipeline development and fundraising

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and 4–6 years of experience in prospect management or a related field.
• Basic aptitude in PL/SQL and expert proficiency with Microsoft Office.
• Familiarity with data visualization tools (Power BI, Tableau, SRSS, Qlik).
• Knowledge of fundraising, alumni relations, development and prospect development.
• Familiarity with software development lifecycle and issue tracking tools.

Responsibilities

• Shape and optimize donor prospect portfolios for frontline fundraisers.
• Manage systems and processes for prospect assignment and stage management.
• Track fundraiser activity through reports and proposals.
• Drive data-informed decision-making and monitor portfolio performance.
• Provide strategic guidance to enhance pipeline development and fundraising outcomes.

Skills

Data-informed decision making

Portfolio management

CRUD operations

Wealth screening

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

PL/SQL

Microsoft SRSS

Power BI

Tableau

Qlik

JIRA

Trello

TaskRay

Rally

Job description

The Prospect Development team within the Office of Alumni Relations and Development (OAD) at Columbia University specializes in Prospect Research, Due Diligence Research, and Prospect Management.

Reporting to the Director of Prospect Development, the Senior Associate Director, Prospect Management & Portfolio Strategy serves as a senior strategic partner in the development and execution of prospect management and portfolio strategy for Columbia’s fundraising programs. This role is responsible for shaping and optimizing the pool of donors and prospective donors assigned to frontline fundraisers, ensuring portfolios are strategically constructed, actively managed, and aligned with institutional priorities.

The Senior Associate Director manages the systems and processes that support effective prospect management, including prospect assignment, stage management, and the tracking of fundraiser activity through contact reports and proposals. The person in this role will drive data-informed decision-making, monitor portfolio performance, and provide strategic guidance to enhance pipeline development and fundraising outcomes.

• Bachelor’s degree and four (4) to six (6) years of experience in prospect management or a related field required, preferably in a higher education environment.
• Basic aptitude in query languages such as PL/SQL and expert proficiency with Microsoft Office suite required.
• Familiarity with data visualization tools, such as Microsoft SRSS, Power BI, Tableau, and/or Qlik required.
• Knowledge of common practices in the fields of fundraising, alumni relations, development, and prospect development. Ability to conceptualize and develop proactive prospecting methodologies to support organizational goals, including data mining, sophisticated constituent database queries, etc. Familiarity with wealth screening and its application to fundraising.
• Familiarity with the software development lifecycle and experience with issue tracking software, such as JIRA, Trello, TaskRay, and/or Rally, preferred.
• Understanding of CRUD operations and the ability to create and troubleshoot database packages and procedures, preferred.
• Salary: $90,000-$100,000. Subject to business needs, the Office of Alumni Relations and Development supports a hybrid work arrangement for this position. Options will be discussed during the interview process.