Director, Prospect Strategy, Management, and Research

ROLE TITLE: Director, Prospect Strategy, Management, and Research

POSITION REPORTS TO: MD, Prospect Management & Research

PRIORITY APPLICATION DEADLINE: Friday, October 2nd at 11:59PM ET

LOCATION: Flexible/Remote 

WHAT YOU’LL DO

As a member of the Prospect Strategy, Management, & Research (PSR) team, you will play a central role in strengthening TFA’s fundraising strategy by connecting high-quality prospect intelligence with disciplined portfolio and pipeline management. You will help set and execute an enterprise-wide vision for building healthy donor and prospect pools, optimizing fundraiser portfolios, and moving prospects through clear qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship stages. In this role, you will provide actionable research, capacity and inclination analysis, relationship mapping, due diligence, and portfolio insights that help frontline fundraisers focus on the right donors, at the right time, with the right strategy.

WHAT YOU’LL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR

Prospect research support (45%)

• Deliver timely, accurate, and actionable prospect research for assigned fundraising teams, including deep-dive profiles, meeting briefings, capacity ratings, inclination assessments, philanthropic interest analysis, board and relationship mapping, and strategy recommendations.
• Lead proactive prospect discovery projects that identify new individual, foundation, corporate, and institutional prospects aligned with TFA priorities, fundraising goals, and enterprise-wide growth opportunities.

• Maintain accurate, well-documented prospect and donor intelligence in Salesforce, including biographical, philanthropic, wealth, affiliation, relationship, engagement, and capacity data from internal and external sources.
• Analyze and synthesize complex information from research databases, public records, internal giving history, relationship networks, and fundraiser knowledge into clear insights that inform cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies.
• Monitor ethical, legal, and privacy considerations related to prospect research, including evolving laws, regulations, and professional standards that affect the access, use, storage, and distribution of information.
• Provide due diligence research and reputational risk insights to support responsible donor engagement and help monitor TFA’s prospect pipeline for potential concerns.

Prospect Management (45%)

• Lead regular portfolio reviews with assigned fundraisers and development leaders to assess portfolio composition, stage distribution, pipeline health, qualification progress, next steps, and opportunities for strategic movement.
• Recommend and manage prospect assignments, reassignments, qualification priorities, and disqualification decisions based on capacity, affinity, engagement, relationship strength, fundraiser bandwidth, and organizational priorities.
• Track and support movement through the donor lifecycle, ensuring that prospect stages, strategies, opportunities, contact reports, and next steps are consistently documented and used to guide fundraising activity.
• Evaluate prospecting, assignment, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship processes to identify opportunities for greater consistency, accountability, efficiency, and fundraiser adoption.
• Create and maintain healthy donor and prospect pools, balanced fundraiser portfolios, and robust pipelines that support revenue growth, campaign readiness, and long-term donor engagement.
• Build clear reports, dashboards, and visual summaries that make portfolio data, pipeline trends, and prospect management recommendations accessible and actionable for fundraisers and leaders.

Team Membership (10%)

• Participate in regular team meetings for both the Fundraising Operations team and the larger Development team.
• Demonstrate the core values and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusiveness.
• Engage in Elevate, TFA’s performance review system, to drive performance, learning, and professional growth.

A WEEK IN THE LIFE

In a typical week, you may prepare a research briefing for a high-priority donor meeting, analyze portfolio and pipeline data ahead of a fundraiser review, recommend prospect assignments or stage updates in Salesforce, partner with development leaders to identify upgrade and discovery opportunities, and translate complex prospect intelligence into clear next steps that help fundraisers advance relationships. You may also monitor due diligence questions, update prospect records, and contribute to team conversations about strengthening prospect management systems, reporting, and adoption across the enterprise.

YOUR EXPERIENCE

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• 4+ years of relevant experience in prospect development, prospect management, advancement services, fundraising operations, donor intelligence, prospect research, or a related field.
• Experience partnering directly with fundraisers or other internal stakeholders to support portfolio strategy, prospect prioritization, relationship management, or fundraising outcomes.
• Experience with prospect management practices, including portfolio reviews, prospect assignments, pipeline management, moves management, and/or donor lifecycle tracking.
• Experience conducting prospect research and translating information into actionable insights or recommendations.
• Experience working with a CRM or other system used to manage prospect, donor, or relationship information.
• Strong understanding of data quality and the importance of accurate, accessible information for decision-making.
• Ability to analyze and synthesize information from multiple sources and communicate it clearly to different audiences.
• Strong attention to detail and discretion when working with confidential and sensitive information.
• Ability to manage multiple projects, stakeholders, and competing priorities in a fast-paced and evolving environment.
• Curiosity and a continuous learning mindset, with a willingness to learn new systems, tools, and approaches.
• Creative problem-solving skills and the ability to work through ambiguity and change.
• Strong written, verbal, and relationship-building skills.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience with Salesforce and/or Microsoft Dynamics or another fundraising CRM.
• Experience with data analysis, reporting, dashboards, or data visualization.
• Experience using prospect research platforms such as RelSci, iWave, LexisNexis, Wealth-X, Candid, or similar tools.
• Ability to leverage emerging technologies, including AI, to improve prospect research, portfolio strategy, data analysis, or fundraising workflows.
• Experience working across different areas of fundraising or Development, providing a broader understanding of fundraising strategy and operations.
• Experience launching, improving, or innovating a process, tool, program, or approach beyond the immediate scope of your role.
• Experience developing workplans, setting project direction, or bringing structure to ambiguous work.
• Ability to tailor communications and recommendations to different audiences and support change management or systems adoption.
• Experience presenting complex information through research profiles, briefings, portfolio summaries, dashboards, or other forms of data storytelling.
• Familiarity with ethical standards and practices related to prospect research, including APRA principles.
• Strong proficiency with Microsoft Office or comparable productivity tools.

YOUR FUTURE TEAM

The Director, Prospect Strategy, Management, and Research sits on the Fundraising Operations team, which is part of Teach For America’s Central Development team. The Development team builds and strengthens philanthropic partnerships by inspiring donors to invest in TFA’s work with students nationally and regionally. The Fundraising Operations team supports Teach For America’s enterprise-wide fundraising efforts by ensuring strong data, technology, reporting, analysis, gift operations, prospect research, and prospect management practices, and by helping fundraisers adopt the tools, insights, and systems that support effective donor engagement. The Fundraising Operations team is comprised of three sub-teams: (1) Data Governance, Reporting & Technology, (2) Gift Operations, and (3) Prospect Strategy, Management & Research. The Development team has members located across the country. While there is limited travel involved in this role for team meetings, most interactions will be conducted virtually.

YOUR COMPENSATION

The applicable salary range for each U.S.-based role is based on where the employee works and is aligned to one of 3 tiers according to a cost-of-labor index in that geographic area. Starting pay for the successful applicant will depend on a variety of job-related factors, which may include education, training, experience, location, business needs, or market demands. New hires are typically brought into the organization at a salary between the range minimum and the salary range midpoint depending on qualifications, internal equity, and the budgeted amount for the role. The expected salary ranges for this role are set forth below. These ranges may be modified in the future.

Tier A: $74,300 - $97,500

Tier B: $81,000 - $106,300

Tier C: $87,600 - $115,000

You can view which tier applies to where you plan to work here.