Job Description

Description

The

Prospect Research

within

VP Development and Alumni

is currently seeking a Full-time Regular

Senior Prospect Strategist

.


The Development & Alumni Office exists to source and generate money and gifts-in-kind for the mutual benefit of the University of Calgary and its supporters. This goal is accomplished under the direction of the Vice President, Development.


The Office of Advancement Services supports and guides fundraising, alumni engagement and communication efforts across UCalgary through gift acceptance and management, alumni and donor research and prospect services, impact and financial reporting and data management. We collect, analyze and distill data into actionable intelligence to increase efficiency, solve business challenges, drive strategy and increase revenue for UCalgary


The Senior Prospect Strategist reports directly to the Manager, Pipeline Development, acts in a technical leadership capacity for other members of the Prospect Research and Management team and maintains close working relationships with other members of the Advancement Services team,, as well as fundraisers (Centrally and Faculty based). This position, therefore, plays a crucial role in promoting and facilitating a collaborative and supportive work environment.


This position is responsible for the upkeep of the prospect management module in our Advancement database (BlackBaud CRM), from maintaining data integrity to facilitating communication across departments. The incumbent will play a critical liaison role with the Advancement Office, assisting fundraisers in adhering to the prospect management system. This position supports the overall goal of advancement by ensuring accurate and timely capture of relevant information on current donors and prospects that will help guide decision-making and generate gifts for advancement goals.


The incumbent works with prospect data, provides strategic prospect insights to fundraisers and supports cross-functional collaboration. They create and run advanced reporting on the prospect management system. They leverage best practices to contribute to process improvement and provide training and mentoring to colleagues and fundraisers.


The incumbent works independently, receiving minimal guidance. They possess superior time-management skills in order to deal with multiple projects and priorities with potentially overlapping deadlines. Issues underlying projects can be complex, requiring judgment and tact in dealing with colleagues that are affected. A strong understanding of the University's mission, values and plans is key. Commitment to accuracy of work and specialized knowledge is critical.


The position has a high volume of work driven by constant deadlines. The normal shift is 7.0 hours per day, five days per week, Monday to Friday. This position is part of the AUPE Collective Bargaining Unit.


The primary purpose of the position is to work with fundraisers to determine limitations they are having with their fundraising. Specifically, this position will determine strategies for fundraising shortcomings by understanding what meetings have taken place with potential donors and what deficiencies there are in their fundraising goals. This is a client-centred role that requires regular contact with stakeholders.


Additionally, they will manage the optimal, ethical, and donor centred Prospect Management process and related data, in the Advancement Database (BlackBaud CRM), so as to support the long-term and sustainable identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of the University of Calgary's donors; and to ensure the integrity of the Prospect Management information in the database by monitoring the work of Advancement staff.


In addition to maintaining data integrity, the incumbent coordinates prospect reviews and provides prospect development analysis and insights to fundraisers. They guide decision-making on prospect strategies and support cross-functional collaboration. They provide training and mentorship to staff on Advancement database usage and the prospect management systems.


The Senior Prospect Strategist leads the execution of advanced reporting and data analysis to support fundraising strategy and provides expert guidance to colleagues and fundraisers on Advancement Database usage, donor engagement tracking, and data interpretation.


This role acts as a technical and strategic resource, leveraging best practices at UCalgary and the area of Prospect Development, and contributes to the refinement of operational practices and supporting the implementation of prospect management system enhancements.


The successful candidate will:

Monitor and ensure that the prospect management database records are accurate and up-to-date. Facilitate the communication between all Relationship Managers on prospect records with multiple engagement records. Provide ongoing advice to new and existing fundraisers. Improve and implement Prospect Management related procedures. Create and analyze reports on prospect management from the Advancement database. Work in partnership with Prospect Research Liaisons. Provide subject matter expertise on Prospect Development to the team. Perform other duties as assigned.

Summary of Key Responsibilities

(job functions include but are not limited to):


Client-Centred Accountabilities

Assisting fundraisers in adhering to the prospect management system. Maintain regular contact with fundraisers and their support team to coordinate assignment of prospects, and status of pipelines. Act as a trusted advisor to fundraisers and development staff, helping interpret data trends and engagement history to inform strategy. Promoting coordination of prospect actions and recommending strategy meetings for fundraisers. This requires a high degree of tact and university understanding. Identifying issues with the pipeline and bringing them to the attention of the fundraisers, with recommendations. Support cross-functional collaboration by coordinating meetings and ensuring consistency in documentation. Build a strong knowledge of university fundraising priorities to guide collaboration on prospects across faculties. Provide expert-level guidance to fundraisers on Advancement database usage, donor engagement, and data interpretation.

Senior Strategist Accountabilities

Serve as a subject matter expert on prospect management systems, Advancement Database functionality and reporting best practices. Contribute to the development of internal documentation and training materials for prospect management systems, Advancement database and reporting tools. Act as a trusted advisor to fundraisers and development staff, helping interpret data trends and engagement history to inform strategy. Mentor new staff on Advancement database standards, data entry protocols, and reporting tools. Support the implementation of system enhancements by testing new features and providing feedback to the Manager, Pipeline Development and Advancement Services. May act as an in-scope supervisor for team members in absence of manager. Participate in working groups or task forces related to Advancement Database optimization or prospect development reporting, as assigned.


Monitor and ensure the accurate use of the Prospect Management module in the database. Coding records of engagement from team briefing and contact notes into the database in appropriate fields. Creating complex data queries and providing sound analysis of data queries. Creating dashboards and complex reports in Business Intelligence Tools like Tableau and Power BI in coordination with advancement data colleagues Extracting relevant information from contact reports to create, code and update records of engagement appropriately. Maintaining up-to-date documentation on prospect and donor record, ensuring that it is comprehensive, current, and user-friendly. Proactively identify opportunities to capture additional information in the Advancement database fields, as necessary. Preparing prospect strategy recommendations for fundraisers and guide fundraisers on strategic decision-making. Handle information on prospects ethically, accurately, and confidentially. Pleasantly and respectfully interact with co-workers, supervisor, members of the University community, donors, volunteers etc. Other duties as required and assigned related to prospect management.

Qualifications / Requirements:

Completion of a university degree in Business Administration, Communications, or a related field. Completion of a 2-year diploma may be considered with significant relevant experience. Minimum of 5 years experience in a fundraising , advancement services operations, or prospect management environment. Experience at the University of Calgary or in a post-secondary environment is an asset.

Other qualifications include:

Advanced proficiency in Excel, Advancement Database (BlackBaud CRM is an asset) , and data visualization platforms (Tableau, Power BI) to design dashboards, analyze donor engagement, and support strategic decision-making. Experience creating complex queries and reports to support fundraising strategy. Ability to contribute expertise and solve problems in a collaborative manner to achieve greater results. Advance knowledge of the purpose and function of prospect management to successful fundraising activities. Ability to work both independently as well as part of a team, and with diverse clients, and to work effectively in a large, complex, dynamic and sophisticated organization. Strong organizational and time-management skills, and attention to detail and accuracy Ability to multi-task, prioritize and meet deadlines. Demonstrated professionalism, tact and maturity in handling highly sensitive and confidential information ethically and with discretion. Experience mentoring peers and supporting onboarding of new staff. Demonstrated ability to identify process improvement opportunities and communicate recommendations to leadership. Knowledge of best practices and use of principal tools for prospect development.

Application Deadline:

November 4, 2025.

We would like to thank all applicants in advance for submitting their resumes. Please note, only those candidates chosen to continue on through the selection process will be contacted.


This position is part of the AUPE bargaining unit, and falls under the

Specialist / Advisor Job Family, Phase 3.


For a listing of all management and staff opportunities at the University of Calgary, view our

Management and Staff Careers website

.

About the University of Calgary

UCalgary is Canada's entrepreneurial university, located in Canada's most enterprising city. It is a top research university and one of the highest-ranked universities of its age. Founded in 1966, its 36,000 students experience an innovative learning environment, made rich by research, hands-on experiences and entrepreneurial thinking. It is Canada's leader in the creation of start-ups. Start something today at the University of Calgary. For more information, visit ucalgary.ca.


The University of Calgary has launched an institution-wide Indigenous Strategy committing to creating a rich, vibrant, and culturally competent campus that welcomes and supports Indigenous Peoples, encourages Indigenous community partnerships, is inclusive of Indigenous perspectives in all that we do.

As an equitable and inclusive employer, the University of Calgary recognizes that a diverse staff/faculty benefits and enriches the work, learning and research experiences of the entire campus and greater community. We are committed to removing barriers that have been historically encountered by some people in our society. We strive to recruit individuals who will further enhance our diversity and will support their academic and professional success while they are here. In particular, we encourage members of the designated groups (women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, members of visible/racialized minorities, and diverse sexual orientation and gender identities) to apply. To ensure a fair and equitable assessment, we offer accommodation at any stage during the recruitment process to applicants with disabilities. Questions regarding [diversity] EDI at UCalgary can be sent to the Office of Institutional Commitments (

equity@ucalgary.ca

) and requests for accommodations can be sent to Human Resources (

hrhire@ucalgary.ca

).

Do you have most but not all the qualifications? Research show that women, racialized and visible minorities, and persons with disabilities are less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At UCalgary we are committed to achieving equitable, diverse, inclusive and accessible employment practices and workplaces and encourage you to apply if you believe you are right for this role.

We encourage all qualified applicants to apply, however preference will be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada.