Associate Director, Prospect Research & Management at International Rescue Committee

The External Relations (ER) department was created in early 2020 and is comprised of 3 main but complementary functional areas: Private fundraising, Communications and Advocacy. The department is in the beginning stages of creating a new ambitious strategy that will enhance IRC’s ability to ‘punch above its weight’ in private income, advocacy, and brand awareness.

Supporting this endeavor, and an integral part of ER, is the Global Partnerships and Philanthropic Services (GPPS) Unit. Reporting into the VP Global Partnerships and Philanthropic Services, GPPS consists of functional specialists across a variety of high-value fundraising functions providing all elements of cultivation, support and stewardship to high value donors, partners, and supporters, comprising three pillars: Prospect Research & Management; Program Services; and Partner Engagement & Corporate Affairs.

The IRC has an exciting opportunity to join Prospect Research & Management and be part of a team that is critical to the advancement of our aspirational high-value (HV) goals and vision. Today, high-value income makes up for more than two-thirds of the Organization’s private-sector revenue. The delivery of outstanding service and expert functions from GPPS across all HV teams globally will be a critical enabler to the continued success of our HV fundraisers.

Job Overview:

Prospect and donor research is the foundation of high value fundraising, providing insight and recommendations to the fundraisers to make informed data driven and timely decisions progressing prospects through the donor’s journey in line with organizational priorities. Our work supports the organization’s sustainability by finding opportunities for funding, focusing our resources, and protecting its reputation through due diligence. We empower fundraisers and our leadership to make effective, donor centric decision-making.

As part of this team, you and your staff will support new business and new funding modalities, a brand-new area developed to proactively and holistically generate and build new global HV funding opportunities for the IRC. You will provide high-quality donor research and strategic feedback on corporates, foundations and HNWIs in international markets, with a particular focus on DAFs and faith/membership-based entities. You will study and synthesize internal and external data and information sources to coordinate the HV teams’ understanding of how to deploy global partnership strategies, grounded in organizational priorities. You will work closely with HV fundraisers to refine and focus pipeline management standard methodologies through prospect identification, data analysis, market, sector and event scans to advance portfolio optimization.

Major Responsibilities:**

• Work in tandem with Director, Prospect Research & Management, on collaborating with HV senior staff to integrate data-driven and qualitative analyses of specific client and broader trends into global tactics and strategies for client management, opportunity development, and enhanced revenue;
• Act as a thought partner with New Business leads to understand the ecosystem of new funding modalities, and implement resulting strategies into team directives;
• Supervise and mentor the New Business research team;
• Lead the New Business team in formulating a blueprint for identifying and qualifying donors capable of significant financial support, applying different on-line and electronic sources, for meetings and strategy planning;
• Improve the team’s operational systems, including the development of team-wide protocols, information management, and consistent and efficient work management practices, bolstering the team’s ability to keep up with growing department goals;
• Conceptualize projects that result in new international prospects for the organization, in particular through analysis of prospects and donor networks and events;
• Rate donors and prospects in terms of capacity and inclination, and develop strategic recommendations in consultation with front-line fundraising colleagues;
• Provide due-diligence background research on individual and institutional donors;
• Be responsible for case load of requests to ensure workload is shared evenly across team members;
• Establish benchmarking to evaluate efficiency of research recommendations and products;
• Develop expertise in institutional programs and develop external resources to monitor and track industry specific changes significant to IRC’s mission;
• Manage a suite of resources, e.g. CRM database, subscription databases and media tools, to understand and respond to market-led and client-specific opportunities;

Job Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience – Master’s degree preferred;
• 6-8 years progressive experience in prospect research/database management (Salesforce);
• Experience coaching, developing and mentoring individuals;
• Demonstrated knowledge of quantitative and qualitative analysis and business intelligence work in support of non-profit fundraising or commercial sales, preferably with familiarity of MENA, Africa, Asia and Europe regions;
• Demonstrated skills for analyzing, interpreting, and synthesizing data;
• Demonstrated ability to develop proactive prospecting methodologies to support organizational goals, including data mining, sophisticated constituent database queries, etc.;
• High proficiency in internet search engines and sophisticated search techniques, fundraising software, data retrieval services (e.g. LexisNexis, iWave, Foundation Directory, etc.), MS Office (Word, Outlook and Excel, in particular). Experience working with a relational database a necessity, preferably Salesforce;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills as well as an overall ability to be clear, diplomatic, and concise in all communications; attention to detail a must.

Preferred Experience & Skills:

• Keen understanding of the international business sector and familiarity with corporate research and resources;
• Knowledge and curiosity about emerging concepts and practices in the field of strategic philanthropy, corporate social responsibility, Public Private Partnerships, and impact investing, particularly as it relates non-U.S. entities;
• Strong organizational and time-management skills; confirmed ability to prioritize and deliver on time;
• Ability to act with sensitivity and discretion while working with highly confidential information;
• Prior experience working at an international organization outside the U.S. not required but would be an asset;
• Multiple languages a plus, particularly written and spoken knowledge of Arabic and/or Mandarin;

Working Environment*:* Requires remote/flex-time work.

IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Standards of Professional Conduct: The IRC and IRC workers adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.