Description
This position can be based in Washington, DC, Yarmouth, MA or US remote
Staff work a hybrid schedule with 2 days/week in the office
The Director of Prospect Development is a strategic architect and key leader within IFAW’s global major gifts and legacy fundraising program. This role drives prospect intelligence and research strategy to ensure a robust pipeline of high-net-worth donors, fueling transformational growth in philanthropic revenue.
As a trusted advisor to senior leadership, the Director delivers data-driven insights and portfolio optimization strategies that empower gift officers to engage the right donors at the right time. The position oversees a disciplined system for donor prioritization, portfolio replenishment, and performance analysis, ensuring alignment with IFAW’s bold fundraising goals—including scaling individual major giving from $3M to $10–$20M annually to advance critical conservation and rescue initiatives worldwide.
The Director also guides organizational change and leads a high-performing team of two professionals (Prospect Research Coordinator and Senior Development Coordinator) to build internal capacity and deliver best-in-class prospect development services.
Role and Responsibilities
Architects and directs a high-performing global prospect research function for IFAW, setting vision and standards for excellence. Champions collaboration with Major Gifts and Planned Giving teams while strategically advising Institutional Giving and Mid-Level teams as needed. Consults across legacy, mid-level, and digital teams to optimize donor assignments and enhance lifetime value.
Designs and drives prospect strategies to achieve ambitious revenue and budget goals; partners with the DVP to optimize gift officer territories and prioritize high-value prospects for maximum fundraising impact.
Leads oversight of prospect/donor research, pipeline development, and portfolio management for major and planned gift officers; implements continuous portfolio optimization strategies
Ensures seamless lifecycle management of prospects from identification and qualification through cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
Evaluates, selects, and governs research tools, subscriptions, and systems to maintain GDPR compliance and deliver best-in-class prospect management globally.
Facilitates strategic prospect review sessions to co-create solicitation plans for priority donors and drives accountability for achieving ask and close targets.
Serves as a trusted advisor to senior leadership and gift officers, aligning donor strategies with institutional priorities, accelerating pipeline growth, and enabling data-driven decision-making across all phases of donor engagement.
Builds and monitors a robust prospect pipeline, recommends upgrades and referrals, and proactively sources new high-potential prospects to sustain long-term fundraising success.
Develops and maintains the donor pyramid to ensure sufficient prospect depth for meeting organizational revenue goals.
Partners with events teams to identify new leads, define guest list criteria, and ensure strategic post-event follow-up.
Analyzes and refines trend and performance reports; oversees the design of dashboards to track research activities, workflows, and outcomes.
Manages vendor and consultant relationships, ensuring delivery of high-quality custom research and reports aligned with organizational standards.
Directs end-to-end wealth screening processes, including criteria development, CRM integration, and dissemination of actionable insights to stakeholders.
Champions innovation in prospect research by staying ahead of industry best practices; conducts annual audits of tools and subscriptions, recommends enhancements, and streamlines systems for global efficiency.
Mentors and develops two direct reports through tailored growth plans to strengthen in-house expertise and amplify research impact on fundraising.
Conducts comprehensive research using public records, databases, media, and proprietary resources to uncover actionable intelligence on donors and prospects.
Develops a broad awareness of IFAW’s programs to support the identification of individuals and institutions whose philanthropic interests align with our work.
Produces strategic mapping tools (heat maps, territory maps) to inform gift officer deployment and future planning.
Generates targeted prospect lists for donor visits and events to maximize engagement opportunities.
Designs and delivers training programs to embed new processes and elevate prospect research capabilities across the organization.
Partners with the Gift Processor to assess incoming contributions, applying rigorous evaluation standards and escalating any gifts requiring review under the Gift Acceptance Policy.”
Provides executive-level research support as needed, including capacity and affinity analyses, filling MGO requests, and completing leadership briefings.
Requirements
Bachelor’s degree preferred
Training through Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement (APRA) seminars and workshops and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) for prospect research and management is preferred.
Minimum 3-5 years of professional experience is required, preferably in a hospital, university, or international charity. Experience in prospect research and management experience in development required.
Skills: Knowledge of fundraising database management is required. Experience with Blackbaud BBCRM is preferred. Knowledge and understanding of fundraising prospect management principles and methods is required, together with awareness of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and international prospect research norms. Knowledge of data mining methodology and predictive modeling is required.
Strong interpersonal skills, team work ethic, ability to handle confidential information, excellent judgment, diplomacy, and discretion.
Experience using iWave, WealthX, Windfall, or other wealth screening tools.
Advanced experience with Microsoft office.
