The Talent Acquisition department hires qualified candidates to fill positions which contribute to the overall strategic success of Howard University. Hiring staff “for fit” makes significant contributions to Howard University’s overall mission.

At Howard

University, we prioritize well-being and professional growth. Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance, plus mental health support Work-Life Balance: PTO, paid holidays, flexible work arrangements Financial Wellness: Competitive salary, 403(b) with company match Ongoing training, tuition reimbursement, and career advancement paths Developing a robust culture of prospect research and portfolio management is vital to the University’s fundraising and to Development and Alumni Relations (DAR) efforts to build sustainable and broad-based annual, leadership, major, principal, and planned gift programs, as well as corporate and foundation relations prospect pipelines in support of annual and long-term fundraising targets. The position embodies a customer-service orientation to lead generation, potential prospect identification, research, and qualification and provides—both proactively and in response to requests from colleagues—confidential and thoroughly researched profiles, reports, and briefings tailored to the needs of a variety of audiences.

Reporting to the Director of Prospect Development, the Prospect Research Specialist provides analysis and actionable support to gift officers and portfolio managers to inform prospect strategies and list segmentation. In collaboration with partners across campus, additional prospect names and introductions will be captured and centralized in DAR’s database. This role identifies, tracks, segments,



and analyzes donor records and key relationships between the existing Howard community and prospective current sources of support to meet annual and long-term University fundraising objectives.

The role ensures prospect data is collected and input into Raiser’s Edge, requiring systematized efforts to review local and national news, business publications, economic trends, and business developments to keep abreast of prospect information and to provide relevant updates to gift officers on assigned prospects. Core responsibilities include the timely creation of prospect briefings and reports using research and screening tools. The position is expected to leverage analytics informed by predictive modelling, wealth screening, data mining and benchmarking to inform portfolio audit/balancing efforts and maintain a system of assigning prospects to gift officer portfolios.

The Prospect Research

Specialist must keep current on research and fundraising trends through regular contact with industry resources as well as vendors. Demonstrate sound project management skills

- Strong attention to detail and ability to analyze substantial amounts of data
- Ability to embody a customer service approach while providing support to multiple team members
- Knowledge of research software (i.e., Demonstrated proficiency in query and report building in a development CRM (Customer Relationship Management) (i.e. Raiser’s Edge, Salesforce or similar) Commitment to maintaining the professional and ethical standards set forth for the field by the Association of Researchers for Advancement (APRA)
- Ability to and adhere to standard operating procedures for data process functions
- Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree or (3) years of experience in a prospect research position Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and database management experience;

📌 Foundation Database Specialist *Telecommute* (Ontario)
🏢 Howard University
📍 Ontario