Assistant Director, Prospect Research

ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION 

At the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health, we are a team of dedicated individuals with a shared commitment to helping kids and families live healthier lives.

We do this by:
• Fundraising for Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford and the maternal and child health programs of Stanford University School of Medicine.
• Raising awareness of children's health issues.
• Promoting a system of care that improves the lives of children with special health care needs and their families  

JOB DESCRIPTION 

The Assistant Director, Prospect Research supports the Director in working towards the strategic goals of the Prospect Development department. Through prospect identification, prospect research, prospect management, data acquisition and analysis, the Assistant Director deepens the Foundation’s institutional knowledge of its prospects by playing a vital role in helping the Foundation meet its goals for prospecting, fundraising, engagement, communications, and stewardship. The Assistant Director assumes responsibility for the tools of prospect research and, in partnership with the Director of Prospect Development, leads in the systematic identification of potential prospects from bulk screenings and grateful patient data.

Due to Covid-19, employees of LPFCH (Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health) are currently working remotely, with the expectation of returning to the office within the next few months (subject to extensions as circumstances warrant). Once the office reopens, employees will transition to a hybrid work model. Please note that LPFCH has a Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Policy and that all new employees must submit proof of their Covid-19 vaccination and booster vaccines at the time their employment commences. Alternatively, prior to commencing employment, new employees may request approval for accommodation for an exemption to the policy as permitted by law.

The organization will give preference to candidates who are able to be on site at the office in Palo Alto, CA 1-2 times per week, but fully remote candidates will be considered. Please note, if a remote candidate is selected for the position, compensation will be adjusted for their geographic location.

 

GENERAL POSITION DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The essential duties of the Assistant Director, Prospect Research include:

Operational Responsibilities

Prospect Research:

• Work in partnership with the Director to oversee prospect and new board member identification from Grateful Patient Families, Recent Donors, and key wealth events, such as IPOs.

• Own the program components that monitor and evaluate prospects or potential prospects: news alerts, bulk screenings, models, deceased record screenings, data enrichment programs (in partnership with Data & Reporting); partner with the Director on program element design or refinement as needed.

• Partner with the Assistant Director of Prospect Strategy & Management to identify needed data enrichments.

• Provide training, guidance, support, and mentorship to research staff team members, and maintain consistent documentation of procedures and manuals.

• Serve as Prospect Research liaison with gift officers leading gift officer monthly check-in’s and collaborate with Prospect Strategy & Management to participate in portfolio reviews and prospect management strategy discussions.

• Manage intake of prospect research requests. Write and edit prospect profiles that synthesize and highlight key insights in support of relationship building (cultivation), revenue acquisition (solicitation) and revenue retention (stewardship).

• Lead build-out of new processes and procedures such as international prospecting and due diligence risk assessment.

Systems and Tools:

• Manage department vendor accounts and subscriptions and manage prospect research consultants’ hours, projects and tasks on a daily basis.

• Play a pivotal role in the planning, coordination, and implementation of routine and specialized wealth screenings.

• Lead in the application of specialized models for grateful patient family conversion to donors and retention as donors; in partnership with the Director, identify additional modelling as needed.

• Help plan or lead the RFP process, timeline, and project objectives.

• Assist the Director in working collaboratively with the Data & Reporting team to ensure optimal use and maintenance of the database and dashboards as it relates to prospect identification and research.

• Grow or maintain specialized knowledge of Bay Area/Silicon Valley wealth indicators and capacity assessments.

Leadership Responsibilities:

• Trains, coaches, mentors, and develops staff to ensure optimal research products that support strong prospect and donor relationships and revenue acquisition and retention, support continuous learning and growth opportunities.

• Establishes individual staff goals and objectives in alignment with and support of departmental and Foundation goals.

• Promotes a work environment where staff feel engaged, valued, and can do their best work.

• Embraces diversity in all its forms to ensure departmental and Foundation staff are treated with respect, dignity, and empathy at all times and in all situations.

 

NOTE: We are a dynamic organization in a rapidly changing industry. Therefore, the responsibilities associated with this position will evolve and grow in accordance with LPFCH's business needs and growth plans. More specifically, the incumbent may be required to perform additional and/or different responsibilities based on the future growth plans for the Foundation.

 

REQUIREMENTS 

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

Required:

• A Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience.

• 3 - 4 years of experience in prospect research or information management in the areas of research, screenings, tools, data enrichment, maintenance, and integrity.

• Extensive experience analyzing high volumes of data from varying sources.

• Proficiency in donor databases such as The Raiser’s Edge (or similar software) and commonly used research tools (LexisNexis, etc.) is essential.

• Ability to locate and interpret financial and biographical information from a variety of sources.

• Proficient in Microsoft Office products including Outlook, Word, Excel, and Power Point.

Preferred:

• 1+ years of staff management experience including the ability to coach, mentor, train and manage 1 or more direct reports.

• Experience using analytics software such as Power BI or Tableau.

 

SKILLS

Competencies the Assistant Director, Prospect Research possesses:

Accurate

• Performs tasks with care; is thorough.

• Checks work to ensure accuracy and completeness.

Project Manager and Time Management

• Demonstrates good judgment; builds rapport with Director to correctly evaluate which projects to prioritize and which to deprioritize.

• Prior demonstrated ability to manage projects and assignments effectively ensuring on-time delivery of high-quality work in a deadline driven environment.

• Self-motivation and initiative with the flexibility to work independently on multiple projects or in a team.

Collaborative

• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with diverse staff across an institution; strong team player with recognized leadership capacity and excellent interpersonal skills.

• Highly developed verbal and written communication skills and the ability to communicate technical concepts to non-technical audiences.

Data Driven and Research Skills

• Makes informed decisions based on data and analytics captured by systems or derived from research.

• Applies logic and deep knowledge of fundraising practice to categorize, summarize and present complex findings from screenings, models, or research.

Strategic Thinker

• Analytical; focused on synthesizing research findings into actionable insights.

• Ability to exercise good judgement and handle confidential and sensitive information with the utmost discretion.

Motivated by the LPFCH Mission

• Possesses a genuine interest in improving the health and well-being of children.

• Possesses a genuine interest in fundraising and philanthropy.