Director of Development Research

Development and Alumni Relations (DAR) supports Johns Hopkins’ focus on research, teaching and patient care, and its role as a national and global leader in higher education. We create and foster enduring relationships that result in advocacy and philanthropic support for Johns Hopkins University & Medicine; strengthening the institution through partnerships with donors, alumni, volunteer leaders, faculty, students, staff, and patients.

Johns Hopkins University supports a flexible work model which includes four different work modalities. This role has a modified hybrid work arrangement with an onsite presence of 2 days per week. The manager will confirm the team’s core onsite days where the majority/all team members will work in the office. Employees who travel on university business can count those days towards their onsite days.

Leading a team of ten-fifteen, the Director of Development Research is responsible for the pipeline development effort in support of major and principal gift fundraising for Johns Hopkins University & Medicine. This Director is responsible for the overall vision and strategic direction of prospect research for Development and University Relations (DAR). The person in this position will utilize their excellent project management research and organizational skills along with their effective writing abilities and persistent imagination to devise ways to secure and analyze information and leverage existing relationships to make connections to high net worth potential prospects and evaluate the potential organizational risk in engaging with these entities. The Director works with leadership, divisional, and department heads to facilitate the identification, tracking, and prioritization of fundraising prospects. In consultation with the Director of Relationship Management & Analytics, the director designs and executes projects and processes for the long-term growth of the prospect pipeline. This position is responsible for creating policies, procedures, and protocols for prospect development functions, building a solutions-oriented team, and resources required for fundraisers. They will develop and manage an annual budget for the unit. The Director will coach, guide, support, and sets professional development goals through the performance management process to assist employees to reach their potential.

Specific Duties and Responsibilities:

• Partner with development offices on the development and delivery of both standard research deliverables and special research projects.
  
• Develop and maintain strong working relationships and partnerships with divisional staff.
  
• Develop an understanding of divisional fundraising priorities and consult with development officers in university and hospital divisions about new and existing individual prospects and potential prospect pools.
  
• Design and update of standard research products; suggest new research products and services as needed to fulfill the information needs of fundraisers and management. Identify and pursue opportunities to streamline the delivery of and increase accessibility of information.
  
• Develop and manage special projects to expand Johns Hopkins network and donor pool.
  
• Maintain prospect information in DAR’s CRM and optical imaging system.
  
• Work collaboratively with the fundraising team to develop and implement strategies for engaging with potential major donors, including identifying appropriate cultivation and solicitation opportunities
  
• Keep abreast of trends and best practices in major gifts fundraising and prospect research and conduct regular evaluations of internal prospect management/research programs, and make recommendations for improvement
  
• Manage a team of ten to fifteen staff.
  
• Coach, guide, support, and set professional development goals through the performance management process to assist employees to reach their potential.
  
• Create and manage the development research operating budget.
  
• Conduct high-level prospect research and risk assessment research. Analyze, synthesize, and summarize information in the form of written prospect profiles and risk analysis reports used by the University President, Development & Alumni Relations leadership, and frontline fundraising staff in a deadline-driven, time-sensitive environment.
  
• Utilize advanced web search strategies and apply advanced expertise in the capabilities of available fee-based tools, providing comprehensive prospect research and risk assessment analysis.
  
• Interpret detailed legal, financial, technical, and trade documents and journal/media articles including tax records, annual reports, SEC filings, real estate property filings, etc. to help identify potential donors and their capacity and inclination to make a philanthropic gift.
  
• Interpret and evaluate complex court records, criminal filings, national and foreign sanctions records, and negative media coverage to gauge the reputational risk of prospective fundraising prospects and donors.
  
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree, preferably in Liberal Arts
• Five years professional related experience required. Experience should include significant experience in prospect research and supervisory experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Ability to mentor and grow staff.
• Experience with fundraising, major donor and gift databases, and a strong knowledge of fundraising terminology and processes.
• Experience in a broad range of prospect research and risk assessment techniques, including searching of databases and using other sources such as legal and financial documents, news/journal articles, real estate records, advanced web searches, and foundation and census data to retrieve biographical data, criminal filings, court records, sanctions data, philanthropic, and wealth-related data.
• Ability to synthesize a high volume of information and perform complex analysis to interpret litigation, financial data and individual wealth indicators; identify philanthropic patterns; and discover relationships among individuals, corporations and foundations. Possess an advanced ability to recognize and work with wealth indicators and assign appropriate gift capacity and financial ratings.
• Possess curiosity, patience, diligence, persistence as part of the research skill set.
• Must be able to resolve issues, represent findings, and interpret divisional research needs. Able to adapt to the dynamics of divisional changes in personnel, priorities or needs.
• Initiative and ability to learn quickly, prioritize tasks, problem solve, and work independently. Ability to re-prioritize individual work projects for time-sensitive requests.
• Must have strong verbal communication and interpersonal skills along with the ability to mentor staff and function in a team environment.
• Possess excellent written communication skills, including strong editing, spelling and grammar skills.
• High level of proficiency in the use of desktop systems and on-line databases.
• Must understand and practice a high standard of confidentiality and ethical information collection.

All applicants are expected to uphold the university’s core values which includes diversity and inclusion. All staff treat people with dignity and respect by being fair and consistent. We demonstrate an open-minded approach to understanding people regardless of their race, gender, age, national origin, religion, ethnicity, disability status or other characteristics. We show respect for the beliefs and traditions of others; encourage and promote practices that support cultural diversity; and discourage behaviors or practices that may be perceived as unfair, biased, or critical toward people with certain backgrounds.

Classified Title: Director Development Research
Job Posting Title (Working Title): Director of Development Research
Role/Level/Range: L/04/LD
Starting Salary Range: Minimum: $75,000 - Maximum: $131,300 (targeted salary: $115,420; commensurate with experience)
Employee group: Full Time
Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:30am to 5:00 pm
Exempt Status: Exempt
Location: JH at Keswick
Department name: 10001638-Development Research
Personnel area: University Administration 

Total Rewards
The referenced salary range is based on Johns Hopkins University’s good faith belief at the time of posting. Actual compensation may vary based on factors such as geographic location, work experience, market conditions, education/training and skill level. Johns Hopkins offers a total rewards package that supports our employees' health, life, career and retirement. More information can be found here: https://hr.jhu.edu/benefits-worklife/

Please refer to the job description above to see which forms of equivalency are permitted for this position. If permitted, equivalencies will follow these guidelines:
JHU Equivalency Formula: 30 undergraduate degree credits (semester hours) or 18 graduate degree credits may substitute for one year of experience. Additional related experience may substitute for required education on the same basis. For jobs where equivalency is permitted, up to two years of non-related college course work may be applied towards the total minimum education/experience required for the respective job.

**Applicants who do not meet the posted requirements but are completing their final academic semester/quarter will be considered eligible for employment and may be asked to provide additional information confirming their academic completion date.

The successful candidate(s) for this position will be subject to a pre-employment background check. Johns Hopkins is committed to hiring individuals with a justice-involved background, consistent with applicable policies and current practice. A prior criminal history does not automatically preclude candidates from employment at Johns Hopkins University. In accordance with applicable law, the university will review, on an individual basis, the date of a candidate’s conviction, the nature of the conviction and how the conviction relates to an essential job-related qualification or function.

The Johns Hopkins University values diversity, equity and inclusion and advances these through our key strategic framework, the JHU Roadmap on Diversity and Inclusion .

Accommodation Information

If you are interested in applying for employment with The Johns Hopkins University and require special assistance or accommodation during any part of the pre-employment process, please contact the Talent Acquisition Office at [email protected] . For TTY users, call via Maryland Relay or dial 711. For more information about workplace accommodations or accessibility at Johns Hopkins University, please visit accessibility.jhu.edu .

Johns Hopkins has mandated COVID-19 and influenza vaccines, as applicable. The COVID-19 vaccine does not apply to positions located in the State of Florida. Exceptions to the COVID and flu vaccine requirements may be provided to individuals for religious beliefs or medical reasons. Requests for an exception must be submitted to the JHU vaccination registry. For additional information, applicants for SOM positions should visit https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccine/ and all other JHU applicants should visit https://covidinfo.jhu.edu/health-safety/covid-vaccination-information/ .

The following additional provisions may apply, depending on campus. Your recruiter will advise accordingly.

The pre-employment physical for positions in clinical areas, laboratories, working with research subjects, or involving community contact requires documentation of immune status against Rubella (German measles), Rubeola (Measles), Mumps, Varicella (chickenpox), Hepatitis B and documentation of having received the Tdap (Tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) vaccination. This may include documentation of having two (2) MMR vaccines; two (2) Varicella vaccines; or antibody status to these diseases from laboratory testing. Blood tests for immunities to these diseases are ordinarily included in the pre-employment physical exam except for those employees who provide results of blood tests or immunization documentation from their own health care providers. Any vaccinations required for these diseases will be given at no cost in our Occupational Health office.

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