Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Position announcement: Research Analyst at Vanderbilt University

Research Analyst Position at Vanderbilt University

Vanderbilt University has an opening for a Research Analyst.  If you are interested in applying, please go to http://www.vanderbilt.edu/work-at-vanderbilt/ and search for Job Number 1400515 or Research Analyst.  The position will be posted until Friday, February 7, 2014.

Research Analyst

Description
Primary Function
  • Identify and profile potential major gift donors to Vanderbilt University to enhance the university’s fundraising efforts.
  • Collaborate and strategize with colleagues, clients and key administrators regarding prospect identification.
  • Provide clients with written reports containing analysis of information gathered from public sources and recommended courses of action for specific donors.
  • Report to the Director of Research and Prospect Development (RPD).
Primary Responsibilities
  • Provide prospect identification and research needs for an assigned group of development officers (clients) enabling them to meet and exceed fundraising goals.
  • Collaborate routinely with clients to develop prospect identification, cultivation, solicitation and overall fundraising strategies.
  • Consult with clients to determine feasibility of research requests and special projects. Negotiate project scopes and deadlines directly with clients.
  • Advise development officers of database segmentation opportunities. Design and implement segmentation strategies to uncover new prospects.
  • Identify new prospects using traditional and novel prospect research techniques and tools including periodical and electronic resource screening and/or information provided by the prospect, his/her organization and or peers. Notify clients of new potential prospects consistent with established DAR policies.
  • As requested by clients, provide briefing materials to the chancellor, deans, Board of Trust members, and other key university administrators regarding major donors/prospects.
  • Possess high-level of knowledge and understanding of the donor database.
  • Review local and national news data from internet-based and published periodicals. Send articles/alerts to clients as appropriate.
  • Notify data maintenance staff and clients (as appropriate) to new prospect/donor information so that it can be appropriately updated in Advance.
  • Safeguard the confidentiality of donor information at all times. Uphold DAR policies regarding confidential information.
  • Adhere to ethical and confidentiality guidelines as indicated by the Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement (APRA) as well as university guidelines.
  • Manage special projects as assigned.
  • Produce and deliver service to clients based on departmental product standards within agreed upon timelines.
  • Maintain professional working relationships with clients and colleagues.
Basic Qualifications

Job requires Bachelor's and 2 years of experience or the equivalent.

Preferred Qualifications
  • Experience in university advancement/development operations.
  • Ability to analyze, interpret, synthesize and present complex information effectively.
  • Ability to design and implement data-mining initiatives to identify and/or stratify potential major gift prospects.
  • Solid judgment, sensitivity, and discretion in handling confidential information and situations.
  • Ability to collaborate effectively with colleagues and staff, particularly in support of medical center goals and initiatives.
  • Ability to manage several projects simultaneously, set priorities and meet multiple deadlines.
  • Demonstrated proficiency in usage of electronic research tools and techniques, including use of push technology for news alerts.
  • Demonstrated proficiency in efficient and effective internet search methodologies.
  • Demonstrated proficiency in use of computer applications and databases.
  • Knowledge of SunGard Advance database.
  • Exemplary communication, organizational and customer service skills a must.

Friday, January 10, 2014

App Recommendation: Pocket

I recently discovered an app that I find particularly useful for prospect research.  It’s called Pocket and it does one thing very well: saves web pages so you can read them later.  It’s available for free on Apple and Android devices. When you install it as an add-on (or bookmarklet) to Google Chrome, a little button (it looks like a pocket!) appears on your favorites bar.  When you find a web page that you want to keep, click the button.  Go to the Pocket website, and your pages appear as a running list.  You can also email pages to your account and they appear on your list.  Now, when I see an article like “The 10 Most Underrated Movies of 2013” on Salon.com, I click the Pocket button and have it to read later.



One great feature is the ability to tag pages so you can sort them. I made a tag to keep work pages separate from personal pages. You can even get more creative and have tags for specific research projects.  Once you’ve read a page and don’t need it anymore, you simply mark it as read or delete it.  You can also share link to pages.  Like I said, Pocket does one thing very well. I hope you find it as useful as I do.

Mitch Roberson, President, APRA MidSouth
president@apramidsouth.org