Senior Development Specialist – Research and Donor Services

Job Overview

The Senior Development Specialist – Research and Donor Services is an integral part of Rocky Mountain Institute’s Development Team. This position reports to the Senior Director of Development Strategic Services and provides high-quality potential funder research, managing the global research and fundraising pipeline across all four verticals in RMI’s development team (individuals, foundations, corporate philanthropy, government funding), and administering the influencer network of philanthropic advisors and relationships. This person must be savvy about international funders in the climate and energy sphere and committed to building on RMI’s Salesforce data ecosystem to increase fundraising success across all program areas and the organization as a whole. Work products will include individual prospect identification, relationship mapping, process identification, pipeline management by program and fundraising vertical, and briefings developed for executives in advance of major meetings and events, in partnership with the Operations Leads across the development team.

Duties And Responsibilities

Prospect Management and Research

• Develops and monitors fundraising research and opportunity pipelines for RMI’s overall program portfolio, including individuals, foundations, corporations, and multilateral/bilateral donors and prospects.
• Identify, evaluate, and recommend current and potential prospects (in the US and around the globe) and assess their ability to financially support Rocky Mountain Institute using tools including Donor Search, Wealth X, Foundation Center, Relationship Science. Provide high-quality research and analysis of biographical, philanthropic, professional, and financial information about donors and prospects.
• Prepare concise written executive-level donor and prospect briefings before meetings, events, and other engagement opportunities.
• Prepare written profiles, rating memos, event bios, and qualified lists to support the cultivation of individuals. Perform quantitative analysis to determine capacity ratings based on financial data to qualify prospects.
• Monitors local, national, and international news, online alerts and events for donor prospects and connections, keep SalesForce up to date with important information.
• Identify donor associates and acquaintances through relationship mapping to facilitate institutional involvement.
• Become an expert in RMI’s portfolio of work to scale transformative change in the global energy system.
• Collaborate to develop donor cultivation and solicitation strategies and facilitate moves management.
• Participate and/or lead portfolio and prospect review meetings, providing data, reports and insights on portfolios and prospects.
• Manage the assignment of prospects and regular review of portfolios to ensure that fundraising activity is coordinated and prospects are moved successfully through the fundraising cycle.
• Track, analyze and report on all prospect activities and moves.
• Manages the prospects through the first stages of moves management by identifying connections and first steps for relationship managers, opening opportunities and tasks, documenting and tracking next steps, ensuring prospects are moving through the pipeline in a timely and efficient manner.
• Through professional development, keeps up-to-date with effective prospect research and prospect management techniques as well as trends in the prospect research profession.

Database Management

• Be committed to outstanding data quality in our Salesforce database.
• Become an expert database user and prepare Salesforce Reports, build dashboards and campaigns, and manage opportunities.
• Maintains and improves all prospect research data, ratings, attribute coding, contact information and more in SalesForce database.
• Inform and coordinate the evaluation, purchase, budget and renewal of research resources, publications and services. Represent research team in the evaluation, recommendation and selection of future electronic screening vendors.

Other Duties As Assigned

• As a member of the Development team in a fast-paced and growing nonprofit, we are dedicated to serving as an unrivaled team, helping across all areas as needed.

Qualifications

• Bachelors Degree
• Experience using research tools including Foundation Center, Donor Search, WealthX and Relationship Science
• 3-5 years of experience in a research or research-related position in a non-profit organization
• Experience with fundraising databases (Salesforce) and database overlays
• Methodologies using research tools as constituent list segmentation, data mining, and electronic and peer screenings
• Demonstrated analytical and project management skills
• Proficiency in locating and synthesizing material from multiple sources
• Ability to interpret, analyze, and summarize complex biographical, business, and financial data
• Demonstrated ability to appropriately communicate sensitive information and judge how and with whom information should be shared
• Experience with presenting research to C-level executives
• Well-developed sense of curiosity, ingenuity, perseverance, and judgment
• Outstanding writing and editing skills
• Ability to track and meet deadlines in a complex matrixed environment
• Experience working in the environmental, climate, or the clean energy sector is preferred but not required

Location

We are a remote-ready organization with team members around the globe. Our beautiful and welcoming offices are available for meetings or focused work, whether you are traveling through or living nearby. Our U.S. offices are in New York City; Washington DC; Oakland, California; Boulder, Colorado; and Basalt, Colorado. This role can be located from anywhere in the continental United States.

We provide you with the essential IT equipment plus a one-time home technology payment and a monthly work from home/commuter allowance to ensure you have a comfortable home office set up and necessary supplies.

We love seeing each other in person! We occasionally gather for shared time together like retreats and learning experiences. Be ready to travel for occasional in-person meetings (and of course, we cover travel costs). This role may be expected to travel for team events which occur approximately twice a year.

Important Note: As a U.S. federal contractor, RMI must comply with requirements outlined in Executive Order Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors. This Executive Order requires that all federal contractors and subcontractors mandate and verify that all U.S. based employees are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. If you are based in the U.S., you will be required to provide proof of full vaccination status as a condition of employment. You may request accommodation for medical or religious reasons. If you are based outside of the U.S., this requirement does not apply. 

Compensation    

RMI compensates based on the level and requirements of the role. Salary within our ranges may also be determined by your education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as required by the role, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data. A new Senior Development Specialist based in the U.S. joins at the minimum to mid salary range of $61,776-$74,800. You would also have an additional 5% bonus target!  

Benefits     

We offer a comprehensive benefits package including:     

• Medical, dental, vision insurance    
• 403b retirement options (up to 5% match immediately)    
• Life, AD&D, short-term and long-term disability    
• Professional and personal development
• Generous paid time off and sick leave
• Parental leave    
• Flexible working hours
• Commuter and work from home stipends

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion      

At RMI, our mission is to build a clean, prosperous, and secure energy future for all. For this to happen, every single person needs to be a stakeholder in the energy transition. Recruiting, hiring, mentoring, and retaining a diverse workforce that reflects the communities we serve is critical to our success. We need the widest range of perspectives to understand the systems we are trying to change. That doesn’t just mean bringing a diverse team to the table; it also means working proactively to give all job seekers and employees equitable experiences. Visit our DEI page for more information on our DEI initiatives and commitments.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.

About RMI 

RMI is an independent, non-partisan, nonprofit organization of experts across disciplines working to accelerate the clean energy transition and improve lives. Since our founding in 1982 by Amory Lovins, RMI’s chairman emeritus, we continue to grow and have a global reach and reputation.

For 40 years, RMI has utilized our unique techno-economic expertise and whole-systems thinking to publish groundbreaking research and analysis. We bring together collaborations of rare reach, range, and expertise—creating unconventional partnerships and mobilizing action to drive change on the massive scale needed to combat the climate crisis.

RMI is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.