Associate Researcher - Prospect Research

Title: Associate Researcher - Prospect Research

Employee Working Location: Partially Virtual / Hybrid (Canada)

Employment Status: Permanent Full-time

The Canadian Red Cross (Red Cross) - an inspirational not for profit organization, helps people and communities in Canada and around the world in times of need and supports them in strengthening their resilience. As a Canada's Best Employers 2026, we are committed to having an accessible, diverse, inclusive, and barrier-free work environment.

In this role, you will:

• Conduct research on donors, prospects, corporations, and foundations to inform fundraising strategies and identify new opportunities for engagement and solicitation.
• Assist fundraising channels by preparing briefing notes, prospect profiles, prepare event bios for individuals attending CRC events, and coordinating stewardship materials to support relationship-building efforts.
• Maintain accurate and timely donor records, prospect tracking, and engagement activities in the fundraising database, supporting the overall data integrity of the philanthropy program.
• Work collaboratively with philanthropy team members, external partners, communications, marketing, and program teams to deliver on fundraising programs, initiatives and campaigns.
• Support the preparation of fundraising reports, tracking donor engagement activities, revenue outcomes, and stewardship activities for internal stakeholders.
• Stay informed about fundraising best practices, trends, and organizational initiatives to enhance fundraising knowledge and effectiveness.
• Identify and qualify prospects for CRC's fundraising priorities and maintain a robust major gifts pipeline.
• Employ a range of tools for identifying and qualifying prospects, including data mining and relationship mapping, and craft persuasive rationales for qualifying prospects.
• Conduct regular database queries, generating reports and identifying new opportunities to further engage CRC donors.
• Monitor alerts on specific themes, issues, and prospects.

What we are looking for:

• Qualifications include a relevant 3-year college diploma or university degree and/or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Ability to identify and resolve issues by applying standard procedures and functional or organizational knowledge.
• Communication skills, diplomacy and empathy to interpret information and deliver advice, clarify client or stakeholder needs, offer solutions, and resolve escalations in new or somewhat sensitive situations.
• Proficient in Microsoft 365 tools (e.g., Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams) to support communication, collaboration, and document management.
• Strong interpersonal skills with a customer-service orientation and ability to build positive relationships with volunteers and internal teams.
• Attention to detail and accuracy, particularly when managing donor records and preparing fundraising materials.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and handle sensitive donor information with discretion.

Nice to have / Assets (position-specific):

• Experience in prospect research, fundraising, or the not-for-profit sector.
• Familiarity with wealth indicators, philanthropic trends, or donor research methodologies.
• Experience working with enterprise fundraising databases (e.g., Blackbaud CRM or comparable systems).
• Fluency in English is required; French is an asset.

Working Conditions:

• As we work with and support people (managers, colleagues, beneficiaries/customers, volunteers, donors and external partners) and communities in Canada and around the world, applicants whose first language is not English may be required to perform the responsibilities of the role in English.
• Eligibility to work in Canada: At this time, we welcome applications from candidates eligible to work in Canada. If you are not a citizen or permanent resident of Canada, we encourage you to carefully review your visa to find out whether you are eligible to work in the job you are considering applying for. Refer to our FAQ for more information.
• If you are selected for this role, you will be required to complete a successful pre-employment screening process which includes a satisfactory Enhanced Police Information Check (E-PIC).