Director, Advancement Reporting & Analytics

Job Summary

Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) seeks a Director, Advancement Reporting & Analytics to join Institutional Advancement (IA). 

The director serves as the technical lead and architect for Institutional Advancement’s enterprise analytics infrastructure, with primary responsibility for the design, governance, and optimization of a Microsoft SQL Server–based data mart integrated with Tableau. The role architects and maintains scalable data models, ETL pipelines, and reporting frameworks that consolidate Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT and third-party systems into a centralized, authoritative analytics layer supporting fundraising, alumni and family engagement, and campaign operations.

The director acts as the principal owner of IA reporting architecture, overseeing data standards, metric definitions, refresh processes, and performance optimization to ensure consistency, reliability, and analytical rigor across all executive and operational reporting. The position coordinates and prioritizes reporting and analytics initiatives for the Vice President for Institutional Advancement and IA leadership, delivering advanced analytical products—including dashboards, longitudinal analyses, and predictive models—that inform strategic planning, resource deployment, and performance management.

Working in close partnership with the Director of Advancement Data Services, the Director of Prospect Management and Analytics, and the Director of Gift Administration and Recording Secretary, this role evaluates and evolves existing data structures; designs future-state reporting and analytics solutions; and establishes best practices for data governance, documentation, and self-service analytics. The position leads the development of analytical models that assess and predict prospect development, donor behavior, volunteer engagement, and fundraising outcomes, translating complex, multi-source data into decision-ready insights for senior leadership and governing bodies.

The successful candidate will thrive in a campus environment that is committed to advancing the principles of social equity and inclusion, environmental and climate justice, and equal access to resources and opportunities. 

Essential Functions:

Gift and Fund Records Management and Reporting

• Manage new gift reporting to the Vice President of Institutional Advancement (VPIA) and internal leadership for new expendable and endowed gifts, and reporting of new funds and fund relationships to Donor Relations and Engagement 

• Conduct regular reconciliation of restricted expendable and endowment funds with the Office of Finance and Administration to ensure accuracy of Raiser’s Edge fund records 

• Monitor and maintain Fund Records in IA’s central database, Raiser’s Edge, ensuring accuracy and completeness of fund records, their associated attributes and relationships, including stewardees and founding donors 

• Create and maintain digital files for all fund-related documentation, including executed gift agreements, amendments, and inbound and outbound correspondence from RISD faculty/ staff, donors, attorneys, stewardees, and other related parties 

• Support time-sensitive gift processing functions as needed at the guidance of the Director, Gift Administration, and Recording Secretary 

Gift Agreement Management 

• Leverage knowledge of RISD’s Gift Acceptance and Naming Policies to translate and prepare Gift Agreements/Statements of Intent 

• Seeks and gathers input from fundraisers, IA Communications, IA Stewardship and other IA colleagues to develop language for Gift Agreements in accordance with RISD’s Gift Acceptance and Naming Policies and donors’ intentions 

• Manage workflows for moving Gift Agreements/Statements of Intent from templated drafts to executed documents through Asana project management and a rigorous approvals process. Recommend workflow improvements, modifications, and/or software solutions.

• Resolves issues in accordance with established Gift Agreement Guidelines. Escalates issues to the Director, Gift Administration + Recording Secretary, and/or VPIA when necessary for outreach to RISD’s General Counsel or VP Finance as required by proposed gift terms and considerations 

Required Knowledge/Skills/Experience

• Bachelor’s degree is required, preferably in business, finance, or accounting, or equivalent level training and/or experience with legal contracts or related field, or equivalent combi