The BC Cancer Foundation is at the forefront of a transformative era in cancer research and care.
As the fundraising partner of BC Cancer, we are driving bold initiatives that inspire hope and save lives. Cancer is the largest health challenge globally, and we are mobilizing communities, partners and collaborators across British Columbia to accelerate wide-impact solutions.
With a team of over 90 staff across five sites, more than $100 million in annual revenue, and a donor base of over 80,000, we are one of the province’s largest non-profit organizations. We have a purpose-driven, high-performing culture – fueled by talent, data, and technology to accelerate progress and shape the future of cancer care.
The Foundation concluded its incredibly successful Beyond Belief campaign recently, where over 284,000 people gave over $529 million over the course of the 5-year campaign. The Foundation now has a new strategic plan and ambitious goals to innovate for the future.
This includes key priorities to modernize the Foundation’s fundraising approaches and invest in business transformation, by rejuvenating its business intelligence unit and putting an increased focus on prospect research and analytics. The Foundation is now seeking a strategic and visionary Associate Director, Research and Prospect Analytics to champion and expand the program that provides strategic leadership for the Foundation's prospect research function, transforming information, analytics and market insights into actionable fundraising strategy.
This elevated role is essential to an evolving and developing data-driven organization. The AD is a strategic advisor and counsel to the Development team and plays a critical role in ensuring fundraising resources are aligned with the highest potential opportunities across the organization.
The AD leads the development and execution of a comprehensive prospect research, prospect management, and analytics program that supports the major gift pipeline. The AD’s enthusiastic collaborators will include fundraising staff across the Foundation, the Database & Business Intelligence (DGIT) unit, and Senior Leadership. Reporting to the Executive Director, Development, the AD ensures fundraising teams have access to timely, accurate, and actionable intelligence that drives donor engagement and revenue growth.
This is an exciting opportunity for a research and analytics professional to:
- Take ownership of a key strategic function and priority of the Foundation;
- Join a data and analytics-forward team that is keen to innovate and create together;
- Provide sought-after analytics, research, and actionable recommendations;
- Leverage a large donor database, new research and data mining tools, and new prospect identification methodologies;
- Fundamentally make a difference in peoples’ lives.
Information for Candidates
This search is being led by the BC Cancer Foundation’s search partner, The Discovery Group.
If you or someone you know is interested or curious, please connect with Christoph Clodius at christoph@thediscoverygroup.ca. We welcome questions and enquiries.
Application Timing and Selection Process:
All submissions should be received by October 16, 2026. Please apply with a cover letter/expression of interest and resume/CV in the same document.
Early submissions and enquiries are encouraged and will be reviewed on an ongoing basis.
Compensation & Benefits:
The successful AD can expect a starting salary between $108,000 – $118,000, as well as participation in the Foundation’s pay for performance program.
Time off includes five weeks’ vacation, additional office closure during the winter holiday, and extra time off before each statutory holiday. Generous comprehensive benefits include health, dental, vision, and various paramedical services coverages, and the Municipal Pension Plan.
Location:
The Foundation has a strong preference that the AD be based out of the Vancouver office, located in its new space in the Broadway health corridor with 360° views of the city. The Foundation also offers a hybrid work environment.
For the right candidate, it’s possible to have the AD based in any of its four other offices (ie: Victoria, Surrey, Abbotsford or Kelowna), provided the AD can travel to Vancouver regularly.
Diversity & Inclusion:
BC Cancer Foundation is committed to fostering, cultivating and preserving a culture of diversity & inclusion. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment regardless of age, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, language, national or Indigenous origin, family or marital status, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation or socio-economic status.
Territory Acknowledgement:
BC Cancer Foundation is grateful to all the First Nations who have cared for and nurtured this land for all time, including the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), and səlil̓w̓ətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) First Nations on whose unceded and ancestral territory its head office is located
About BC Cancer Foundation
Founded in 1935, the BC Cancer Foundation is the largest philanthropic funder of cancer research and enhancements to care in British Columbia. As a catalyst in the cancer system, it brings together BC Cancer, donors, and the government to drive forward and accelerate innovative solutions.
It is raising funds to:
- Power world-class innovation across BC Cancer’s research programs and regional cancer centres;
- Accelerate access to cutting-edge treatment and care for patients, closer to home;
- Transform the future of cancer treatment and empower BC Cancer experts to elevate standards of care.
Every dollar raised stays in B.C. to support BC Cancer’s provincial research and care, creating tangible impacts for local patients and families. Donations fuel hope for the 80,000 patients who depend on BC Cancer each year.
Donor support has enabled BC Cancer to:
- Quicken the pace of research to better understand cancer;
- Develop tailored treatments;
- Facilitate early detection.
Together, the Foundation and its donors have created incredible momentum, with BC Cancer research hubs and new centres being developed across the province, including world-leading immunotherapy and genomics programs; cutting-edge precision radiation research; and a first-in-Canada, province-wide lung cancer screening program.
Specific examples of the Foundation’s impact include:
- Foundation-fuelled BC Cancer research — from a breakthrough in stopping the spread of childhood bone cancer, which has the potential to increase survival rates by 50%, to a world-first study enabling early-stage endometrial cancer patients to preserve their fertility — is keeping families together, allowing them more moments, memories and milestones.
- Philanthropic investment is also forging new frontiers of hope, such as BC Cancer’s first CAR-T clinical trial for leukemia and lymphoma, in which 43% of participants experienced complete regression — offering a lifeline to patients who had run out of options.
- Donor support is helping to bring new BC Cancer centres to the province. These will support the needs of these growing communities by increasing capacity for radiation therapy and chemotherapy visits, and will be hubs for clinical research and care.
- Thanks to BC Cancer Foundation funding, in May 2022, BC Cancer launched Canada’s first provincial lung cancer screening program. Screening is now available across 36 sites province-wide, and over 20,000 British Columbians have received scans. Of the cancers detected, approximately 74% were identified at an early stage compared to less than 30% without screening.
To learn more about the Foundation, see:
- Its homepage: bccancerfoundation.com/
- BC Cancer Foundation’s history: bccancerfoundation.com/about-us/90-years/
- Fundraising priorities by region: bccancerfoundation.com/why-give/in-your-region/
- 2026 Annual Report: https://bccancerfoundation.com/about-us/annual-report/
Fundraising at the Foundation
The Foundation’s fundraising program is a robust combination of giving channels and vehicles that engage British Columbians in a variety of ways. It includes major gifts, annual fundraising programs, bequests, and community fundraisers and events. Further, the exceptional investment management at the Foundation allows for significant interest, dividends, and realized gains on investments. This past year, the Foundation raised $105 million.
As noted above, in 2019, the Foundation set out to raise $500 million to transform cancer research and care in B.C. through the Beyond Belief campaign. Thanks to more than 284,000 donors, the Foundation exceeded that goal and raised $529.6 million.
The Foundation’s 2025 - 2030 Strategic Plan seeks for it to be recognized as the leading driver of transformative and wide-impact solutions for the most significant cancer challenges, to fuel optimism and save lives. This will be achieved through a number of strategies, including modernizing fundraising approaches and investing in business transformation.
Data and Analytics at the Foundation
The AD is entering an organization with a strong focus and understanding of the importance of quality data for decision making, and enthusiasm to do more. It follows that the AD will work within the following context, tools, and philosophy:
- The Foundation database has 950,000 records, with 80,000 – 90,000 active donors in any given year.
- DBIT actively works to ensure that data is clean and usable (i.e. limiting duplicates, few accuracy issues, consistent data entry)
- The Foundation uses Raiser’s Edge as a full-service tracking and reporting tool, including for call reports, gift processing, event attendance, philanthropic interests, and prospect identification ratings.
- The DBIT team has established a data lakehouse, which is being continually built out.
- The Foundation uses PowerBI for various prospecting reports. It has established a prospect identification dashboard based on various scoring tools pulled from Raiser’s Edge that is used by each regional fundraising lead.
- The AD will have access to tools including iWave, CharityCan, GrantConnect, CisionOne, and Info Direct.
- Like many organizations, the use of AI is evolving at the Foundation. AI is currently limited within the Research function, but there is a strong interest from Foundation leadership to significantly expand this within the parameters of its data governance and AI policies.
- All historic research profiles (since 2020) have been saved and are accessible in Raiser’s Edge, allowing for comparable research and updates over time.
The Associate Director, Research & Prospect Analytics Role
This wide-ranging leadership role has been elevated to reflect the recognition of the potential that data and analytics have at the Foundation. Key responsibilities of this role will include:
Strategic Leadership & Program Development
- Managing, defining, tracking and implementing the comprehensive research and prospect analytics program using data analytics, modelling, reporting, and best practices to maximize the potential of both the prospect pool and fundraisers' pipelines
- Act as a strategic advisor to Development leadership on prospect strategy and pipeline building
- Develop and monitor key performance indicators and benchmarks to evaluate program effectiveness and outcomes
- Foster a culture of data-informed decision making across the Development team
- Establish priorities and define and track metrics and KPIs for the program
Prospect Research & Strategic Intelligence
- Oversee overall identification, qualification, assessment, and prioritization of prospective individual, corporate, and foundation donors
- Own and lead the Foundation's prospect pipeline and research framework, including dashboard strategy, prospect scoring, data quality, and performance reporting, ensuring actionable insights that support fundraising growth
- Partner with fundraising leaders to optimize prospect portfolios, pipeline management, calibrate ask amounts, and assess capacity
- Lead complex prospect research initiatives supporting major gifts, campaign strategy, board recruitment, and donor engagement in new industries/markets
- Ensure appropriate due diligence reporting related to naming and other significant recognition and stewardship initiatives
- Provide information and recommendations to support complex fundraising approaches, strategies, and proposals that drive decisions and actions
- Provide sophisticated briefing materials, research profiles, and capacity assessments, relationship mapping, and strategic recommendations
- Lead the monitoring and communication of relevant news, events and issues that impact philanthropic giving and economic trends
- Continuously assess developments in wealth screening, prospect identification, predictive analytics, artificial intelligence, and data visualization, translating relevant innovations into practical applications that strengthen research quality and fundraising performance
Data, Technology & Innovation
- Champion the responsible and ethical use of technology, automation, predictive analytics, and emerging technologies in support of fundraising objectives
- Evaluate new tools, platforms, and methodologies to strengthen prospect identification, research efficiency, and portfolio management
- Ensure all research, analytics, and technology practices align with privacy legislation, ethical standards, and AFP and Apra fundraising best practices
- Partner with DGIT and key stakeholders to enhance prospect data, optimize pipeline processes, and inform fundraising strategy through data-driven intelligence
- Maintain accurate information on major gift prospects and donors in the RE database through coordination with the Database and Business Intelligence, and Advancement Services teams
Leadership & Collaboration
- Lead, coach, mentor, and develop members of the Research & Prospect Analytics team
- Serve as an internal subject matter expert and educator on prospect research, prospect management, fundraising analytics, and emerging technologies
- Foster strong partnerships across Development, Donor Engagement & Development, Data Platforms & Analytics and Senior Leadership
Desired Experience and Credentials
The new AD will ideally have:
- Significant experience conducting prospect research using reporting tools, online resources, subscriptions, and fundraising research platforms.
- Strong understanding of fundraising within a health, research, post-secondary, or similarly complex organization.
- Strong data management skills, including proficiency with Raiser’s Edge and other fundraising or CRM databases are essential.
- Knowledge of wealth screening tools, data platforms, cloud technologies, predictive analytics, AI applications, and emerging trends in philanthropy.
- Strong analytical skills, including experience applying quantitative and qualitative methods to inform strategy and decision-making.
- Previous management experience, including supervision of direct reports, is preferred.
- Strong facilitation and capacity-building skills, including the ability to develop and deliver evaluation-related training.
- Clear, concise, and organized communication skills, including experience preparing research briefs, contributing to strategy discussions, and adapting messaging for diverse audiences.
- Strong organizational and coordination skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and work independently within established procedures.
- Sound judgment, discretion, and attention to detail in escalating issues, maintaining confidential information, and ensuring accurate records and reliable data.
- A degree or diploma from a recognized post-secondary institution in a related field such as Library & Information Studies; or an equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.
Competencies and Background
The successful AD candidate:
- Collaborates effectively with fundraisers and colleagues at all levels; builds trust, listens actively, guides conversations constructively, and manages up and across with diplomacy.
- Achieves consistent results that advance the Foundation’s mission and goals.
- Demonstrates clear alignment with the Foundation’s mission and values by being curious, authentic, and courageous.
- Communicates data and analysis through clear narratives that translate insights into action.
- Builds strong and proactive relationships with fundraisers and creates buy-in for recommendations through strong negotiation and sound judgment.
- Provides people leadership and strategic vision, with the ability to move beyond technical execution to guide priorities, relationships, and outcomes.
- Embraces emerging technology, innovation, and data collaboration with DGIT.
- Approaches problems with openness and a practical drive to find solutions.
- Adapts confidently to change and contributes to continuous improvement.
- Leads as an approachable mentor who shares knowledge openly and provides constructive feedback.
- Creates an environment where colleagues can share ideas, challenge assumptions, and discuss options openly.
Leadership Biography
Becky Yost
Executive Director, Development
Becky Yost is Executive Director, Development at the BC Cancer Foundation, where she leads the provincial Discovery Circle and Research and Prospect Analytics programs, along with major gifts fundraising throughout the Fraser Region. With nearly 15 years of experience in philanthropy, she is passionate about building strong teams, fostering meaningful donor relationships, and advancing worldclass cancer research. She works closely with donors, volunteers, and health system partners and is committed to strengthening philanthropic capacity across British Columbia.
Becky joined the BC Cancer Foundation in 2016 after beginning her fundraising career in Calgary. She was recognized for her leadership and fundraising accomplishments through the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy's (AHP) 40 Under 40 program.
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