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We would be thrilled if you would consider joining our thriving University. Further information about the University can be found here .
Find out more about the benefits of working at the University and what it is like to live and work in the Durham area on our Why Join Us? - Information Page .
The Role and the College
St Mary's College is seeking an Alumni and Development Officer to play a vital role alongside the Principal, Vice Principal and other members of the College team in increasing engagement with alumni of St Mary's College.
St Mary's College was founded in 1899 at the Women's Hostel - providing the first opportunity for women to study for degrees on an equal basis to men. It became co-educational in 2005, but the College retains its pioneering spirit. The College recently celebrated its 125 th anniversary year with a series of alumni events. While it has some engaged alumni, there is scope to expand the number and quality of contacts with the alumni community.
The College is seeking a motivated and passionate alumni and development officer to work with the Principal, Vice Principal and other members of the college community to develop alumni relations. The role will lead on alumni engagement, event management and developing and maintaining the St. Mary's alumni databases alongside the University's Development and Alumni Relations Office (DARO). They will work alongside the Principal and DARO on alumni and supporter development with the aim of increasing the number of regular givers, upgrading existing donors, and identifying key prospects. The post holder will also support the Vice Principal in advertising and coordinating scholarships and bursaries and other development opportunities within the College. They will need to be a visible part of the daily life of the College, both on site and at events off site for alumni and other guests.
Working at Durham
A competitive salary is only one part of the many fantastic benefits you will receive if you join the University:
You'll receive 27 days annual leave per year (pro-rata) in addition to 8 public holidays and 4 customary days per year - a total of 39 days.
No matter how you travel to work, we have you covered. We have parking across campus, a cycle to work scheme which helps you to buy a bike and discount with local bus and train companies.
You can access exclusive discounts via our benefits portal including money off at supermarkets, high street retailers, IT products such as Apple, eating out and days out at various attractions.
Our on-site nursery is rated Outstanding by Ofsted, and you can access holiday camps for children aged 5-16.
We provide wide-ranging health and wellbeing support including discounted membership for our state-of-the-art sport and gym facilities and access to a 24-7 Employee Assistance Programme.
We offer all staff the opportunity to take part in volunteering activities to make a difference to the local community.
Our family friendly policies, including maternity and adoption leave, are among the most generous in the higher education sector (and likely above and beyond many employers).
If you are keen on advancing in your role or career, we have a genuine passion for developing our colleagues from qualifications to IT skills, courses and apprenticeships.
We offer generous pension schemes with varying contribution amounts to help you plan for your future.
Discover more about our total rewards and benefits package here .
Durham University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion
Our collective aim is to create an open and inclusive environment where everyone can reach their full potential and we believe our staff should reflect the diversity of the global community in which we work. As a University equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are a key part of the University's Strategy and a central part of everything we do. We also live by our values and our Staff Code of Conduct. At Durham we actively work towards providing an environment where our staff and students can study, work and live in a community which is supportive and inclusive.
We welcome and encourage applications from members of groups who are under-represented in our work force including people with disabilities, women and black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. If you have taken time out of your career, and you feel it relevant, let us know about it in your application. If you are a candidate with a disability, we are committed to ensuring fair treatment throughout the recruitment process. We will make adjustments to support the interview process wherever it is reasonable to do so and, where successful, reasonable adjustments will be made to support people within their role.
What you need to demonstrate when you apply/Person Specification
When you apply it is important that you let us know what skills/experience you have from a similar role and/or what skills/experience you have which would make you right for this role. Further information about the role and responsibilities is at the end of this job description. Where a criteria has an asterisk* next to it, it may be given additional weighting when your application is considered.
Your application should cover the following criteria:
Essential Criteria
Qualifications/Experience
1. Five GCSEs at least Grade C or level four (or equivalent) including English Language and Mathematics or a Post-16 qualification or equivalent experience.
2. Experience in a similar role or environment.
3. Experience of working collaboratively with other team members to ensure the delivery of high-quality services.
Skills/Abilities/Knowledge
4. Excellent spoken and written communication skills and the ability to develop effective working relationships, both internally and externally.
5. Strong digital competence across a range of digital devices and apps including digital communication tools, Microsoft 365 applications, business systems.
6. Committed to continuing professional development.
7. Industry or professional knowledge relevant to the role supported by relevant courses or certification.
8. Ability to solve problems yourself and as part of a team and plan appropriate solutions.
9. Ability to participate in networks to share and discuss good practice and exchange information.
10. Ability to contribute to operational planning activities.
Desirable Criteria
- Demonstrable experience of working in a similar role or environment, for example: alumni engagement, events management, PR, marketing or a similar customer facing role
- Demonstrable experience of using Raiser's Edge or other stakeholder management systems
- Demonstrable experience of using social media to inform and engage stakeholders
Fundraising experience (at a regular giving or major giving level)
How to apply
To progress to the assessment stage, candidates must evidence each of the essential criteria required for the role in the person specification above. Where there are desirable criteria we would also urge you to provide any relevant evidence. Please don't forget to check if there is any weighted criteria (see above).
While some criteria will be considered at the shortlisting stage, other criteria may be considered later in the assessment process, such as questions at interview.
Submitting your application
We prefer to receive applications online. We will update you about your application at various points during the process, via automated emails from our e-recruitment system. Please check your spam/junk folder periodically to ensure you receive all emails
What you are required to submit:
A CV
A supporting statement which shows examples of how you meet all of the criteria within the Person Specification
Contact details
If you would like to have a chat or ask any questions about the role, the Vice Principal would be happy to speak to you. Contact Kate Morrey (stmarys.viceprincipal@durham.ac.uk)
Typical Role Requirements
Service Delivery
Show a commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, and the University's values.
Respond to queries and provide information/advice, while raising more specialist or complex queries with more experienced team members.
Use your experience and problem-solving skills to investigate and resolve issues relevant to your role such as relating to alumni communications, event planning, regular giving and stewardship and make recommendations based on your findings.
Enhance Durham University's reputation by providing support to the running of internal and external outreach activities.
Ensure that information used to analyse alumni interactions and giving is accurate and provide reports and analysis of patterns and trends to senior colleagues.
Prepare reports for consideration by senior managers. This could include giving data, alumni communication responses (and email open rates), event and stewardship proposals and/or summaries for internal and external stakeholder meetings.
As the post-holder will be based in College Office, occasional sign-posting of students to appropriate support services when necessary.
Planning and Organising
Plan and organise own workload to deliver the role.
Monitor processes and activities to ensure team priorities are met.
Help manage and coordinate alumni engagement, cultivation, and stewardship events.
Teamwork
Provide specialist support and advice to College team members regarding alumni queries, events and stewardship. Escalate more complex queries to colleagues in College or the Development and Alumni Relations Office.
Make changes to the services provided by your team in discussion with other team members.
Identify opportunities and contribute to decisions on how to improve services being delivered by the team.
Seek feedback from our global alumni community on their requirements from your service and recommend improvements to senior colleagues.
Communications/Liaison
Update St Mary's alumni website and social media.
Use your knowledge and expertise to provide advice and guidance to resolve problems and respond to a wide range of queries.
Draft communications (email, postal and telephone) for our global alumni community in collaboration with the College Management Team and DARO.
Create good working relationships with other team members and anyone else that you come across as part of your role to work together on joint activities.
Liaise with members of the College Leadership Team to ensure services are being delivered in an efficient and collaborative way.
Record information such as bookings for activities/events and share with internal partners.
Contribute and engage with [staff and students] on [promotional activities, events and presentations].
Create good working relationships with internal and external partners and suppliers to work together on joint initiatives.
Build relationships with contacts and contribute to internal and external networks to share good practice and exchange information.
As and when required the postholder will provide induction support and/or instruction to others within the team.
Any other reasonable duties.
Please note that in submitting your application Durham University will be processing your data. We would ask you to consider the relevant University Privacy Statement Privacy Notices - Durham University which provides information on the collation, storing and use of data.
Working arrangements:
Annualised hours (364 hours per annum, paid at an average of 7 hours per week). There will be some evening and weekend work required around specific events such e.g. our Alumni weekend.
When appointing to this role the University must ensure that it meets any applicable immigration requirements, including salary thresholds which are applicable to some visas.
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