DIRECTOR of DEVELOPMENT

DIRECTOR of DEVELOPMENT

Appointment Brief

Reporting to: Principal, Prior Park Schools

Prior Park Schools

Prior Park Schools (PPS) is a charitable trust comprising four independent but interdependent day and boarding schools set in the beautiful South West of England and Gibraltar: Prior Park College (PPC), the senior school and The Paragon, the junior school, both in Bath, the Preparatory School in Cricklade, Wiltshire and Prior Park School, a senior school in Gibraltar. Each school provides high achieving, co-educational, Catholic/Christian education. The heart of Prior Park Schools is the encouraging Christian ethos which nurtures over 1,000 pupils aged between 3 and 18 years to become confident, capable, compassionate and independent minded young people.

Each school has a Headteacher and a Leadership Team who lead the day to day educational business of their respective schools. The Governing Body provides governance and support to the Headteachers and their schools via a number of Advisory Committees which include Local Governance Committees for each of the schools and a Finance and General Purposes Committee providing the coordination and decision making for trust wide activities.

The executive management of the schools is devolved to a “Board” called the Prior Leadership Team (PLT) chaired by the Principal (who is currently also the Headmaster of Prior Park College). It comprises the Headteachers of each constituent school and the Chief Operating Officer (COO). The PLT is led by the Principal supported by the COO. This Executive Board drives the strategic development of PPS, ensuring that it is on track to deliver its Vision and thereby remains a market leader in independent education.

Our Schools

With over 600 pupils, Prior Park College, in a most beautiful setting on the southern slopes of Bath, is one of the largest independent, co-educational, Catholic, Christian, boarding and day schools in the UK. While retaining full-time boarding at its heart, Prior Park caters for day and weekly boarding students offering stimulating opportunities for students to contribute to a vibrant and very creative community. The College aims to inspire and challenge every one of its pupils to prepare them for the next stage of their lives.

The Paragon is a co-educational Christian day school based in a beautiful Georgian house a mile from the centre of Bath. The school enjoys 7.5 acres of gardens and woodland and shares in the superb science, sport, drama, dance and other facilities of Prior Park College, half a mile away. With a full range of indoor and outdoor teaching facilities The Paragon cultivates a love of learning and encourages independent and creative thinking. Catering for some 275 children from 3 – 11, the school offers a broad curriculum taught in small classes by teachers with a real passion for their subject, the majority of pupils progressing to the College.

Prior Park Preparatory School, with capacity for more than 250, is a co-educational Catholic/Christian day school which provides a secure and caring family environment, while also encouraging parents to be closely involved in the education of their children. On a 30 acre site fully developed for sports and outdoor learning the curriculum is designed to inspire boys and girls, ensuring that their academic, creative, pastoral and sporting potential are fully realised. Some pupils continue their journey at the College at 13 but most transfer to other leading independent and Grammar schools.

Prior Park School, Gibraltar is a recent introduction to our family of schools having opened as Gibraltar’s first co-educational senior school following the same Catholic/Christian ethos as Prior Park College. Currently the school has 60 pupils across three year groups but this is expected to grow to a full senior school including Sixth Form by 2020/21 with capacity for 240 students.

More information can be found at www.priorparkschools.com.

The Appointment

The Principal, PLT and Governing Body share a Vision for PPS for 2025 and beyond. They now wish to appoint a talented, skilled and empathetic Director of Development to work as part of a team at Prior Park College and The Paragon to help deliver that Vision for the Bath-based schools allowing them to continue to be the modern Christian/Catholic Schools of choice in the communities that we serve.

The Director of Development will be instrumental in identifying and procuring the development funding necessary to implement the Vision.

The Role

Overview

·  This is a senior position with responsibility across the Bath-based cluster of Prior Park Schools, currently Prior Park College (Years 11 – 18 Day and Boarding) and The Paragon School (Age 3 – Year 6 Day);

·  The incumbent will be invited by the Principal from time to time to join the Prior Leadership Team (encompassing the Principal, Heads of the Prior Park Schools and Chief Operating Officer) and senior management teams of both schools to discuss topical issues;

·  This role encompasses overall responsibility for Development and Alumni relations at Prior Park College and The Paragon;

·  The incumbent will be required to work closely with the Marketing and Admissions teams; and

·  The incumbent will be the key interface, alongside the Principal and Chief Operating Officer, with Governors on these matters through the Prior Park Schools’ Governance framework.

Responsibilities

Development

·  Develop and instigate a Development Plan and Stakeholder Engagement Strategy, in conjunction with the Principal, identifying ambitious financial targets and contact strategies to secure major gifts, legacies and broad support. This requires 1, 3, 5 and 10 year targets with relevant implementation plans;

·  Identify key individuals and organisations critical to the success of meeting these targets and facilitate introductions for the Principal (and Headmasters where relevant);

·  Develop a ‘Principal’s Circle’ of High Net Worth individuals;

·  Ensure the ongoing development and maintenance of an effective system which allows for the identification of, communication with, and reporting on all donor prospects such as alumni, current and past parents and friends of the school etc;

·  Actively network on behalf of Prior Park Schools to build relationships with all key stakeholders attending school and other events in support of this;

·  Ensure that appropriate systems and procedures are in place to manage fundraising campaigns effectively and to maintain and administer donations and legacies;

·  Manage the Development budget working closely with the Chief Operating Officer to establish the Schools’ fundraising priorities and to manage a giving strategy to maximise income;

·  Actively manage the nature of donations (eg. for bursarial funding, for school infrastructure, for specific projects etc) influencing these where possible to assist in a structured approach to meeting development targets;

·  Assess the impact of the structure of the existing Development function and ensure it is fully optimised and efficient, identifying targets for improvement where necessary;

·  Line manage the Development Assistant;

·  Ensure the highest standard of communications from the Development office;

·  Implement effective systems for monitoring and evaluating success and applying lessons learned; and

·  Keep abreast of all matters related to fundraising and education, particularly the independent sector, ensuring constant monitoring of relevant guidelines, compliance regulations and best practice. This will involve working closely with the Chief Operating Officer.

Alumni:

·  Line manage the Prior Park Schools’ Alumni Relations Representative;

·  Work with the Alumni Relations Representative and President of Prior Park Alumni to oversee the continued building of an extensive Alumni community that fully reflects the ethos of the School and which supports development aspirations;

·  Create an Alumni Engagement Strategy closely linked to the Development Plan and Stakeholder Engagement Strategy, which also identifies opportunities for engaging Alumni in meeting development goals, with clearly defined objectives and outcomes that add value to the School community;

·  Oversee an implementation plan to meet these objectives and ensure the planning of a suitable programme of Alumni events;

·  Play a significant “front of house” role at Alumni events alongside the Alumni Relations Representative;

·  Take the lead in monitoring and reporting high level metrics, revising strategies and tactical plans where appropriate; and

·  Ensure the effective management of the Alumni budget.

Professional Specification and Personal Attributes

The ideal candidate will demonstrate the following qualities and skills:

Person Specification:

·  Desire and ability to actively support the Catholic Christian nature of the College, leading by example;

·  Excellent interpersonal skills and a strong but warm personal presence and demeanour;

·  Ability to “make an ask” and “close the deal”;

·  Excellent written and oral communication and presentation skills;

·  Able to utilise a variety of professional communication skills, tailored appropriately for specific situations;

·  Appropriate educational qualifications;

·  E-literate and competent in developing, administering and using PC and associated networks and systems to acquire, manipulate and disseminate information;

·  An experienced line manager with the ability and willingness to manage, train, coach, motivate and support colleagues to perform to the best of their abilities including holding them to account where necessary;

·  Able to resolve conflicts and deal sensitively with issues;

·  Keen to seek feedback and the ability to remain positive when challenged or criticised;

·  Able to maintain overview of situations and think strategically, standing back from detail and looking reflectively at situations from different angles;

·  The ability to assimilate different types of information, come to logical conclusions, identify options and make sound judgements; persistence in looking for new and improved ways of doing things;

·  Ability to work under pressure, managing a variety of tasks without becoming overly distracted by one key task at the expense of others;

·  Reliability and flexibility;

·  Ability to negotiate and agree a way forward;

·  Ability to plan (short, medium and long term), prioritise and manage time well ensuring decisions are implemented, anticipating problems and challenges, viewing them as an opportunity to do something different and creative;

·  A strong commitment to continuing professional development and the identification and sharing of good practice;

·  Able to maintain discretion and confidentiality and uphold all standards of staff behaviour; and

·  Committed to the highest standards of Child Protection.

Conditions

A competitive salary will be offered.

Normal office hours are from 8.30 am until 5.00 pm, Monday to Friday. Apart from regular school hours, the post holder will work such hours as shall be necessary properly to discharge their duties and meet the needs of the organisation.

In addition to normal Public and Bank Holidays, there are 25 working days holiday. Annual leave is to be taken with due regard to the needs of the Schools and may therefore be necessary in the school holiday period.

The post holder will be entitled to join the support staff pension scheme to which PPS contributes 5.1% of salary. There are associated death-in-service and permanent ill health insurance benefits as part of this scheme.

Other benefits include school fee remission at 66% of the prevailing day fee (subject to Governors’ discretion), free car parking, a substantial free lunch during term-time and the use of school facilities, eg. gym, swimming pool, tennis courts, etc.

Application Process

To apply for this position please submit:

§  a covering letter of not more than two pages summarising your proven ability related to the job and person specifications; and

§  a completed application form available from our website, including names and contact details of three referees.

Applications should be marked Private and Confidential and sent to:

Miss Rachel Swainbank

HR Assistant

Prior Park College

Ralph Allen Drive

Bath

BA2 5AH

Timetable for Interview Process

Closing date for applications: midday Monday 9th October 2017

Long list interviews: 18th/19th October 2017

There will be a chance for long-listed candidates to see the Prior Park College and to meet the Principal and COO. References will be taken up prior to this first round of interviews.

The appointment of the successful candidate will be subject to standard pre-employment safer recruitment checks including clearance from the Disclosure and Barring Service under the enhanced procedure.

Child Protection and Data Protection

Prior Park Schools is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.

In the course of employment at Prior Park Schools staff may have access to confidential information relating to pupils and their families and are required to exercise due consideration in the way they use such information. Staff should not act in any way which might be prejudicial to the Schools’ interests. Information which may be included in the category covers both the general business of each school and information regarding specific individuals. A strict code of confidentiality must be adhered to at all times. The School is registered under the Data Protection Act 1984 and staff must not at any time use the personal data held by the school or disclose such data to a third person.