LINCOLNCOLLEGE, OXFORD

FURTHER PARTICULARS: ALUMNI AND COLLEGE COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER

Job Title: / Alumni and College Communications Officer
Department: / Development Office
Responsible to: / Director of Development and Alumni Relations
Job Purpose: / To manage the College’s publications for current and former members, in print and electronic form; to implement the College’s web strategy and visual identity; and to help to manage the College’s digital photo archive. .

Lincoln College invites applications for the post of Alumni and College Communications Officer, available from August 2015 or as soon as possible thereafter.

The post-holder will be responsible for managing the College’s publications programme, which includes a College Record, annual newsletter (Imprint), regular email newsletters, and other written materials intended for alumni. The post-holder will work with the College’s Web Fellow and IT Manager to maintain and develop Lincoln’s online presence, both on the website and via social media. He/she will help to arrange documentation for College events and, working with the College Archivist, will be responsible for creating and managing a searchable database of images. Along with others in the Development Office, the post-holder will manage a small number of events each year and handle general enquiries from alumni.

The Alumni and College Communications Officer will be located in the Development Office, in a small, friendly and busy team of five who handle the College’s well-established development and alumni relations function.

Background information on the College and Development Office

LincolnCollege was founded in 1427 in the University of Oxford and is a self-governing institution in which the ultimate authority for all decisions rests with the Rector and Fellows. Lincoln has 600 students in residence, of whom nearly 300 are graduates. It enjoys an excellent reputation for its undergraduate education and has been among the top ten colleges academically for a number of years. The College is also a popular choice for graduate applicants to the University. LincolnCollege is located on an attractive historic site in the centre of Oxford, with excellent access to university libraries and the university’s departments and faculty buildings. More information on the College can be found on its website,

The Development Office is responsible for the College’s alumni relations programme and for fundraising in support of the College’s educational and research objectives. The Office, which is situated in the heart of the College, consists of the Director of Development and Alumni Relations, who is a Fellow of the College, Campaign Officer (responsible for major gift fundraising) the Development Officer (responsible for the annual fund and young alumni fundraising), an Alumni and CollegeCommunications Officer (duties below), and a Development and Events Administrator who is responsible for office and events administration, including gift-processing and database updates. The Development Office reports to the Governing Body of the College via the Planning and Finance Committees.

Job Description: Alumni and College Communications Officer

Duties and Accountabilities

Publications: To manage the publication process for the College’s two main printed publications, the Lincoln Record and Imprint, other regular print and electronic publications, and occasional special items, such as Campaign literature. .

  • Manage and produce, to budget and schedule, all aspects of each publication.
  • Commissionarticles for various publications, under the guidance of a Senior Fellow with overall responsibility for Record and of the Development Director.
  • Write selected articles, introductions and filler pieces.
  • Liaise with the Archivist and other members of College, including alumni, to source articles, images, and other material.
  • Brief freelance photographers and designers for externally produced publications.
  • Edit original material prior to sending to designer, proof-read and approve for publication.
  • Design and produce some publications in-house using Adobe InDesign.
  • Manage relationships with designers, printers and mailing houses to ensure cost-effective and timely production.
  • Conduct post-publication survey to obtain feedback with a view to improving future editions.

Digital Media and Communications: To manage and maintain the College’s online presence through its website and social media accounts and to provide advice and assistance to other departments of the College with particular respect to the website, external publications, and visual identity.

  • Manage and maintain the alumni and development pages of the College website.
  • Review the effectiveness of the College website platform and (with College website Fellow) manage relationship with the web provider.
  • Support all College departments to ensure that website content is up to date and that website and College social media sites are meeting the needs of the College and those using the website.
  • Manage the College’s use of a coherent visual identity by ensuring that all departments are aware of this and answering internal and external queries about branding and house style.
  • Organise and promote the College’s alumni social media groups (such as twitter, Linked-In and Facebook).
  • With the Archivist and the Fellow Archivist, devise and maintain a library of images of the College for internal and external use.
  • Take own photographs and commission photo-shoots/video-shoots to enhance the image archive and/or website where necessary.

Events: To manage a small programme of alumni events, including anniversary dinners and special events for subject groups

  • Manage events, from mailing of invitations to conclusion of event, ensuring that all internal and external staff are fully briefed.
  • Research guests and provide briefing notes for senior academic staff
  • Conduct regular feedback on effectiveness of events, and contribute to future planning.
  • Attend own events where possible (some evening/weekend work required, for which time in lieu will be granted).

Other: It is expected that the Alumni and College Communications Officer will play a full part in the running of the Office, and may on occasion be asked to help with other areas of work which may include:

  • Drawing up lists of alumni to be visited by Development Director on overseas trips and providing research notes on these.
  • Advising on appropriate merchandise production,
  • Maintaining the Development Office database (Raiser’s Edge), particularly following the annual alumni update form mailing.
  • Answering alumni enquiries, including providing tours of College when required.
  • Helping with general administration.

Person specification

The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate that they have

  • Degree level education or equivalent experience of a communications role.
  • Excellent use of written English and English grammar.
  • Experience of writing material for different audiences and platforms.

Experienceof editing and proof-reading and knowledge of print production processes.

  • The ability to work calmly under pressure, and the organisational skills required to manage several projects at any one time, to prioritise work and meet tight deadlines.
  • An exceptional level of attention to detail.
  • The tact and diplomacy required for dealing with confidential information.
  • A confident and friendly approach, and the ability to build relationships with people at all levels, both internally (Fellows, staff and students) and externally (Alumni, parents and friends).
  • Excellent IT skills appropriate to a Windows-based office, including word-processing, manipulating spreadsheets, handling databases (the Office uses Raiser’s Edge software) and preparedness to learn new applications as required.
  • The ability to work independently and flexibly as a member of a small team.

The following criteria are also desirable:

  • Experience of desktop publishing packages, such as InDesign.
  • Experience of commissioning articles and photography for publications.
  • Experience of working in a University (preferably collegiate) environment.
  • Experience in maintaining web pages and working with web designers.
  • Familiarity with relational databases .

Applicants will be expected to demonstrate how their experience equips them to meet these requirements.

Terms and Conditions

Appointment: / The post is to be filled as soon as possible. The appointment will be conditional on verification of the successful candidate's availability for employment in this country. The initial period of appointment is probationary, for six months. The appointment will be conditional on verification of the successful candidate’s availability for employment in this country, and subject to the receipt of satisfactory references and medical clearance.
Salary: / Equivalent to Grade 6 of the Oxford University Pay Scale, currently, £27,057 - £32,277, the starting point will be dependent upon experience.
Pension rights: / Employment with the College entitles the employee to join the Oxford Staff Pension Scheme (OSPS). Further details available from
Meals: / Free lunch is provided in College when on duty
Hours of working: / Full time. Standard office hours are 9am to 5:15 pm each day (36.25 hour week).
Annual leave entitlement: / The postholder will be entitled to 30 days paid leave in each year (October to September) plus statutory Bank holidays; one week to be taken at Christmas and the remainder to be taken at such time or times as shall be mutually convenient, and agreed in advance with the Development Director.
Notice period: / During the initial probationary period, notice will be one week on either side. Subsequent to satisfactory review and confirmation in the post the notice period will be one month on either side.

Application process

Prospective candidates should send the items to the College:

  1. A completed application form (available from )
  1. A covering letter of no more than 250 words stating how their skills, experiences and interests equip them to undertake this role
  1. This post is subject to recruitment monitoring to ensure that the selection process is consistent with the law and the College’s Equal Opportunity Policy and Code of Practice. To this end, applicants are asked to complete a Recruitment Monitoring Form, this too is available on the website. This should be returned with your application, but should be placed in a separate sealed envelope addressed to the Human Resources Manager. The information supplied on the form will play no part in the selection process, and will not be seen by any member of the selection panel.

This material should be sent to:

The Bursar’s Secretary

LincolnCollege

Turl Street

Oxford

OX1 3DR

Applications may be sent by e mail to:

Closing date for applications is 12.00 noon on Monday29th June 2015.

It is anticipated that interviews will be held at Lincoln College in the week commencing Monday 6th July 2015.

DataProtection. All data supplied by applicants will be used only for the purposes of determining their suitability for the post and will be held in accordance with the principles of the Data Protection Act 1998.

Other Information

The successful candidate will be required to complete a confidential medical questionnaire which will be forwarded to our Occupational Health Department who will assess their fitness to perform this role

LincolnCollege is an Equal Opportunities Employer. Conduct against fellow employees and College members which is offensive, or detrimental to them on grounds of age, colour, disability, ethnic origin, marital status, nationality, national origin, parental status, race, religion or belief, gender, or sexual orientation will not be tolerated.