JOB DESCRIPTION

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Job Details

Job Title
Alumni Relations Manager
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Position Number
Academic / Service Unit
Business School
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Effective Date
Faculty / Central Services
HaSS
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Grade
F
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JOB DESCRIPTION

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JOB DESCRIPTION

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Main Purpose

Alumni are a key stakeholder for Newcastle University Business School (NUBS).As a member of the NUBS External Relations team, the post holder will support the creation and delivery of innovative alumni and supporter relations activity to deliver corporate engagement, accreditation and student experienceobjectives.Working in partnership with Newcastle University’s core Alumni Service, NUAdvancement, the Business School established its own alumni service in 2006. With an alumni network of over 16,000 members across more than 100 countries, we seek to appoint an outstanding Alumni Relations Manager to join the Business School to promote and strengthen the alumni network, raising the profile of the Business School globally and reflecting the strategic objectives of both NUBS and the wider University.

The postholder must have the ability to think strategically about Alumni Relations in the context of the School’s objective to be internationally excellent.You will be an experienced professional with previous experience of devising and delivering strategic alumni engagement or business development programmes. You will be innovative and creative in your approach to planning, executing and evaluating multi-platform engagement campaigns that drive forward strategic objectives. You will have the ability to manage and prioritise a varied workload often with conflicting priorities and deliver under pressure. You will have excellent communication and inter-personal skills and be adept at building great working relationships with a wide range of colleagues, academics, alumni and key stakeholders, often at the highest level. Excellent planning and organisational skills and a high standard of personal and work presentation are essential. Ideally you will have previous line management experience.

You will be responsible for the successful delivery of the Business School’s Alumni Relations strategy. This involves working in partnership internal (including NUAdvancement) and external stakeholders and management of activities on a national and international scale. Additionally, you will identify and cultivate a portfolio of senior alumni in support of the School’s corporate and international relations objectives and the delivery of the External Relations strategy.
In summary, the Alumni Relations Manager has primary responsibility for:

  • Building lifelong and meaningful relationships between the School and our alumni
  • Promoting and enhancing relationships with NUBS students, alumni and other friends and supporters of Newcastle University Business School to strengthen the School’s external network and raise the profile of the Business School through managing an engagedglobal alumni relations programme

The Postholder will report to NUBSHead of External Relationswith a dotted line to Newcastle University’s Head of Alumni and Supporter Engagement within NUAdvancementto capitalise on existing relationships and ensure consistency in communications. He/she will be responsible for managing the Alumni Relations intern.

National and International travel will be expected as part of the role and the successful applicant will be able to commit to being away from home at key periods.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Key Responsibilities

Relationship building

  • Actively develop and maintain proactive relationships with graduates through offering continued value to the global alumni community in their personal and professional lives.
  • Actively develop and maintain proactive relations with students across all programmes to strengthen affinity to NewcastleUniversity Business School and raise awareness of the alumni association.
  • Actively work with the Accreditation, MBA Postgraduate teamsand Careers Service to develop proactive relations and an engagement plan with students on the MBA programme to meet the School’s rankings and accreditation objectives.
  • Be responsible for developing and supporting global alumni activitiesparticularly in key recruitment markets and aligning the work to the School’s strategic plan.
  • Work closely with NUBSHead of External Relations toengage alumni in building the School’s corporate connections and contributing to student experience and employability (global experience opportunity (GEO), placements, guest lectures, mentoring, advisory boards), profile raising activities (events, sponsorship), research collaborations and impact case studies.
  • Build relationships with and recruit mentors from the alumni community to enhance the School’s Global Experience Mentorship Scheme (GEMS) in collaboration with the International Relations Officer.
  • Manage a portfolio of senior NUBS alumni with potential to be significant ambassadors/contributors of the future.
  • Maintain a collaborative relationship with NUAdvancement with the objective of providing an outstanding andrelevant service to the global alumni community to build deeper engagement with the University and the School.
  • Contribute to the delivery of the broader alumni engagement strategy of the University.

Communications & Events

  • Seek to improve alumni data at all times and increase the number of contactable alumni through a planned programme of activities.
  • Manage the portfolio of alumni communications in consultation with NUAdvancement – raising the profile of the alumni association to all relevant stakeholders.
  • Coordinate communications to recent graduates to positively impact the Schools participation in various business education rankings and in meeting accreditation objectives.
  • Devise content for and edit the NUBS Alumni enewsletter in consultation with the Marketing and Communications and NUAdvancement teams.
  • Organise induction and alumni panel activities to introduce the alumni network to current students including:Gain a Global Advantage and Leadership series; PG and MBA master-classes;- alumni reunions and graduation-the School’s broader external events.

Internal Collaboration and operations

  • Line management and professional development responsibility for one Alumni Relations Intern, and others where necessary.
  • Working alongside the MBA, Accreditation and Marketing team to manage alumni-related aspects of the School’s submission to the various Business Education rankings eg: Financial Times and Economist rankings and provide information related to AMBA, EQUIS and AACSB accreditations.
  • Work closely with NUAdvancement and in particular the Head of Alumni and Supporter Engagement. Work within the NUAdvancement office one day per week, monthly 1:1s with the Head of Alumni and Supporter Engagement and attend Alumni Engagement meetings as the NUBS Representative.
  • Work with the NUBS Marketing and Communications team to engage alumni in key markets to assist with recruitment and conversion activities.

Dimensions

Staff:Line management of a studentintern, Alumni RelationsPosition

Financial:Forecasting, planning and managing the School’s Alumni budget, which is set annually

Internal Customers:NUAdvancement, Careers Service, External Relations,Marketing and Communications, Programme Management, School academics and Professional Support Teams, Faculty and University Support Teams and Students.

External Customers:School Alumni, Students, Corporate clients (regional, national and international), Academic Partners, School’s International Advisory Board.

Knowledge

  • Educated to degree level preferably with a professional/postgraduate Marketing qualification
  • Knowledge of Raisers’ Edge or similar customer relationship management database
  • Good general IT skills and working knowledge of social media
  • Knowledge of / interest in the Higher Education sector

Skills

  • Self-confident with strong interpersonal skills and the ability to relate to and work effectively with individuals from a wide range of backgrounds at senior level
  • Team player and supportive of others
  • Effective communication skills, oral and written
  • Ability to prioritise, meet deadlines, manage own workload, problem solve and use initiative
  • Demonstrable ability to work unsupervised and to self direct
  • Good numerical skills

Experience

  • Alumni relations experience in HE sector role, or a similar role in business development / client relationship management[TW1]
  • Events management experience
  • National and international business development experience
  • Proven experience of meeting targets and exceeding KPI’s
  • Experience of networking and developing sustained relationships with clients and customers
  • Experience of managing and monitoring budgets
  • Experience of managing and developing staff

Planning and Organising

Plan and organise own work based on the strategic objectives of the Business School to meet short, medium and long term goals.

Plan workload to meet tight external deadlines.

Decision Making

The postholder has discretion over decisions made when planning and organising their own work and when managing relationships with stakeholders and will be making decisions on a daily basis, with consideration of the Head of External Relations when appropriate.

Other RelevantInformation

The post holdermust be able totravel regionally, nationallyand internationally with appropriatenotice.

The School vision is: To be an internationally recognised business school by being regionally rooted, nationally influential and globally respected.

Organisation Chart

Person Specification

Knowledge(inc.qualifications)

Essential

  • Educatedtodegree level

Desirable

  • PG marketing qualification

Skills(professional, technical, managerial,practical)

Essential

  • Excellent interpersonal skills including tact and diplomacy
  • Intercultural skills and awareness of sensitivity in working across cultures
  • Excellent oral and written communication skills, including a fluent grasp of the English language
  • Demonstrable ability to manage multiple projects and to work as part of a team
  • Proven ability to use initiative, think strategically and adopt a proactive approach to problem solving
  • Ability to work effectively as a member of a team and to develop effective working relationships with academic and non academic colleagues as well as external partners and contacts
  • Well developed negotiation skills
  • Energy, commitment and enthusiasm
  • Ability to empathise with the purpose and values of the University and to work effectively with staff, students and alumni

ExperienceandAchievements (paid or unpaid)

Essential

  • Demonstrable experience in marketing
  • Raisers Edge/ CRM experience
  • Experience of using social media in a business context
  • Demonstrable business development experience
  • Events management experience
  • Experience of working with senior managers in organisations

Desirable

  • Marketing experience in a Business School environment
  • Alumni relations experience in HE setting
  • International relations experience

Other

Essential

  • Willingness to travel extensively for up to two weeks at one time is essential

Behaviours (SuccessFactors)

Looking to the FutureThinkingStrategically-has theabilityto see the"bigpicture", to think strategicallyand to manage complexproblemsandissues

Inspiring Others1.Communicating -Uses clear, concise and accuratecommunication, tailoringthe approachaccordinglyandencouraginga twowaycommunication process

2. Builds relationships with key players both internally and externally in order to gain support

3. Thinks about the desired impact required and plans and prepares a suitable approach

Working TogetherDevelopingTalent-Motivates and develops self and others to achieve high performance. Demonstratesapositive approach to developingskills and generalperformance. Focuses team and departmental development on wider organisational aims and objectives

Taking ResponsibilityPlanning andOrganising- Manages time and resourcesbyprioritisingand organising effectively in a team and personal context

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[TW1]I wouldn’t cite this as essential