JOB DESCRIPTION

Strategic Development Officer

Overview

Pembroke College is looking for an experienced individual to work with an enthusiastic and strategically-focused team of colleagues and alumni to achieve an ambitious £40 million campaign. This person will have specific responsibility fordeveloping mid-level major donors (£10,000-50,000) and plan and implement a significant enhancement of the legacy programme. This role provides a chance to make a real impact on the College’s future while developing the skills and demonstrable results essential to move into senior development positions. With a personal portfolio of donors to cultivate, solicit and steward; significant unrealised potential in legacies and a major campaign to plan and execute, this is an exciting time to join the team.

Context

Pembroke is one of the most dynamic of the Oxford Colleges, with a forward-looking Fellowship, strong leadership and clear,ambitious academic plans for the future. Pembroke Fellows are involved in a wide range of research in their own areas of expertise, as well as across disciplines in College.Areas of expertise within the current Tutorial Fellowship range from the use of language to the chemical biology of carbohydrates and proteins, and from the impact of civil rights movements to the psychology of colour perception. In addition to being a place where inter-disciplinary projects emerge and take shape (such as exploring what animal behaviour and mobile robotics experts can learn from each other), Pembroke is home to research groups, such as the Changing Character of War Programme and the Quill Project. Our academically-focused access and outreach activities in parts of London and South Cheshire, led by Oxford’s first full-time Access Fellow, have been hailed as a gold standard for such initiatives by the Office for Fair Access. Our student body is the University’s seventh largest (360 undergraduates and 200 post-graduates) all of whom participate in a wide range of activities and events.

Pembroke expanded its site in 2013 with the opening of a brand new set of quadrangles and buildings which lie immediately to the south of the historic main site – and are joined to the older buildings by a footbridge across Brewer Street (the first to be built in Oxford for a century). The new award-winning development, the subject of a highly successful fund-raising campaign, provides an exceptional range of facilities, including nearly 100 student bedrooms, a suite of teaching rooms, a multi-purpose auditorium, a café for the whole community to enjoy and an art gallery, as well as some beautiful new outside space. Our new facilities allow us to have much more ambitious plans for our academic community and external partnerships as we look to the future.

The past decade has seen rapid progress at Pembroke in the Development arena. Alumni relations activities have grown exponentially and the scale and scope of fundraising campaigns has also moved on significantly, with the recent high point being the delivery in 2013 of the £17m Bridging Centuries Campaign for the new buildings with a 25% alumni participation rate. The Annual Fund regular donation scheme raises c. £500k and an incipient legacy programme is starting to reap results. Alumni from all eras remain fully engaged and eager to assist with fundraising and cultivation as led by a Campaign Committee and Alumni Advisory Panel.Building on this to exploit the considerable untapped potential is an exciting but achievable challenge and the College is now in the planning stages of an ambitious campaign to raise £40 million in support of a range of academic,building, endowment and student support initiatives.

The Development team is well-established and each of the Alumni Relations and Planning Manager, Database and Research Manager, Annual Fund Manager, Development Executive and Alumni Communications Editor have significant experience and proficiency in their own roles. The Strategic Development Director is a Fellow of the College and has recently joined Pembroke. She brings with her 30 years of development experience in the US and UK education, culture and hospital sectors.

Job purpose and main responsibilities

  • Act as a major gifts officer with a personal portfolio of donors as well as a role in supporting the SDD and the Master in fundraising activity.
  • Lead on a renewed focus for legacy fundraising and greater cultivation for those who have made a commitment.
  • Support the SDD in campaign planning and execution, and in order to provide consistent liaison with other College Officers and academic Fellows on fundraising matters.

SPECIFICALLY:

  1. Major gifts, legacies and other related fundraising responsibilities
  • Identify, cultivate, solicit and steward current and new mid-level major donors. This will involve working with volunteers and developing strategy as well as writing proposals, promotional materials and stewardship reports. The post holder will be expected to be comfortable and experienced in face-to-face fundraising and meetagreed targets.
  • In the lead up to a major campaign, mentor colleagues who will beidentifying and cultivating emerging donors, as well as coordinate with the SDD who will lead on leadership-level gifts, to facilitate moving donors up the giving pyramid.
  • Drive a renewed focus and energy on the legacy programme to underpin the College’s future. This will include marketing, events and the coordination of volunteers as well as face to face solicitation and negotiation.
  • Prepare reports and applications for Trusts as necessary, supported by the Annual Fund Manager.
  1. Development Team role
  • Work with SDD and College fellowship to identify and articulate funding opportunities and vision.
  • Work with Database and Research Manager, Development Executiveand SDD to develop the College’s system for tracking fundraising initiatives and relationships with prospective major donors.
  • Provide leadership on strategic planning to grow and steward the legacy programme.
  • Help to develop the Team’s fundraising and communications strategies and lead on the legacy aspect of that plan.
  1. Support for the Strategic Development Director
  • Deputise for the SDD at certain College and occasional University meetings and events as required.
  • Strategize with the SDD and College leadership on ideas for appeals, prospect cultivation, stewardship, etc.
  • Interact with academic Fellows and others to develop and lead on specific fundraising projects as delegated by the SDD.
  • Support the SDD with the delivery of major fundraising campaigns.
  1. Committees and other activities
  • Development Committee and Governing Body: assist the SDD to prepare termly briefing presentations and other materials.
  • Development Editorial Committee, Campaign(Board) Committee and Alumni Advisory Panel: regular member and coordinating liaison to help shape and track volunteer efforts.
  • Attend alumni/donor/College events and High Table dinners as appropriate.
  • Travel as required: to attend events and meet with alumni and donors, both within the UK and occasionally abroad.
  • Any other related activities as required by the SDD

Person Specification

Essential

  • Educated to degree level or have equivalent and relevant experience
  • Significant experience working in fundraising
  • Proven personal experience of securing gifts through face-to-face fundraising
  • Excellent interpersonal skills and genuine interest in alumni/donors
  • Experience of preparing high-quality fund-raising proposals
  • Excellent communication skills
  • Display strong organisational and time management skills
  • A self-starter with the ability to take the initiative and ownership of issues with a track record of meeting targets.

Desirable

  • Professional experience in thehigher education context
  • Experience of public speaking and making presentations to board-level audiences
  • Previous involvement with donor stewardship and legacy programmes
  • Knowledge of complex data segmentation techniques

Working Arrangements

The standard working week is 37½ hours,however there is scope for part-time (75-80%) or flexi working arrangements. There will be a requirement to attend evening and weekend events. For this time off in lieu will be given (overtime is not normally payable).Annual leave entitlement is 30 days plus bank holidays (except the two May bank holidays). Salary £35,000-£40,000 commensurate with experience.