Development & Alumni Officer

The Grange School is seeking to establish a Development function to strengthen alumni and stakeholder relations, build a culture of support and raise philanthropic funds. The overall objective is to build up engagement with the Grange community in order to increase advocacy and support (in terms of both time and funding).

The first step in this plan is to appoint a Development and Alumni Officer to strengthen the Grange community and put the foundations in place for fundraising. The post will be full time and permanent and will report, in the first instance, to the Head. Mentoring will also be provided by RSAcademics, a consulting firm engaged to establish the function.

The school is seeking a dynamic individual to fill this exciting position. Former experience in Development is
not essential as training and mentoring will be provided. However, applicants must have excellent written and verbal communications, an eye for detail, experience with spreadsheets or databases, and knowledge and understanding of independent schools and The Grange. Proven skills in customer care and the ability to work with people of all ages and backgrounds are essential.

This is an exciting role that will be interesting, rewarding and varied and will appeal to a diverse range of candidates from recent graduates to those with past or recent experience of working within Stakeholder engagement and Business Development roles. For the right person it presents an opportunity to create a role, gain highly transferrable skills and build experience across a wide range of marketing and communications disciplines.

Responsibilities
Communications & Events:

• Building and ongoing support of a network of alumni, parents, pupils, staff and friends of the school
• Creation, promotion and management of a programme of communications, publications and events for alumni and other Grange supporters
• Planning and delivery of events and all associated requirements (i.e. catering, venue management, speakers, booking, ticketing, parking), delivering on budget and on time, carrying out post-event evaluation, reports, photos and database management
• Developing a strategy for and managing delivery of the Development Office’s social media presence (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter platforms)
• Working with the Marketing & Communications team to ensure all communications are on message and aligned with the School’s brand and branding
• Building a portfolio of alumni profiles for use in promoting the School. Undertaking interviews for magazines. Managing Roburian news and updates
• Developing relationships with alumni/development professionals in other schools to share best-practice and network
• Building up the School’s archives for use to engage alumni

Database and Relationship Management:

• Acting as the first point of contact for alumni, managing enquiries and providing timely responses
• Manage the ThankQ database to ensure records for alumni, donors, parents, staff and other supporters are maintained accurately and efficiently and that data remains consistent, accurate and up to date
• Donation management (collection and recording of donations, thank yous, receipts, Gift Aid)
• Logging all alumni interactions, including general correspondence, event attendance and donations
• Undertaking research on alumni and potential donors including trusts, foundations and local businesses
• Enriching the data set by identifying and recording information about higher education, careers and relationships between individuals
• Helping to prepare documentation and letters
• Routinely providing regular financial and analytical reports on income, direct debits, standing orders, Gift Aid collection etc.
• Preparing mailing lists (postal and email)
• Monitoring mailing returns (postal and email) and updating database
• Actively searching out lost alumni
• Other administrative duties as and when required

The post is 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday across the full year.

Written details of the post and an application form can be downloaded from The Grange School website under ‘Join our Team’ or contact
Mrs Lynn Geary on 01606 539039.