Development and Alumni Relations
Grade 7: - £33,797 to £40,322
Fixed Term - Full Time
Contract Duration: 3 Years fixed term
Contracted Hours per Week: 35
Closing Date: 07-Mar-2020, 7:59:00 AM 

Job Family: Business Process and People Services  

OUR CHARACTERISTICS: We are welcoming, collegiate and inclusive.     

OUR VALUES: We are motivated, inquisitive, challenging, rigorous and innovative.

Durham University  

Durham University is one of the world's top universities with strengths across the Arts and Humanities, Business,  Sciences and Social Sciences. We are home to some of the most talented scholars and researchers from around the world who are tackling global issues and making a difference to people's lives.  The University sits in a beautiful historic city where it shares ownership of a UNESCO World Heritage Site with Durham Cathedral, the greatest Romanesque building in Western Europe. A collegiate University, Durham recruits outstanding students from across the world and offers an unmatched wider student experience. Durham University seeks to promote and maintain an inclusive and supportive environment for work and study that assists all members of our University community to reach their full potential. Diversity brings strength and we welcome applications from across the international, national and regional communities that we work with and serve.  

It is expected that all staff within the University:

• Contribute to our learning culture by engaging in mentoring, training and coaching.
• Positively contribute to fostering a collegial environment; as well as demonstrating commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.
• Have due regard to Health and Safety requirements appropriate to grade and role.

Family key attributes   Roles in this family provide a comprehensive service and deliver the efficient administration and governance of the University.  

Overall family purpose

• Deliver direct and indirect services to stakeholders.
• Provide advice and answer queries as part of an enquiry-desk/help-desk function.
• Respond to and manage requests for information and resources.
• Deliver services to meet regulatory requirements and procedures. 
• Plan and deliver a joined-up approach to University business and people services.
• Align business processes and services to meet operational and strategic policy objectives.  
• Deliver business processes to ensure effective management, governance and the economic viability of the University. 
• Encourage, collaborate and participate in the development of productive cross-institution relationships and working.
• Provide excellent professional services that meet strategic and operational goals and business needs.
• Carry out monitoring, analysis, development and planning to design new services and service updates for continuous improvement whilst meeting changes in regulations.
• Engage with specialist professionals, consultants, and suppliers to exchange knowledge and facilitate partnership working.
• Work collaboratively and network across the University with staff in other families to ensure a smooth, timely and high-quality delivery of service.
• Align and deliver programmes and activities to meet operational and strategic objectives to enhance the stakeholder experience.
• Engage and encourage participation with external professionals, schools, alumni and donors.

Link to key strategic plan

• An economically sustainable approach to delivering Professional Services across the University;
• A joined-up approach to University professional services, regardless of location or line management;
• A culture and practice of continuous improvement; 
• Design services that meet business need;
• A stakeholder-focused orientation, offering satisfying careers to all staff;
• Support and facilitate programmes that offer intellectual challenge, cohesiveness and a strong sense of progression;
• Ensure that an increasingly diverse workforce is treated equally, fairly and with respect, and that all staff are demonstrably valued and actively engaged.

The Department and role purpose       

The Development and Alumni Relations Office (DARO) is responsible for coordinating philanthropy, alumni and supporter engagement, and advancement communications on behalf of the University. DARO works with colleges, academic departments, research centres and institutes, wider student experience partners, and professional departments to engage over 180,000 alumni and supporters around the world.     Underpinning this global operation, the Advancement Services team are ultimately responsible for: maintaining the University’s central stakeholder database (Raiser’s Edge NXT); updating and maintaining all alumni and supporter data; completing all gift processing, reporting, and stewardship; overseeing the daily operation of governance, legal, fiscal, and other regulatory aspects of advancement; completing prospect and partnership research and analysis – including due diligence; and development / maintenance of all systems related to delivering the above.   

The Advancement Systems Manager will provide expert advice and operational support for all new and existing Development, Alumni and Stakeholder engagement/management systems to ensure that the University is able to deliver against major programmes supporting the University Strategy.   The Advancement Systems Manager will also be responsible for the effective management of the Data and Gift administrators, who carry out all gift processing, data entry and updates into Raisers Edge and related systems. The post-holder will regularly deliver both one-to-one and group training for all alumni systems to staff both within and outside of DARO.   The post-holder will play an important role within the delivery of the Durham Inspired campaign. The University is currently within the first phase of this major philanthropic initiative which seeks to support the next generation of inspiration and leadership at Durham.  

Core responsibilities:

• Recognised professional practitioner and management and/or service specialist with responsibility for the management of team members.
• Provide input to the design and development of service processes, techniques and deliverables for one or more service areas or projects. 
• Manage operational service activities to ensure excellence in the stakeholder experience.
• Contribute to the analysis of stakeholder feedback to help define needs and requirements, inputting to the design and planning of services.
• Internal and external relationship development and partnership working, networking and participation to engage and influence future services and the University reputation.
• Provide feedback on team and individual performance and identify development needs, conducting regular staff ADR and performance reviews.
• Handle the vast majority of welfare issues within a team, referring more complex welfare issues to appropriate support services/senior management.
• Delivery of ongoing coaching, mentoring and training to team members.
• Maintain an awareness of current policy for University business goals such as widening participation and access.
• Contribute to business meetings, working groups and sub committees at departmental and operational service levels.
• Responsible for managing small budgets for consumables and some capital items, keeping records and processing invoices.
• Devolve responsibilities to team members to ensure continuity of service provision and encourage skills development.

Role responsibilities:

• Provide management for stakeholder service areas and/or processes ensuring a high quality and timely service to all stakeholders, including prospective, existing and past students and staff.
• Manage and monitor performance and workload outcomes and/or staff, planning cover to ensure smooth service provision through peaks and troughs.
• Analyse service data and provide reports to Service Heads, making recommendations for improvement as appropriate.
• Provide advice to stakeholders in relation to University, School and/or Department policy, procedures and regulations.
• Ensure the review and improvement of systems and procedures in line with University, School, Department or unit frameworks.
• Distribute service information and provide advice to stakeholders regarding compliance and regulations.
• Ensure regulations and procedures are updated to take account of internal and external changes.
• Coordinate and oversee committee working and deal with complaints.
• Awareness of the external environment and sector best practice to support high quality services.
• Develop, maintain and support systems for alumni & supporter engagement and fundraising ensuring integration with existing systems, data and processes.
• Provide training and user support to colleagues using systems that help to engage our alumni and supporters.
• Lead the development of online Advancement systems taking advantage of new tools and technologies and ensuring seamless integration with the alumni database and other core University systems.
• Work closely with colleagues, suppliers and CIS to provide the best range of systems to support our core business ensuring that systems are robust and available at all times.
• Ensure that new system processes developed by the Advancement Services team are embedded into ‘business as usual’ with support for staff.
• Oversee global philanthropic income processing for transactions made by standing order, direct debit, credit card, cheque and cash for all income, ensuring the efficient and effective bulk processing of transactions. This includes monitoring all direct and indirect third-party payments.
• Work with colleagues across the University to make recommendations about improving processes and practice across the user-base to ensure that systems are used as effectively as possible for the benefit of fundraising and engagement programmes.
• Maintain a current understanding of the regulatory environment in which this work takes place, specifically relating to the GDPR, PECR, and other domestic and international data protection legislation / regulation
• Any other reasonable duties.

Specific role requirements  

The post-holder will be required to work some evenings and weekends; occasional travel – domestic and international – may also be required as per ongoing business needs.  

Recruiting to this post   

In order to be considered for interview, candidates must evidence each of the essential criteria required for the role in the person specification above (including those listed in the section ‘Realising Your Potential Approach’).    

In some cases, the recruiting panel may also consider the desirable criteria, so we recommend you evidence all criteria in your application.    

Please note that some criteria will only be considered at interview stage.  

How to apply   

We prefer to receive applications online.   

Please note that in submitting your application Durham University will be processing your data. We would ask you to consider the relevant University Privacy Statement https://www.dur.ac.uk/ig/dp/privacy/pnjobapplicants/ which provides information on the collation, storing and use of data.  

What you are required to submit  

1. A CV; 
2. A covering letter which details your experience, strengths and potential in the requirements set out above and in the desirable section of the person specification;
3. Examples of how you satisfy the essential criteria in the person specification, this will require completion of the 'Questionnaire' application section.  

Please ensure that you submit all documentation listed above or your application cannot proceed to the next stage.  

Contact details:   

For further information please contact:  

Stuart Thompson – Deputy Director, Advancement Services (DARO)
stuart.thompson@durham.ac.uk  

At Durham University, our aim is to create an open and inclusive environment where everyone can reach their full potential and believe our staff should reflect the diversity of the global community in which we work.  We welcome and encourage applications from members of groups who are under-represented in our work force including people with disabilities, women and black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.  

We will notify you on the status of your application at various points throughout the selection process, via automated emails from our e-recruitment system.  Please check your spam/junk folder periodically to ensure you receive all emails  

Person specification - skills, knowledge, qualifications and experience required  

Essential Criteria

• Excellent oral and written communication skills and the ability to develop excellent working relationships both internally and externally.
• Proven IT skills, including expert use of Microsoft Office, Raiser’s Edge, and some experience of website development and maintenance.
• An excellent understanding of relational databases, data management and interpretation
• Educated to degree level (or equivalent experience).
• Professional practitioner with knowledge and expertise used to contribute to the delivery and development of services and activities within the organisation.
• Experience of providing specialist advice and guidance to a range of customers and colleagues, including more senior colleagues.
• Experience of being able to network effectively and develop strong and productive working relationships, to influence perceptions of the University.
• Ability to develop training plans and deliver training sessions in both group and one-to-one environments
• Experience of managing and developing a team or teams and/or line management qualification

Desirable Criteria

• Knowledge and experience of ensuring compliance with regulatory and organisational policy and guidelines
• Experience in a Higher Education fundraising or engagement environment..

Realising Your Potential Approach  

ACHIEVING RESULTS - Planning and organising workloads to ensure that deadlines are met within resource constraints. Consistently meeting objectives and success criteria

1. Confidently say ‘no’ to activities that are less important or do not fit with University priorities 
2. Critically evaluate the success of projects to disseminate lessons that can be learned 
3. Being effective in gaining buy-in without direct authority 
4. Being knowledgeable about key stakeholders and how they may influence the work of your department

  WORKING TOGETHER - Working co-operatively with others in order to achieve objectives. Applying a wide range of interpersonal skills.

1. Working across boundaries to develop relationships with other teams
2. Reflecting the principles of responsible University and the University values in dealing with people and conducting business

FINDING SOLUTIONS - Taking a holistic view and working enthusiastically and with creativity to analyse problems and develop innovative and workable solutions. Identifying opportunities for innovation.

1. Being open to and applying good practice and fresh ideas from inside and outside the  University
2. Exercising judgement in line with University strategy and priorities
3. Actively seeking new ideas and approaches from outside the University
4. Identifying and pursuing opportunities to work in partnership with external organisations to generate and develop ideas

DBS Requirement: Not Applicable.