Alumni Relations & Community Development Officer

The University 
 
At Durham University we are proud of our people.  A globally outstanding centre of educational excellence, a collegiate community of extraordinary people, a unique and historic setting – Durham is a university like no other.  

Across the University we have a huge variety of roles and career opportunities, which together make us a large and successful community, which is a key hub of activity within our region and nationally.  Whether you are at the very start, middle or end of your career, there is a role for you. We believe everyone has their own unique skills to offer.  

We would be thrilled if you would consider joining our thriving University.  Further information about the University can be found here. 

Find out more about the benefits of working at the University and what it is like to live and work in the Durham area on our Why Join Us? - Durham University
 
The Role and the College

Founded in 1846, Hatfield College is the second oldest college in Durham University. It is located between the World Heritage site of the Norman Cathedral and Castle, and the banks of the River Wear, on one of the oldest streets in Durham. The present day College combines a thoroughly contemporary outlook meeting the challenges of the 21st  century with pride in its historical roots and traditions. Originally an all male college, Hatfield has been mixed since 1988. Reflecting the College ethos, #AllOneHatfield, we aim to attract and support a diverse student community in which all students are encouraged and supported to take up opportunities, to participate, and to contribute to the wellbeing of a thriving community. Founded in 1987 and funded through donations from alumni and supporters, the Hatfield Trust plays an important role in enabling the College to honour its ethos, including through bursaries and scholarships. We have ambitious plans for the next stage in Hatfield’s journey, and our Trust and alumni community will play key roles as we move these forward.

The Alumni Relations & Community Development Officer will act as Honorary Director of the Hatfield Trust, supporting the College Master who is Chair of the Trust, co-ordinating activities and meetings, and liaising with Trustees. They will administer the allocation, award and financial management of grants, awards, scholarships and bursaries for Hatfield Trust, engaging with students to encourage and support their applications for funding, and ensuring that donors are updated regularly. They will be involved in developing communications about College activities and manage our Trust merchandise sales. The post-holder will work with colleagues in the University Development and Alumni Relations Office (DARO) on alumni engagement and fundraising activity, organising events and activities, delivering communications to alumni, and using the Raiser’s Edge database to track and plan activity. Hatfield has a very loyal alumni community and the post-holder will play an important role in the development of relationships with alumni that may lead to in-kind support for the College and its students, or to donations in support of strategic College projects. Fund-raising for the Trust presently focuses on scholarships and bursaries to support students from lower income households and other disadvantaged groups, as well as the Boiler House Project, a major capital project under development for the Hatfield College site.

This role will suit an organised candidate who is an excellent administrator and has a passion for communications and relationship management in support of developing a College community.

 Specific Role responsibilities:

• Provide administrative support for the work of Hatfield Trust including regular meetings and other engagement of the Trustees.
• Lead on the administration and financial management of grants, awards, scholarships and bursaries for Hatfield Trust, and encourage and support student applications.
• Contribute to organising the engagement of alumni with student enrichment activities and other College events.
• Co-ordinate the planning and delivery of fundraising appeals, regular giving, merchandise sales and initiatives relating to the Hatfield Trust and the College more broadly.
• Work with colleagues in the University Development and Alumni Relations Office (DARO) to monitor and shape key alumni relationships and ensure the effective stewardship of donors.
• Coordinate and deliver a range of communications to Hatfield students, and to alumni and supporters, including, but not limited to, social media, website and email channels.
• Respond in a timely and professional manner to enquiries made to the Hatfield Trust inbox.
• Manage frontline stakeholder services in a variety of different buildings, environments and outlets across the University.
• Act as a recognised point of contact between the University and key internal and external stakeholders, including donors
• Contribute to internal and external presentations and public relations events promoting Hatfield College, and encouraging participation and income generation.
• Gather, record and analyse customer feedback from all service users.
• Identify potential service improvements, and make recommendations.
• Develop, plan and deliver events and activities for students, staff and visitors.
• Responsible for curating the creation, set-up, order and display of information pertinent to the service area and/or activity in a variety of formats. 
• Work with other functional areas across the University to ensure diverse and accessible promotion of services, events and activities.
• Ensure the safety and security of service and public areas, responding to incidents and providing reports.
• Any other reasonable duties.

Working at Durham   
 
A competitive salary is only one part of the many fantastic benefits you will receive if you join the University: you will also receive access to the following fantastic benefits:  
 
•    27 Days annual leave per year in addition to 8 public holidays and 4 customary days per year – a total of 39 days per year.  The University closes between Christmas and New Year.  
•    No matter how you travel to work, we have you covered.  We have parking across campus, a cycle to work scheme which helps you to buy a bike and discount with local bus and train companies. 
•    Lots of support for health and wellbeing including discounted membership for our state of the art sport and gym facilities and access to a 24-7 Employee Assistance Programme. 
•    On site nursery is available plus access to holiday camps for children aged 5-16.
•    Family friendly policies, including maternity and adoption leave, which are among the most generous in the higher education sector (and likely above and beyond many employers). 
•    There is a genuine commitment to developing our colleagues professionally and personally.  There is a comprehensive range of development courses, apprenticeships and access to qualifications and routes to develop your career in the University.  All staff have dedicated annual time to concentrate on their personal development opportunities.  
•    The opportunity to take part in staff volunteering activities to make a difference in the local community 
•    Discounts are available via our benefits portal including; money off at supermarkets, high street retailers, IT products such as Apple, the cinema and days out at various attractions.  
•    We offer generous pension schemes.  

Discover more about our total rewards and benefits package here.

Durham University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion  

Our collective aim is to create an open and inclusive environment where everyone can reach their full potential and we believe our staff should reflect the diversity of the global community in which we work.   As a University equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are a key part of the University’s Strategy and a central part of everything we do.  We also live by our values and our Staff Code of Conduct.  At Durham we actively work towards providing an environment where our staff and students can study, work and live in a community which is supportive and inclusive. It’s important to us that all of our colleagues are aligned to both our values and commitment to EDI. 
 
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.  If you have taken time out of your career, and you feel it relevant, let us know about it in your application.  If you are a candidate with a disability, we are committed to ensuring fair treatment throughout the recruitment process. We will make adjustments to support the interview process wherever it is reasonable to do so and, where successful, reasonable adjustments will be made to support people within their role.

What you need to demonstrate when you apply/Person Specification  
  
When you apply it is important that you let us know what skills/experience you have from a similar role and/or what skills/experience you have which would make you right for this role.  Further information about the role and responsibilities is at the end of this job description.  Where a criteria has an asterisk* next to it, it may be given additional weighting when your application is considered.    
  
Your application should cover the following criteria:  

Essential Criteria

Qualifications/Experience
1.    Five GCSE’s at least Grade C or level four (or equivalent) including English Language and Mathematics.

2     Post-16 qualification or equivalent experience.

3.    Experience and expertise in the development and delivery of services, events and activities within the organisation.

4.     Experience of developing and managing good relationships with a range of customers, colleagues and contacts.

5.    Experience of providing advice and guidance to a range of customers, colleagues and contacts.  

6.    Experience of implementing policies and procedures.

Skills/Abilities/Knowledge

7.    Excellent spoken and written communication skills including the ability to develop effective working relationships, both internally and externally.

8. *   Strong digital competence across a range digital devices and apps including Microsoft Office Suite and CRM systems (preferably Raiser's Edge).

9.    Committed to continuing professional and personal development to maintain skills.

10*.    Ability to plan and organise events and activities involving the service.

11.    Ability to solve problems as part of a team and decide on and plan appropriate solutions.

12.    Ability to participate in networks to share and discuss good practice and exchange information.

13.   Ability to contribute to operational planning activities.

14.   Willingness to work out of hours and away from Durham when required, including some evenings and weekends.

Desirable Criteria

How to apply 
 
To progress to the assessment stage, candidates must evidence each of the essential criteria required for the role in the person specification above.  Where there are desirable criteria we would also urge you to provide any relevant evidence.  Please don’t forget to check if there is any weighted criteria (see above). 
 
While some criteria will be considered at the shortlisting stage, other criteria may be considered later in the assessment process, such as questions at interview.   
 
Submitting your application  
 
We prefer to receive applications online.  We will update you about your application at various points during the process, via automated emails from our e-recruitment system. Please check your spam/junk folder periodically to ensure you receive all emails.  
  
What you are required to submit: 
•    A CV  
•    A covering letter outlining your experience, strengths and potential in relation to the role.

•    A Word document with detailed examples of how you satisfy the essential and desirable criteria in relation to the role

  
Contact details  
For further information regarding the post, please contact Professor Ann MacLarnon, Master of Hatfield College.  (Email: [email protected] or Telephone: +44 (0) 191 334 2611) 

Specific role requirements 

This role will require some evening and weekend working during key periods, as well as activities outside Durham. This will be agreed in advance with the line manager.

This is an in person role, based in Hatfield College.

Typical Role Requirements  

Service Delivery
•    Show a commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and the University’s values.
•    Ensure that the University’s procedures and values are always reflected in all aspects of the service and adapt ways of working where this is not evident.
•    Provide specialist advice and make decisions to resolve problems relating to the services you are responsible.
•    Use your experience and problem-solving skills to investigate and resolve issues relevant to your role and make recommendations based on your findings.
•    Manage, maintain and monitor designated equipment, facilities, and systems to ensure safety, security and compliance.
•    Provide the best possible service to staff, students and others who you work with by reviewing and make suggestions to improve the service.
•    Collect and record data and information accurately.
•    Organise and analyse data and information to ensure it is accurate and provide reports to senior colleagues on patterns and trends.
•    Ensure that public areas are safe and secure and respond to and report any incidents.
•    Support the welfare of our students and refer them to appropriate support services when necessary.

Planning and Organising
•    Plan and organise own workload to deliver the role.
•    Manage the delivery of frontline services in a variety of different outlets and buildings across the University.
•    Plan, manage and deliver assigned projects, activities and events in accordance with agreed objectives.
•    Supervise the work of staff and teams involved in delivering events, project work or core operational service.
•    Seek feedback from staff, students and anyone else that you come across as part of your role to ensure that the service is updated to meet customer expectations.
•    Manage budgets and expenditure including buying (and returning) goods and services.

Communication/Liaison
•    Develop and improve services by taking part in meetings, working groups and committees.
•    Liaise with other service areas to ensure the most diverse and accessible delivery and promotion of projects, events and initiatives.
•    Create good working relationships, including internal and external networks which allow you to increase your knowledge and skills, while swapping information with peers.
•    Act as a key point of contact between the University and internal and external stakeholders, including donors and employers.
•    Build relationships with contractors and third-party suppliers to share good practice, exchange information and work together on joint initiatives.
•    Deliver internal and external presentations and public relations events promoting the Durham University reputation and encouraging participation and income generation.

•    Any other reasonable duties.

 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 Privacy Notices - Durham University which provides information on the collation, storing and use of data.   

When appointing to this role the University must ensure that it meets any applicable immigration requirements, including salary thresholds which are applicable to some visas.