Commercial Business Development and Engagement Manager Application Pack

Knowing every child, nurturing potential

About us

Gosfield School was established at Cut Hedge Park in 1929 when the daughter of the textile manufacturer, George Courtauld purchased the land and buildings from the executors of her late father’s estate.

Constance Cicely Courtauld started a Senior Boy’s Boarding School the same year, with students relocating from Leigh Hall School in Southend. In 1944, Cicely gifted the School and estate to Headmaster John Turner who continued the work started by Cicely. In 1967, the School became a charitable trust and in 1986, the School became co-educational.

A Prep School was opened in 1989 and we welcomed our first Sixth Form students in 1994. In 2006, Gosfield School Ltd purchased the freehold of the estate and buildings from the Turner family. In 2015, we opened Meadow Court, a purpose built Prep School, which is home to a Nursery, Reception Class up to Year 5, within the grounds of our 110 acre estate. We continue to develop and upgrade our infrastructure, we opened our Forest School and Cricket Pavilion in May 2017. Our Cricket Academy welcomed its first Scholars in Summer 2018, we opened our new Design Technology workshop in January 2019 and undertook the design led redecoration of the Manor House. The construction of our new Performing Arts Centre was opened by Denise van Outen in May 2023.

We are committed to the development of our young people in an environment where all students feel valued and are able to achieve excellence in all aspects of life. We have non-academic entry criteria and consistently achieve outstanding outcomes when compared to Schools with academic entry criteria. Cicely’s founding principles for the School were to create a family environment in which young people would flourish and we remain faithful to those principles today.

Knowing every child, nurturing potential

Our Principal

Mr Rod Jackson Mr Jackson became Principal of Gosfield School in September 2021. He has a wealth of experience, having spent more than 30 years working in Independent Schools in Africa, Australia and the United Kingdom. He is a passionate promoter of an entirely holistic approach to learning, in which a rigorous approach to academic education, an outstanding programme of extra-curricular opportunities, alongside excellent pastoral care and personal development combine to create a world class educational experience for each child. Mr Jackson believes that it is essential not only that we educate our students to be global citizens but that we ensure they have the skills and the desire to change the world for the better, as future leaders.

Before joining Gosfield, Mr Jackson served as Head of The International Community School in Marylebone and prior to that he was Head of Secondary at The King Alfred School in Hampstead, earlier leadership roles include Head of Classics at Cranleigh School and Senior Housemaster at Aldenham School. Mr Jackson holds a BA (Hons) degree in Classics from the University of Adelaide and a MEd from the University of Cambridge.

Commercial Business Development and Engagement Manager

Job Description

FTE - £40,000 to £45,000 dependent on experience. Actual - £24,000–£27,000 for 3 days/week. Flexibility will be required for weekend events and evening functions.

Purpose of the role The Commercial Business Development and Engagement Manager will establish and deliver an integrated programme designed to grow diversified non-fee income for the school.

Working across fundraising and engagement, the postholder will develop and deliver regular giving, appeals and campaigns, underpinned by strong stewardship and donor care. They will build alumni and parent engagement from the ground up, creating communications, events and relationships that form a clear pathway from connection to long-term support. The role will also coordinate community engagement and events so that activity is planned, costed and evaluated for impact, while also leading commercial business development by identifying, securing and growing new opportunities such as partnerships, sponsorship and paid programmes.

This role plays a key part in supporting the school’s strategic objectives and advancing its philanthropic mission. Below are the key duties and responsibilities associated with the position; however, it is not intended to be an exhaustive list, and additional development-related tasks may be required.

Core responsibilities (summary)

· Fundraising: plan and deliver regular giving, appeals and campaigns; develop a prospect pipeline; support senior leaders with cultivation and asks; ensure effective stewardship and donor care.

· Alumni relations: build an alumni programme (database/consents, communications, events, volunteering, mentoring, and a clear pupil-to-alumni pathway).

· Parent and community engagement: develop engagement activity that builds advocacy and participation and supports income; coordinate community income initiatives with relevant teams.

· Events and communications: deliver and implement an annual calendar of engagement and fundraising events with clear budgets, net income targets and follow-up, working closely with Admissions, Marketing, Finance and Operations.

· Systems and reporting: own the development of CRM and reporting; ensure compliance with data protection and fundraising governance; provide termly KPI and pipeline reporting.

· Commercial business development: develop and deliver the school’s commercial income plan as part of diversified income, building a pipeline of opportunities and converting these into sustainable revenue that supports reserves.

Key duties and responsibilities

1. Fundraising delivery and stewardship

· Develop and deliver the annual fundraising plan (regular giving, appeals and targeted campaigns) aligned to strategic priorities and reserves-building.

· Research, qualify and manage a prospect pipeline; support Principal/Bursar and senior colleagues with cultivation, meetings and asks.

· Maintain high-quality stewardship and donor recognition, ensuring timely thanks, impact reporting and repeat giving.

· Track and report on fundraising performance, conversion rates and ROI.

2. Alumni and supporter relations

· Build an alumni programme from the ground up, including data/consent strategy, communications, events and volunteering pathways.

· Lead ‘reconnect’ activity to grow the contactable alumni and former parent base.

· Develop opportunities for alumni and current parents to contribute time and expertise (e.g., mentoring, careers, talks, hosting, volunteering) that moves supporters from participation to philanthropy, building a managed pipeline for annual fund giving, appeals, major gifts, legacy intentions and other income opportunities including partnerships and sponsorships.

3. Commercial business development

· Identify, prioritise and develop new income opportunities (e.g., partnerships, sponsorship, paid programme and community activity) and manage the pipeline from prospecting to contract delivery.

· Work with relevant colleagues to ensure commercial opportunities are costed, approved, compliant and delivered to a high standard.

· Monitor net income and report performance against agreed targets.

4. Events and communications

· Deliver a planned annual calendar of engagement and fundraising events, including budgets, promotion, attendance targets, follow-up and evaluation.

· Create and coordinate communications that support engagement, participation and fundraising (digital, print and social media), working with Marketing.

· Produce termly updates and an annual impact report for governors.

5. Systems, compliance and reporting

· Own and develop the CRM/database and ensure data quality, segmentation and GDPR-compliant processes.

· Maintain appropriate documentation, templates and audit trails for fundraising and commercial activities.

· Provide termly KPI and pipeline reports to the Finance Committee.

How to apply

Download an Application Form from our website [www.gosfieldschool.org.uk] and send together with a covering letter to Mrs Sara Bowles, EA to the Principal:

recruitment@gosfieldschool.org.uk

Deadline for applications: noon Monday 22 June 2026

Interviews: w/c 29 June 2026

Start Date: 1 September 2026

*Please Note to avoid disappointment applicants are encouraged to apply prior to the deadline as we reserve the right to consider applications as they are received and to appoint prior to the deadline.

Knowing every child, nurturing potential