Job description

Job title:

Deputy Development Director

Hours:

Full time (37 hours per week) or part time

Salary range:

SCP 37 to 42 (£47,440 – £54,893 depending on experience)

Responsible to:

Director of Development

The College:

The College Homerton has a rich history. It was originally established in Homerton, London in 1768 as a
dissenting Academy. It later moved to Cambridge, and it received its Royal Charter in 2010, making it
Cambridge’s newest and largest College.

Located within easy reach of the historic city centre, and within easy access to Cambridge mainline station,
the College currently has around 70 fellows, 600 undergraduate students, and 800 graduate students.
Students are now admitted in every academic subject offered by the University of Cambridge.

The purpose of the College is to nurture a talented, diverse, open-minded and principled scholarly
community, and thereby to further the University’s mission of contributing to society through the pursuit of
education and research at the highest levels. The College’s culture and values emphasise inclusivity: both in
reaching out to potential students from the widest range of backgrounds, and in ensuring that students from
every background feel a sense of belonging at Homerton, and that they are welcome and supported. Our
core values include fairness, openness and excellence, and we work to remove any barriers to full
participation in Cambridge life that students may experience

The Role:

The Deputy Development Director supports the Director of Development in delivering the College’s alumni
relations and fundraising strategy. The role focuses on the delivery of key projects, high-quality
communications, and operational effectiveness across the Development Office.

The postholder will manage complex projects – including publications, appeals, digital campaigns, and systems
improvements – and act as a bridge between strategic planning and day-to-day delivery. They will collaborate
closely with colleagues responsible for alumni relations, events, and communications, ensuring a consistent,
professional, and engaging experience for alumni and supporters.

This role will suit an experienced communications or project professional with a strong understanding of
development in a collegiate or educational environment, who enjoys shaping systems and processes,
managing creative outputs, and supporting strategic delivery.

Key Responsibilities:

Fundraising and Donor Stewardship

•  Contribute to the creation of compelling cases for support, targeted proposals, and campaign materials.

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•

Support the Director of Development in developing and delivering innovative fundraising initiatives,
campaigns, and appeals.

•  Develop and deliver stewardship initiatives that strengthen donor engagement and demonstrate impact.

•  Prepare or edit donor communications and acknowledgements, ensuring tone and presentation reflect

College values.

•  Build strong relationships with donors and prospective supporters, ensuring they feel valued and

engaged.

Alumni Relations and Communications

•  Work closely with the Communications team to coordinate newsletters, targeted mailings, and digital

campaigns, ensuring consistency of messaging and alignment with College priorities.

•  Collaborate with colleagues to ensure events are effectively integrated into alumni engagement and

stewardship plans.

•  Oversee targeted communications to specific alumni and donor segments, working with the Alumni

Relations & Individual Giving Manager and the Communications team.

•  Ensure all communications are produced to a high standard, on schedule and within budget

•  Contribute to initiatives that encourage alumni involvement, whether through volunteering, mentoring,

or philanthropy.

•  Build and maintain strong relationships with alumni and students.

Projects and Operations

•  Lead and deliver key Development Office projects, such as fundraising appeals, digital campaigns, policy
and process improvements, and systems development, ensuring effective delivery on time and within
budget.

•

Identify and implement process improvements to strengthen efficiency across the office.

•  Work with the Director of Development to monitor budgets and report on project progress,

performance, and outcomes.

•

Identify and implement improvements to office systems, workflows, and policies to ensure efficiency and
best practice.

•

Support the Director of Development with forward planning, reporting, and departmental coordination.

•  Produce written, financial, and data reports for internal and external stakeholders.

Supporting the Director of Development

•  Deputise for the Director of Development at meetings and events when required.

•  Provide operational oversight and advice on communications, data, and project workflows.

•  Contribute to the development and delivery of the Development Strategy.

•  Build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, representing the Development Office

professionally across the College and University network.

Person Specification

Essential

•  Educated to degree level or equivalent relevant experience.

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•  Extensive experience in marketing, communications, or project management, ideally in an educational or

membership environment.

•  Proven ability to plan, manage, and deliver multiple complex projects to deadlines and budgets.

•  Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with strong attention to detail and editorial judgment.

•

Strong organisational and analytical skills, with ability to improve systems and processes.

•  A working knowledge of or a readiness to become familiar with policies and legislation that is relevant to

the College, and an ability to access and deploy such knowledge, including Charity Commission
guidelines, Financial Regulations, anti-bribery and gift acceptance, and hospitality policies, PREVENT, and
Data Protection legislation.

•  A knowledge of – and commitment to – the Code of Fundraising Practice.

•  Confidence working collaboratively with colleagues across functions, including communications, events,

and alumni relations.

•  Ability to translate strategic objectives into actionable, well-managed projects.

•  Highly IT literate, comfortable with CRM systems, Office 365, and digital content management tools.

•  Professional, confident, and adaptable, with a hands-on approach to delivery.

•  Willingness to attend occasional evening and weekend events.

Desirable

•  Experience in a collegiate or higher education development environment.

•  Understanding of philanthropy, alumni relations, and donor stewardship principles.

•  Experience producing publications and managing suppliers (designers, printers, web agencies).

•

Familiarity with digital fundraising tools or analytics.

•  Understanding of data protection and GDPR principles in a development context.

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