THE GUILDHALL SCHOOL TRUST
37,360 - 42,050 per year
Guildhall School of Music & Drama
Full-time
Job Description
Job Title: Alumni Relations Manager
Department: Development & Alumni Relations Office
Guildhall School of Music & Drama
Grade: D
Location: Guildhall School of Music & Drama
Responsible to: Deputy Head of Development
Responsible for: Development Administrator
Purpose of Post
The post-holder will work as part within DARO planning and implementing
engagement activity specifically for the Guildhall School’s 17,000 strong alumni
community including Fellows. The role will be responsible for the management and
day to day running of the alumni programme for the School, ensuring that alumni
audiences have a range of opportunities to engage with the institution, and nurturing
mutually beneficial relationships.
As with every member of the team, the Alumni Relations Manager will be committed
to providing the highest level of service to external and internal stakeholders.
Key Relationships
• Deputy Head of Development (line manager)
• Development Administrator (direct report)
• Head of Development
• Advancement team members (Development & Alumni Relations, Marketing,
Communications & International Relations)
• External and internal stakeholders, such as staff (Student Affairs, Registry and
Enterprise), students and senior volunteers
• Alumni, fellows, former staff, parents, supporters and donors
Main Duties & Responsibilities
Alumni Engagement
1. To develop and manage a multi-year plan of activity for alumni engagement
activity through events and communications in liaison with the Deputy Head of
Development
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2. To lead on delivering key alumni engagement activity such as year-group,
faculty or principal study reunions, professional networking, volunteering
opportunities and careers-focused events
3. To lead and manage the transition of graduating students into the alumni
community around the annual Graduation ceremony and to manage
communication with new graduates
4. To work with the Deputy Head of Development to increase the level of
communication consents for alumni of the School
5. To work closely with the DARO Fundraising team to ensure that alumni
relations activity links effectively and appropriately into planned fundraising
activity (e.g. through the regular giving programme and bespoke individual
approaches to prospective donors)
6. To work with the Head and Deputy Head of Development to generate
alumni and Fellows support for the School’s 150th anniversary campaign,
whether financial, through advocacy, volunteering, or event attendance, and
personally manage a pool of high-profile alumni to further these aims.
7. To manage the strategy and stewardship of the School’s Fellows and
Honorary Fellows in liaison with the Deputy Head of Development, and
Principal’s office.
Continuing professional development and student recruitment
8. To liaise with colleagues across the School to deliver a range of
employability and professional development activity for recent graduates and
older alumni including careers workshops, talks, networking events and any
other activity required by the School’s employability agenda
9. To liaise with academic departments and external relations colleagues on
how the alumni community can assist in and support the recruitment of students
for the School at all levels and in particular in the international arena, working
with overseas alumni groups
Supporting academic departments in alumni relations activity
10. To develop and lead on activity to support the delivery of departmental
specific alumni relations activity
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11. To provide expert advice to departments on ‘best practice’ ways of working
with alumni, to support and facilitate contact with alumni, and to encourage the
growth of subject specific affinity activity
Communications
12. To create content on alumni relations activity in the form of articles, notices
and other copy for social media (e.g. LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook), the
School’s annual magazine PLAY, termly e-news and other publications
13. To manage and provide interactive content for the alumni areas of the
School’s NetCommunity and main site web pages, including managing event
bookings and updates to alumni contact information
Reporting, benchmarking and sector knowledge
14. To implement a bespoke framework for the Guildhall School and use it to
provide measurable outcomes on the impact of the overall alumni relations
programme
15. To be responsible for maintaining comprehensive and accurate records of
alumni relations activity on the department database (Raiser’s Edge) and to
ensure that such information is compliant with General Data Protection
Regulation (GDPR)
16. To co-ordinate the gathering and processing of responses to various
surveys including the Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE)
survey and working with the
Deputy Head of Development to provide metrics for the International CASE Alumni
Relations Survey (ICARS)
17. To keep up to date with sector trends in the area of alumni relations through
research, informal and formal networking opportunities and to develop expert
knowledge in this area on behalf of the Guildhall School.
Line Management
18. To provide direct line management for the Development Administrator, responsible for
providing administrative and events support to the DARO team in their activity
encompassing fundraising, alumni and supporter relations.
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Other
19. To maintain excellent relationships with staff at all levels in the academic
and administrative departments of the Guildhall School, students, Governors,
Trustees of the Guildhall School Trust and external supporters and stakeholders
20. To work at Development & Alumni Relations events as required
representing the Guildhall School and Advancement division at various School
performances, events and external functions outside usual working hours.
21. Actively seek to implement the City of London’s Occupational Health and
Safety Policy in relation to the duties of the post, and at all times give due regard
to the health and safety of both themselves and others when carrying out their
duties.
22. Actively seek to implement the City of London’s Equal Opportunity Policy
and the objective to promote equality of opportunity in relation to the duties of
the post.
23. To take an active role in the Development & Alumni Relations Office by
contributing to wider departmental plans and strategy as appropriate.
24. To undertake any other duties that may reasonably be requested
appropriate to the grade
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Person Specification
Job Title: Alumni Relations Manager
Department: Development & Alumni Relations Office
Guildhall School of Music & Drama
Grade: D
Location: Guildhall School of Music & Drama
Responsible to: Deputy Head of Development
Responsible for: Development Administrator
Please find below the key skills and core behaviours required to undertake this
post.
Technical Skills / Professional Qualifications / Relevant Education & Training
and Experience Required
• Educated to degree level or equivalent or possess an equivalent level of skills
knowledge and experience (A)
• Excellent working knowledge of the GDPR and tax-efficient giving (e.g. Gift Aid) and
their implications in development work (A) (I)
• Good understanding of the Institute of Fundraising’s Codes of Fundraising Practice or
equivalent (A) (I)
• Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office including Word, Excel and PowerPoint (A) (I)
• Good Working knowledge of website content management systems and/or email
marketing software (A) (I)
• Ability to demonstrate the highest level discretion and confidentiality (A) (I)
• Excellent research and analytical skills (A) (I)
• Excellent verbal communication skills with the ability to develop and maintain productive
relationships with the alumni community, academic departments and outside institutions
(A) (I)
• Excellent written skills with the ability to write effective copy for website content and
communication materials, coherently and independently and to utilise social and digital
media to build networks (A) (I)
• Good knowledge of communications and event planning, methods and techniques (A)
(I)
Experience Required
Essential
• Experience of working within alumni relations or a similar professional
network-based environment (A) (I)
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• Experience of working in the HE and/or performing arts sector (A) (I)
• Experience of developing membership programmes and working closely with
senior volunteers, senior staff, high-profile individuals, and committees (A) (I)
• Experience of event management including organising and delivering a wide
range of fundraising or alumni relations events (A) (I)
• Experience of using fundraising/relationship databases, ideally Raiser’s Edge,
and their strategic use to support external relations activities (A) (I)
• Ability to organise and complete multiple tasks and projects simultaneously
with a close attention to detail, and within deadlines (A) (I)
• Self-driven, results orientated with a positive outlook (A) (I)
• A self-motivated individual with ability to integrate as a core part of a team (A)
(I)
• Demonstrable engagement with suitable networks and professional bodies
with a commitment to continued professional development (A) (I)
Desirable
• Understanding of and passion for the work of the Guildhall School of Music &
Drama and the performing arts (A) (I)
Other Relevant Information e.g. working hours or desirables (only if applicable)
35 hour week per week. Regular out-of-office-hours working in order to meet with alumni
and supporters and to represent the School at performances and events for which time
off in lieu may be available.
Recruitment – Note to Applicants
The qualifications, experience and technical skills will be used in the decision-making
process for recruitment. Please give examples of how you have exhibited these
behaviours in your previous role(s) and experience. It is essential you address the
criterion marked as (A) on your application form in the section for supporting information,
this will be the minimum criteria for shortlisting.
Be as specific as possible, we cannot guess or make assumptions, but will assess your
application solely on the information provided. Try to provide evidence, by examples,
in this person
where possible, of skills, knowledge and experience contained
specification.
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Summary of Terms and Conditions of
Employment
This summary is given as a guide and is not intended to form part of an individual’s contract
of employment.
Contract
The position is offered on a Fixed Term Contract (Maternity Cover) basis.
Salary
The salary range for this job is £37,360 - £42,050 per annum inclusive of all allowances.
This figure will be reviewed annually from 1 July in line with the pay award for other salaried
staff within the City of London Corporation.
Pension
The pension scheme provided by the City of London is the Local Government Pension
Scheme (LGPS). The LGPS is a public sector, statutory, funded, defined benefit pension
scheme. Benefits are accrued based upon scheme member’s salary and the length of time
for which they are a member of the scheme.
You will automatically be admitted to the City of London Corporation’s Pension Scheme.
Member contributions are based upon the rate of pensionable pay received by the scheme
member. Members contribute between 5.5% and 12.5% of their pensionable pay to the
scheme, depending on salary. Please see here for the contribution bands. There is also an
option to join the 50/50 section of the scheme where members pay half the contribution rate
and accrue benefits at half the accrual rate.
The current employer contribution rate for the City of London is 21%.
Further details can be found on the national LGPS website and/or the City’s pension website.
If you do not wish to join the Scheme you must make a formal declaration stating you wish to
opt out. You may contact the Pensions Office directly should you have any queries relating
to the Local Government Pension scheme and your entitlements under this scheme.
Hours of Work
Normal hours of work are 35 hours per week (9.00am-5.00pm) with 60 mins lunch breaks,
Monday to Friday, inclusive but the post holder shall be expected to work the hours
necessary to carry out the duties of the position.
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Frequency and Method of Payment
This is a monthly paid appointment and salaries are credited to a Bank or Building Society
Account on the 31st of each month or the preceding working day.
Annual Leave
There is an entitlement of 28 days annual holiday plus Bank Holidays. There are subsequent
increases to entitlement to annual holiday according to length of service.
Continuous Service
If you join the City of London Corporation without a break in service (subject to certain
exceptions) from another body covered by the Redundancy Payments (Local Government)
(Modification) Order 1999, your service with that institution will count for the purpose of
continuous service. The amount of continuous service which you have will affect your
entitlement to certain contractual benefits; for example, annual leave, sick leave and
maternity leave. A full explanation of Continuous Service is contained within the Employee
Handbook.
Probationary Period
You will be employed initially on a six-month probationary period. Should either party wish to
terminate the employment during this period, then one week’s notice will be required on
either side, except for summary termination for gross misconduct.
Notice Period
One month notice by either party after satisfactory completion of probationary period.
Learning and Employee Development
The City of London provides for financial support and time off for staff to study for
appropriate qualifications which relate to their duties or undertaking professional skills
update training. There is also an in house programme covering more general training needs.
City Benefits
As an employee of the City Corporation, you have access to exclusive discounts and
privileges through a combination of internal offers from our departments and an external
service we have subscribed to from Reward Gateway.
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Employee Volunteering Programme
The City Corporation, in line with its aims to contribute to a flourishing society, shape
outstanding environments and support a thriving economy, offers employees paid special
leave time during normal hours to encourage employees to volunteer their time and skills to
Volunteer Involving Organisations (VIOs) operating within the Square Mile, London and
beyond.
Full-time employees may take up to 2 days or 14 hours per year in which to volunteer,
between 1 January and 31 December. For temporary and part time employees these hours
are adjusted pro rata. Volunteering time can be taken in smaller bite size e.g. 2 hours a week
over 7 weeks, where this can be accommodated by the City Corporation and meets the
requirements of the volunteer organisation
Sickness Absence and Pay
The City of London Corporation has a comprehensive Occupational Sick Pay scheme,
details of which can be found in the Employee Handbook which will be made available to you
upon commencement.
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