Philanthropy Officer

Philanthropy Officer

Candidate Information Pack

February 2026

About Us
Magdalene College is one of the ancient Colleges of the University of Cambridge, it was originally
founded in 1428 and re-founded in 1542. Although we are rightly proud of our history, we are a
thoroughly modern and forward-looking College.

We have developed a strong programme in the Sciences alongside traditional strengths in Arts subjects
and the first priority for students is academic work. However, there is also a thriving extracurricular life in
the College, and we take pride in the high level of pastoral care offered to junior members. There are
around 600 undergraduate and postgraduate students, and just over 100 Fellows and the Master who
together make up our warm and thriving College community.

The College employs just over 100 members of staff across various departments including Alumni and
Development, Academic Office, Finance, Catering, Maintenance, Gardens, Libraries, Porters,
Housekeeping and IT. Further information is available from the College’s website www.magd.cam.ac.uk.

College Facilities for Staff
Staff are able to use the College gym which consists of a weights gym and a room with cardio equipment.
The College also has a squash court and Eton Fives court. These can be booked through the Porters
Lodge. Basketball, tennis and volleyball courts along with football Astro pitches can be booked through
St John’s College.

Magdalene is registered with Cycle Scheme, a tax-efficient scheme for buying a new bicycle.

During the summer staff may use the College punts for up to two hours. These should be booked
through the Porters Lodge.

The College has a social committee who run events for staff, including the annual day trip which is open
for all staff to attend.

Meals
All staff working a shift of a minimum of 4 hours per day are eligible to take a free lunch. This includes
permanent staff and those on a fixed term contract. The value of the meal is up to £7.20 per day which
equates to over £1600 per year for those working in College 5 days a week.

Family Friendly Policies
The College offers enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay as well as generous sick pay for those
who have more than six months service. This is in addition to the flexible working policy. More details on
all of these are in the Staff Handbook.

Staff are eligible to use the Tax-Free Childcare Scheme recently introduced by the government to replace
Childcare Vouchers

Benefits
The college offers a range of benefits, including:

•  Group Life Assurance.
•  Help@hand Portal where you can access remote GP appointments, medical second opinions,

savings and discounts, financial support and much more.

•  Wellbeing classes such as pilates and yoga.
•  Flu jabs.
•  College pension contributions of up to 12% plus up to 10% staff contribution.

•  Eye tests with Specsavers.

Department Information
The Alumni and Development Office currently consists of a team of ten colleagues, and it is a vibrant,
forward-thinking, friendly and close-knit department responsible for all aspects of fundraising,
communications and alumni relations including the organisation of alumni events both at home and
abroad. The office is often the first point of contact for our Members, Friends and Honorary Fellows and
runs a comprehensive communications programme involving both printed and electronic media.

The College successfully completed a five-year fundraising campaign a couple of years ago exceeding its
target by several million pounds. The award-winning New Library, funded entirely from donations, won
the prestigious Stirling Prize in 2022 and is widely regarded as one of the best in Cambridge.

We are currently raising funds for the complete restoration of the Pepys Building and work to encourage
Members and Friends to continue to support bursaries, scholarships and teaching posts at Magdalene.
The team, led by the Director of Development and Alumni Relations, Mrs Corinne Lloyd, is very well
respected and has excellent working relationships with colleagues across the College, with the
Fellowship and the student body.

We run an annual Telephone Campaign in-house using Vanilla Soft and hold a Giving Day every other
year. Our events programme is second to none and our participation rate is well above the Cambridge
average. We are looking ahead to the College’s 600th anniversary in 2028 - all in all, a great time to join
the team!

Working Conditions
Which statement best describes the environment in which the role will primarily be based?
Office based. Some travel to similar sites may be required. Normal health and safety requirements
will be followed.

Physical Requirements
Which statement best describes the physical demands of the role?
Requires normal physical effort associated with an office environment (or equivalent).

Sensory Requirements
Which statement best describes the sensory demands of the role?
Uses normal office equipment and/or standard tools.

Role Summary
Magdalene College is seeking to appoint a confident and knowledgeable Philanthropy Officer with strong
interpersonal skills to be able to build effective and long-term relationships with existing and future
donors. We would expect applicants to have experience in annual fundraising and an ambition to
develop skills in face-to-face fundraising to advance a career in Development in the Higher Education
sector.

The Philanthropy Officer will be working closely with the Deputy Director of Development  on expanding
the College’s programme of fundraising to generate a wide range of individual and regular gifts at lower
levels.  They will also have responsibility for encouraging the growth of a giving culture among the
younger alumni cohort and finding innovative ways to increase participation in preparation for the
College’s next major campaign. The post-holder will also have the opportunity of working with

Communications colleagues to innovate new ways of publicising and growing the College’s legacy
programme, likely to become be a very rewarding source of giving in the coming years.

This role offers a real opportunity for the right person to use their knowledge of fundraising and their
creativity to grow and shape the already successful regular giving programme at Magdalene, to build on
the success of the current legacy programme and to develop face-to-face fundraising expertise by
identifying, stewarding and cultivating those Members who make significant regular gifts to the College.
The post holder will report to the Deputy Development Director and work closely with the Gifts
Administration and Stewardship Officer as well as the Database Officer. The Alumni & Development
team is highly regarded within College having closed its first major fundraising campaign for some years
way above target in recent years. The team of ten is a professional, friendly team which produces
excellent results.

This is an exciting time to take that next step to build on existing fundraising experience and join us in
planning the next Campaign to mark the College’s  600th birthday in 2028!

Responsible to: Deputy Director of Development

Job Description

Main Duties and Responsibilities
The main duties of the post include the following:

•  Working with fundraising colleagues to further develop and enhance the regular giving programme, using
innovative and creative ideas to demonstrate the impact of philanthropy and to reinforce the narrative
underpinning this culture of philanthropy.

•  Working closely with the Deputy Development Director in planning and implementing various ways of
communicating with and reaching out to our Members to encourage and retain regular philanthropic
activity.

•  Working alongside the Deputy Development Director to create and implement the annual regular giving
strategy and to oversee the operation of key elements of this strategy such as the telephone campaign,
Giving Tuesday, direct mailings and personalised individual approaches.

•  Supporting the Deputy Development Director in advancing donors to the next tier of giving and engaging

them in face-to-face meetings to elevate their philanthropy.

•  Using detailed analysis of our giving data to identify potential legacy prospects, create new ways of

demonstrating the impact of legacy giving and framing the narrative of the value of legacies as a future
source of income for the College.

•  Maximising funds raised from current donor relationships by identifying further opportunities to solicit

support including additional personal gifts, submissions to family trusts and foundations and liaising with
colleagues to develop these opportunities further.

Prospective Donor Identification and Stewardship

•  Analysing and monitoring regular giving activity on a monthly basis working closely with the Gift

Administration and Stewardship Officer to help identify giving patterns and trends for strategic purposes.
•  Stewarding donor relationships in a strategic and creative manner by keeping donors fully informed about
the impact of their gifts with a view to developing long-term relationships between the donor and the
College.

•  Maintaining up to date knowledge of the College’s current funding priorities and being able to articulate

the Case for Support to donors.

•  Keeping abreast of financial and regulatory developments within the charitable fundraising and Higher

Education sectors

•  Representing Magdalene College to Members, Supporters and Friends of the College, engaging where

appropriate with Members, Fellows, students and staff to better understand and represent College life.

•  Participating in and attending events for Magdalene as required.

PLEASE NOTE: the above is not an exhaustive description and other requirements may emerge as necessitated by
changing roles within Magdalene College and its overall objectives.

Person Specification
We require a very well organised, pro-active individual with good people skills who has excellent
attention to detail.

Knowledge and Experience
The following criteria are appropriate to this post:

Essential or highly desirable

•  Educated to degree standard, with significant, relevant experience of fundraising.
•  Experience of annual fund/regular giving fundraising as well as developing plans to enhance and expand

the regular giving programme.

•  Outstanding verbal and written communications skills and the ability to deal with people from all walks of

life.

•  An understanding of the Collegiate University and of the importance of the diversification of its funding

base.

•  The ability to represent Magdalene College with confidence and authority.

Personal Skills and Abilities

•  Knowledge of the UK Higher Education Sector and a strong belief in the importance of educational

opportunities, with an understanding of current issues.

•  Familiarity with relational databases (experience with the Raisers’ Edge database is preferable).
•  Ability to use own initiative and work under pressure, but also a team player comfortable with working

closely with colleagues.

•  Strong interpersonal skills and an ability to deal easily with a number of stakeholders within the College in

a flexible and enthusiastic manner.

•  Ability to build rapport with individuals and build relationships with Members and Friends of the College.
•  Ability to deal with people with a high degree of sensitivity, tact and diplomacy.
•  Willingness to ‘muck in’ as sometimes required in a small team.

Remuneration and Benefits

Hours of Work
36.25 hours per week, but applications from those wishing to work part-time at 80% or above would be
considered, with the exact work pattern to be agreed. The post holder will be required to work
occasional weekends and out of hours. Overtime will not be paid but time off in lieu will be given.

Remuneration
The post is offered at a salary of £33,449 - £34,983 for 36.25 hours per week (Magdalene pay scale 31-
34) dependent on qualifications and experience.

Holidays
The College offers full time members of staff 25 days leave a year, excluding bank holidays.

Pension
The post holder will join the College’s auto enrolment pension scheme with generous additional
contribution options on completion of probationary period.

Probationary and Notice Period
There will be a six-month probationary period. Upon successful completion of the probationary period,
the notice period will be two months

How to Apply
Please download and complete both parts of the application form from the College website at
www.magd.cam.ac.uk/about/vacancies/non-academic-vacancies.

Send your completed application by email to the HR Manager, Hannah Millward, at hr@magd.cam.ac.uk.

The College postal address: HR, Magdalene College, Magdalene Street, Cambridge CB3 0AG

Enquiries
Further enquiries about your application may be made by email to hr@magd.cam.ac.uk

Closing Date
The closing date is 9am Tuesday 17 March 2026 with interviews being held on Monday 23 March 2026.

HR Department
Magdalene College
Magdalene Street
Cambridge
CB3 0AG

hr@magd.cam.ac.uk
01223 332100

www.magd.cam.ac.uk