Head of Development and Alumni Relations

About the Blavatnik School of Government

Our vision is of a world better led, a world better served and a world better governed. We are a global school committed to improving the quality of government and public policymaking worldwide, through three routes: teaching current and future leaders; generating research with impact; and engaging with governments and practitioners.

What we offer

The School is a collaborative, friendly, and dynamic department based in an award-winning building in Oxford. We host regular events and talks with well-known guest speakers – all of which are open to staff. On the social side, we have regular coffee/cake mornings for staff, a family-friendly Halloween event, and Christmas and summer parties

As an employer, we genuinely care about our employees’ wellbeing and this is reflected in the range of benefits that we offer including:

• An excellent contributory pension scheme
• 38 days’ annual leave
• Family leave schemes and a comprehensive range of childcare services
• Cycle loan scheme and discounted bus travel and Season Ticket travel loans
• Membership to a variety of social and sports clubs
• Opportunities for remote working.

About the role

Are you a goal-oriented, experienced development leader, looking to join a dynamic and friendly team to help raise funds in support of the Blavatnik School’s mission of making government better?

As Head of Development and Alumni Relations, you will work with our new Associate Dean as a senior leader in School and across our professional services cadre. You will co-create our strategy on fundraising and philanthropic partnerships with the Associate Dean; provide day-to-day leadership across the development and alumni teams; and be personally responsible for the identification, cultivation and solicitation of potential donors and partners, typically in the range of £250,000 – £2,000,000, delivering well in excess of £3m+ per year.

The post is ideally suited for an experienced development professional with a passion for bringing about change through philanthropic partnership. They will possess excellent relationship building and communication skills which are likely to have been gained in a complex higher education and/or public policy field.

The successful candidate will have an impressive track record in raising significant gifts, preferably in the higher education and/or public policy field; and of leading development and/or alumni teams at a senior level with the ability to build and maintain an inclusive, high-performing and outward facing culture. S/he will be a senior leader in the professional services team, with the ability to work collaboratively across boundaries and spot opportunities for improvement through innovation and joint working.

If you are excited by our mission and seeking a role where you can make a positive difference to the world, this is the post for you.

Further details of the post are included in the full job description.

More information about working at the School can be found on our jobs page.

You will be required to upload a supporting statement , CV and the details of two referees as part of your online application.

The closing date for applications is 12.00 noon (UK time) on Tuesday 3 September 2024.

Interviews will be held on 4 and 5 September 2024

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