Download Development Officer

THE INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS OF KING EDWARD VI IN BIRMINGHAM
Development Director – Job Description
Job Title
Salary
Location
Type of position
Start date
Development Director
Highly competitive salary, depending on experience
King Edward’s School and King Edward VI High School for Girls, Birmingham
Full-time, permanent
As soon as possible
King Edward’s School and King Edward VI High School for Girls (KEHS), two of the best independent day
schools in the country, seek a Development Director to lead one of the largest and most successful school
development offices in the UK. The office, which has raised over £17 million in the last six years and has won
two awards, is due to complete a major fundraising campaign for Assisted Places (bursaries), the £10 million
AP100 Campaign, at King Edward’s School next year and has recently launched the fundraising for Assisted
Places at KEHS, so this is an exciting time to join the operation and build on what has been achieved so far.
1.
The post
1.1
Overall description of the role
The Development Director will be responsible for setting the vision and strategy for fundraising and alumni relations at
both schools from 2016 onwards. They will be expected to play the leading role in raising significant funds for the two
Assisted Places Campaigns from major donors, trusts and companies. At King Edward’s they will be responsible for
completing the AP100 Campaign and also devising the plan for the fundraising that will follow it. At KEHS they will be
responsible devising a plan to launch a major fundraising campaign, potentially for around £5 million, in the years ahead.
The Development Director will work very closely with, and report to, the Chief Master of King Edward’s School and the
Principal of KEHS. They will also work closely with the Bursar, the Senior Management / Leadership teams and the
governors and staff of each school, as well as a number of alumni and development committees and other volunteers.
The Development Director will be responsible for leading and managing the five other members of the Development
Office and they will directly manage the Head of Development, the Database & Donations Manager and OEA Events
Manager. The Development Director will be expected to attend all of the key school and Development office events and
will normally report to the Governors at least once per year on the activity of the office.
1.2
Key responsibilities
Fundraising:
 Setting the overall fundraising strategy for both schools including major gift, trust, corporate, legacy, telephone
and direct mail fundraising.
 Planning and overseeing any relevant major fundraising campaigns including the AP100 Campaign at King
Edward’s School.
 Researching, approaching, cultivating and stewarding a specific pool of potential major donors in the UK and
overseas, all who have the capability of making significant gifts.
 Leading the cultivation and stewardship of donors capable of making gifts of more than £10,000, including those
major donors who are sponsoring individual pupils within the schools.
 Monitoring funds raised and forecasting future spending, particularly regarding Assisted Places.
Alumni relations:
 Setting the overall alumni relations strategy for former pupils, former parents and former staff, including events,
communications and the careers networks.
 Working with the Parents’ Associations within each school on the events and communications programme for
current parents.
 Signing off any essential alumni and donor communications and writing any leading articles, as required.
 Attending all key alumni and fundraising events at both schools – which will include evening and weekend work.
Management and leadership:
 Direct management of the Head of Development, Database & Donations Manager and OEA Events Manager.
This management will include conducting regular meetings along with their annual appraisals to manage and
prioritise workload and review targets.
 Attending a number of committee meetings including those of the OEA and BGOEC (who oversee the alumni
relations strategies at each school), the Development Committees (who oversee the fundraising strategies) and
the Trustees (who oversee the investment and spending of the funds raised) and working closely with these
committees.
 Managing and working with a number of key volunteers including the 12 AP100 Campaign ambassadors.
 Managing the budget, income targets and KPIs across both offices and ensuring these are met.
 Ensuring all relevant office policies and procedures are in place and up to date including data protection, gift
acceptance and ethical fundraising policies.
 Attending regular (normally weekly) meetings with the Chief Master and Principal and reporting to the Governors
at least once per year on the activity of the Development Office.
Engagement:
 Developing the profile of the Development Office within the schools, including internal communications to staff,
pupils and current parents.
 Maintaining the profile of the two schools by attending and speaking at relevant conferences and being an active
member of relevant organisations, such as IDPE.
 Attending key school events at both schools including Speech Days, key concerts and plays.
Other:
Any other duties as may be reasonably required by the Chief Master or Principal.
2.
The qualities and key skills required
The ideal candidate would be expected to show evidence of many of the following skills and qualities. The following table
demonstrates qualities that would be considered essential or desirable and how these will be tested during the
recruitment process.
Experience and Knowledge (tested in covering letter, application form and at interview):
Fundraising
Leadership
Management
Education
Financial
Essential
Some experience of fundraising (major gift, trust,
corporate, legacy, telephone or direct mail).
Vision, energy and the ability to motivate and develop the
skills and experience of others
Experience of managing a team.
A good general level of education to degree level
Desirable
Proven ability to secure significant
gifts.
Experience of financial planning.
Skills and abilities (tested in covering letter, at interview and in skills tests):
Interpersonal
Presentational
Written
communications
Organisational
IT
Essential
The ability to develop and manage relationships with a
wide range of people
The ability to address and engage an audience or
individual with confidence, authority and clarity
The ability to write messages that are clear, convincing
and inspiring
Attention to detail and deadlines. The ability to manage
multiple projects over long periods
Proficiency in standard office software
Desirable
Experience of working in a school
environment with parents, staff, pupils
and governors.
Experience of writing and managing
mass communications by letter and
email.
Experience of working with an alumni
relations / fundraising database.
Attitudes (tested at interview):
Engagement
Creativity
Strategic
Independence
Enthusiasm
Flexibility
Essential
An understanding of, and belief in, the aims and ethos of
independent education in general and of the two
independent schools. A belief in the aims of the Assisted
Places fundraising campaigns.
The ability to adapt to new situations and address
problems from new perspectives.
The ability to take a strategic view and to understand how
all the different parts of the office fit and work together.
The ability to act independently using initiative and good
judgement, particularly during periods of high pressure.
A positive attitude and a genuine enthusiasm for
fundraising.
Prepared to travel nationally and globally as necessary
and to work outside regular hours as required.
Desirable
3. Background information
3.1 Location
King Edward’s School and King Edward VI High School for Girls are both part of The Schools of King Edward VI in
Birmingham (‘The Foundation’) which has eight schools in Birmingham. Both schools share the same beautiful 50 acre
campus in Edgbaston close to the University of Birmingham. The schools are only three miles from Birmingham city
centre and have excellent transport access by road and rail (the University train station is only a 10 minute walk).
3.2 King Edward’s School
King Edward’s School is an independent HMC day school with 850 boys aged 11-18 and is one of the most successful
independent day schools in this country. It was founded in 1552 and counts amongst its alumni Edward Burne-Jones, J R
R Tolkien, Enoch Powell, Field Marshall Slim, Jonathan Coe, Lee Child and two Nobel prize-winners.
Academic standards in the school are extremely high – in 2014 one-quarter of pupils achieved 40 points or more in the
International Baccalaureate Diploma (equivalent to four A*s at A-Level), nearly a quarter of boys achieved 10 A*s at
GCSE and over the last three years an average of 20 boys per year have won places at Oxford and Cambridge. Extracurricular activity is also an essential part of the experience of pupils. The school produces music and drama of an
exceptional quality, performing each year in Symphony Hall in Birmingham.
The school is currently engaged in a major £25m building program and two buildings have already been funded and
completed. The Sir Paul and Lady Ruddock Performing Arts Centre opened in 2012 and was funded by a very
substantial donation from Sir Paul Ruddock, a former pupil. The Andrew Brode Wing, a new modern languages and
science building incorporating a new Sixth Form centre, also funded by a substantial donation from an alumnus, Andrew
Brode, opened in 2013. The final phase will be the building of a new sports centre and swimming pool.
Further details about the school can be found at: www.kes.org.uk.
3.3
King Edward VI High School for Girls
King Edward VI High School for Girls (KEHS) is an independent day school with 560 girls aged 11-18 and is one of the
most successful girls’ schools in this country. The school was founded in 1883 and counts the actress Lindsay Duncan
and the BBC Correspondent Reeta Chakrabarti amongst its alumnae.
Like King Edward’s School, the school reflects the diverse racial mix of the city and it attracts pupils from beyond
Birmingham. Academic standards in the school are extremely high – in 2014 the school achieved its highest ever
percentage of A* grades at A Level, 38%. The school has a long history of sending girls to the very best universities
including Oxford and Cambridge – in 2014, 11 girls received Oxbridge offers. The school was rated ‘excellent’ by the
Independent Schools’ Inspectorate in 2010 and was ranked number one in the Sunday Times ‘Top 10 Schools in the
Midlands’ in 2013.
School life is underpinned with an ethos of service. The girls who come to KEHS know how privileged they are to be at a
top UK school with teachers who are passionate about their subjects. Extra-curricular activity is also an important part of
their experience. Along with King Edward’s the school produces music and drama of an exceptional quality and shares
the impressive Sir Paul and Lady Ruddock Performing Arts Centre which opened in 2012. There is also a large range of
sporting opportunities. The school has its own sports hall, swimming pool and hockey pitches on site.
Further details about the school can be found at: www.kehs.org.uk.
3.4
Assisted Places
The main purpose of both schools is undoubtedly the pursuit of excellence in all that they do, but it is of equal significance
that this excellence should be accessible to able pupils, whatever their family background or financial situation. At the
moment over 30% of pupils at King Edward’s and 20% at KEHS have some kind of financial support and about 10% of
pupils at both school pay no fees at all. The funds for this are provided by the Foundation, which grants the two schools
over £1.5m per year for Assisted Places, and through the donations of alumni and other donors. So far over £8.5m has
been raised for Assisted Places by the Development Office at King Edward’s School from over 1,200 donors as part of
the AP100 Campaign (see below). The fundraising for Assisted Places was launched at KEHS in summer 2015 and so
far over £1m has been raised from 200 donors.
3.5
The Development Offices
Although some of the staff and work is shared, there are actually two offices (one based in each school) and all events
and communications are branded separately. The office is staffed jointly by the Development Director, the Head of
Development, the Database and Donations Manager and the Development Assistant, who work across both schools. In
addition the OEA Events Manager is based at King Edward’s School and the Alumnae Relations Officer is based at
KEHS. The Development Director will be based in both schools. The office also works closely with the Heads of Careers
in each school, the Director of Admissions and the Director of Marketing and Communications at King Edward’s School
and the Admissions Registrar at KEHS. Each office has two key responsibilities:
Fundraising
In the last seven years £16m has been raised at King Edward’s School from alumni and other donors. In 2014 we
launched the AP100 Campaign, one of the largest bursary fundraising campaigns in the UK, which aims to raise £10
million to fund 100 Assisted Places by summer 2016. So far we have raised over £8.5m which is funding 75 places for
boys in the school. You can find more details about this Campaign online at www.trust.kes.org.uk/ap100.
The fundraising for Assisted Places was launched at KEHS in summer 2015 with a brochure, film, launch event and
telephone campaign. So far over £1m has been raised from 200 donors.
Alumni relations
We are also responsible for keeping former pupils, parents and staff in touch with each school and each other through a
comprehensive events and communications programme. We run 30 events each year across both schools including
reunions, dinners, drinks receptions, lectures and concerts. Over 1,000 people attend these events every year. We
communicate with our former pupils via two websites, two Facebook Pages, three annual magazines and two quarterly enewsletters.
3.6
The charitable trusts
We have set up two separate charitable trusts to receive donations on behalf of the two schools: The King Edward’s
School Birmingham Trust (for King Edward’s School) and The King Edward VI High School for Girls Trust (for KEHS).
Both trusts are registered charities with several trustees, most of whom are former pupils of the schools, and they receive
all donations on behalf of both schools. Further information can be found online at www.trust.kes.org.uk and
www.trust.kehs.org.uk.
3.7
The Foundation
The Foundation is responsible for eight schools within Birmingham. These include the two independent schools, King
Edward’s School and KEHS, five grammar schools and one Academy. Further details about the Foundation can be found
at: www.kingedwardsfoundation.co.uk.
3.8
The Old Edwardians Association and Birmingham Girls Old Edwardian Club
Both schools have their own alumni associations – the Old Edwardians Association at King Edward’s and the Birmingham
Girls Old Edwardian Club (BGOEC) at KEHS – which the Development Office works with very closely. Further details on
both organisations can be found online at: www.oldeds.kes.org.uk and at: www.oldeds.kehs.org.uk.
4.
Employment terms and conditions
The schools would like the successful candidate to commence employment as soon as possible, but understand that
candidates will have their own employment responsibilities. There will be an initial probation period of 6 months. The
gross annual salary will be highly competitive and will depend on the experience of the successful candidate. In addition,
the school offers a defined contribution pension scheme and a discount on school fees for children at the two independent
schools (as long as other admissions criteria are satisfied) as well as other benefits. The successful candidate will be
entitled to 22 days annual leave, 4 fixed, concessionary days and 8 statutory public holidays.
King Edward’s School and King Edward VI High School for Girls are both committed to safeguarding and promoting the
welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All successful
candidates will be required to undergo an enhanced DBS check.
5.
Application process
To find out more about the post or the School, in the first instance please contact Judy Brown at RSAcademics for a
confidential discussion:
Tel:
Email:
07753 856420
[email protected]
Applications are encouraged as early as possible. These should be completed on an RSAcademics application form and
emailed to our Recruitment Administration Manager, Alice Hall, at [email protected] together with a
covering letter. There is no need to submit a CV.
Closing date for applications:
10am on Monday 9th November 2015
First round interviews:
Friday 13th November 2015 at KES/KEHS
Second Round Interviews:
Friday 20th November 2015 at KES/KEHS
KES/KEHS are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff
to share this commitment.
The schools have engaged RSAcademics to provide a candidate search and shortlisting service for this role.
RSAcademics is a specialist provider of external relations, strategic marketing and management consultancy to
independent schools, set up by Russell Speirs in 2002.