Alumni Manager

We have a brand new opportunity for an Alumni Manager to join our central fundraising team at the Harris Federation head office.

You will work closely with the Head of Fundraising to increase engagement with our alumni across 32 academies, with the aim to increase the number of alumni known to and in contact with the Federation.

About Us

We are a pioneering education charity, and one of the leading multi-academy trusts in the country. We have a track record of taking on some of the most challenging schools in London, turning them into places where every young person can access a high-quality education and have opportunities to succeed.

Educating 1 in 41 young people in London, we now have 52 primary and secondary academies transforming the life chances and opportunities of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The Harris Federation has a track record of accomplishment in achieving success through rapid school improvement and has built an unrivalled reputation for running outstanding academies in London.

Our central team comprises a dedicated, driven group of departments working centrally to provide support across the Federation and all of our academies. Across a multitude of key departments, we maintain expertise all integral to supporting central and academies in areas such as Finance, HR, Data, Estates Management, Talent and many more.

Main Areas of Responsibility

Your responsibilities will include:

• Organising, managing and reviewing alumni events
• Working closely with events and careers teams to further involve alumni
• Increasing alumni contacts to support the future fundraising pipeline
• Working closely with the Head of Fundraising, and others, to build a culture of philanthropy and alumni support across the Harris Federation
• Ensuring activities are always in support of the Federation strategies
• Leading on communications to alumni, using a variety of media including email, LinkedIn and social media
• Management of our alumni CRM
• Working with senior staff in each academy to ensure their alumni are engaged and communicated with effectively, in a way that feels authentic to the academy
• Liaising with Careers teams to ensure careers activities are, where possible, using alumni volunteers and that alumni volunteers are communicated with effectively
• Liaising with Sixth Form teams to ensure Y12s and Y13s are made aware that they will become alumni and of the benefits to remaining involved with their Academies
• Building relationships with senior alumni volunteers and influencers to advance alumni outreach including working with others to establish and oversee alumni boards
• Planning, organising and reviewing alumni event and volunteer activities
• Helping to raise the profile of the Alumni work, internally and externally, by disseminating work outcomes, preparing impact reports and communicating good news stories
• Ensuring that alumni receive the highest standard of care and stewardship
• Keeping informed of industry trends and best practice to help inform development of future alumni relations programmes
• Working closely with the Head of Fundraising to ensure that the alumni influencer pipeline is as rich and fulsome as it can be

Qualifications & Experience

We would like to hear from you if you:

• Are educated to degree level or equivalent
• Are skilled in planning, delivering and evaluating event and volunteer engagement programmes
• Are able to set and meet objectives, measure performance and to get things done
• Have excellent project management skills
• Have excellent negotiation skills, and the ability to bring together stakeholders to achieve results
• Have highly attuned interpersonal skills with the ability to effectively build relationships
• Are highly creative and ideas driven
• Have experience working with alumni or stakeholder groups

For a full job description and person specification, please download the job pack.

Next Steps

If you have any questions about this opportunity, please send us an email, or call to arrange a conversation.

Before applying, please download the Job Pack for full details on the job responsibilities and person specification. This will be helpful for you when completing your application, and throughout the recruitment process.

We encourage you to apply as soon as possible as we may interview and offer to a candidate before the closing date. Please note that we only accept applications submitted before the closing date via our careers website.

Professional Development & Benefits

Our people are at the heart of our success. We have developed a strong culture of collaboration and best practice, with professional development and career planning at its centre. We invest in our staff with support, coaching, mentoring, and a wide range of top-quality training programmes delivered at every level.

In addition to the opportunities for career development and progression, we also offer a competitive rewards and benefits package which includes a Performance and Loyalty Bonus, Pension Scheme with generous employer contributions, a Wellbeing Cash Plan including access to a virtual GP, electric car scheme, 26 days' annual leave (plus bank holidays) for staff who work across the full year, and many other benefits.

We offer lifestyle friendly working arrangements including flexible start and end times, and hybrid working with 2 days from home and 3 days either with the team at our office in East Croydon or visiting one of our academies.

Learn more about our benefits on our website.

Safeguarding Notice

The Harris Federation and all our academies are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and we expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All offers of employment are subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, references, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check will be completed.

Equal Opportunities

The Harris Federation is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified candidates.

We value the diversity of our staff and students, and everyone at the Harris Federation is equally valued and respected. We aim to be an inclusive employer that reflects the communities we serve. We are committed to providing a fair, equitable and mutually supportive learning and working environment.