Overview
Are you a natural communicator with a passion for project management?
We’re looking for an engaging, highly organised Community Engagement Officer to join our Alumni Relations team. You will be a central link connecting our global community of 300,000 former students back to the heart of the University, creating diverse opportunities for alumni to share their time, influence, and expertise.
Your mission is to create meaningful ways for our alumni to give back their time to support the University's strategic goals. From facilitating career-shaping connections for current students to sourcing the inspirational stories that attract prospective applicants, you will identify and steward the next generation of supporters through high-touch volunteering experiences.
You’ll be the go-to person for our volunteers, nurturing relationships and designing creative new ways for them to share their talents. You’ll also advise colleagues across the University on engagement best practices, enhancing how we value and recognise our alumni community. If you’re an excellent communicator who thrives on project management and believes in the power of community to drive impact, we want to hear from you.
Main duties and responsibilities
Project Development and Management
- Project-manage a diverse calendar of volunteering activities, from webinars and alumni speaker panels to in-person networking events and business visits.
- Proactively develop new initiatives that bring our community together, which includes occasional travel across the UK and hosting evening events to engage with our alumni where they are.
Strategic Internal Partnership
- Act as a dedicated partner to teams across the university, including our Careers and Employability Service, Global Engagement, Marketing and Student Recruitment teams. You’ll share your expertise in volunteer management to help them design and deliver bespoke initiatives that bring alumni insights directly to their students and prospective students.
- Provide guidance to departments on the "gold standard" of volunteer engagement. You’ll ensure that all activities are inclusive and well-structured, so that every alum has a high-quality experience while supporting student success.
- Use our CRM (Raiser’s Edge), social media, and digital platforms to find the right volunteers for specific departmental needs. You’ll ensure our outreach is strategic and coordinated, protecting our alumni from "ask fatigue" while maximising their impact.
Volunteer Care & Recognition
- Manage the end-to-end experience for our volunteers, from their first expression of interest to the completion of their role. You will ensure every volunteer feels genuinely valued and recognised through our appreciation strategies.
Collaborative Impact
- Partner with the Fundraising team to identify high-profile volunteers and work with the International team to create meaningful opportunities for our networks across the globe.
- Collaborate with the Communications team to promote opportunities via a range of channels, ensuring we reach a diverse range of alumni.
- Work with the Data team to ensure all volunteering impact is accurately captured, helping us tell the story of the incredible impact our alumni volunteers have across the institution.
- Carry out any other duties, commensurate with the grade and remit of the post.
Person Specification
Our diverse community of staff and students recognises the unique abilities, backgrounds, and beliefs of all. We foster a culture where everyone feels they belong and are respected . Even if your past experience doesn't match perfectly with this role's criteria, your contribution is valuable, and we encourage you to apply. Please ensure that you reference the application criteria in the application statement when you apply.
- A good honours degree or equivalent professional experience.
- Proven experience in volunteer management, client relations, or community engagement, ideally in a target-driven environment. (Experience outside of HE is welcomed).
- Proven ability to work collaboratively within a team and build strong partnerships with a diverse range of internal and external stakeholders.
- Experience in planning and delivering high-quality events or volunteer activities, whether in-person or digital.
- An understanding of the "bigger picture" with the ability to contribute to strategy development and service improvements.
- Exceptional organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple projects and meet competing deadlines without losing attention to detail.
- Experience in crafting engaging digital content and the ability to translate complex information into persuasive oral and written communications.
- A proactive approach to using initiative and working independently to find creative solutions to challenges.
- Proficiency in MS Office/video tools and the ability to handle sensitive data with total integrity.
- Experience using large customer relationship databases (e.g., Raiser’s Edge, Salesforce) to manage complex information.
Further Information
https://sheffield.ac.uk/alumni/welcome-car
For informal enquiries about this job contact Lizzie Ruse, Head of Volunteering [email protected]
Next steps in the recruitment process
It is anticipated that the selection process will take place on Tuesday 07 July. This will consist of an interview and exercise. We plan to let candidates know if they have progressed to the selection stage on the week commencing Monday 29 June. If you need any support, equipment or adjustments to enable you to participate in any element of the recruitment process you can contact our Office manager, Sarah Hamilton: [email protected]
Our vision and strategic plan
We are the University of Sheffield. This is our vision: sheffield.ac.uk/vision ().
What we offer
- A minimum of 38 days annual leave including bank holiday and closure days (pro rata) with the ability to purchase more.
- Flexible working opportunities, including hybrid working for some roles.
- Generous pension scheme.
- A wide range of discounts and rewards on shopping, eating out and travel.
- A variety of staff networks, providing opportunities for social interaction, peer support and personal development (for example, Race Equality, LGBT+, Women’s and Parent’s networks).
- Recognition Awards to reward staff who go above and beyond in their role.
- A commitment to your development access to learning and mentoring schemes; integrated with our Professional Services Shared Skills Framework.
- A range of generous family-friendly policies
- paid time off for parenting and caring emergencies
- support for those going through the menopause
- paid time off and support for fertility treatment
- and more
We are a Disability Confident Employer. If you have a disability and meet the essential criteria for this job you will be invited to take part in the next stage of the selection process.
Criminal record
A basic DBS check will be needed for this role. More details on the checks can be found on the Government website: gov.uk/criminal-record-checks-apply-role (opens in a new window).
Possession of a criminal record is not an automatic bar to employment at the University of Sheffield. We recognise the value of steady employment in the rehabilitation process and examine each case in its own right. More information can be found on our Information for candidates page:- sheffield.ac.uk/jobs/candidates (opens in a new window).
