Development Operations Manager in Oxford

Pembroke College Oxford is seeking a highly organised and analytical Development Operations Manager to play a central role in supporting the College’s Development and fundraising activities. Founded in 1624, Pembroke is an inclusive and dynamic College based on a central site in Oxford that combines historic quadrangles with award-winning new developments. The College has ambitious plans for the future and an active programme of alumni engagement, stewardship and fundraising to support its academic mission and long-term sustainability.

The Development Operations Manager is a pivotal role within the Development team. Working closely with the Development Director, the post-holder will be responsible for the operational foundations that underpin the College’s fundraising activity, including alumni database management, gift processing, prospect research, reporting, and insight generation. The role is essential to ensuring that the Development team works efficiently, accurately, and strategically, supported by high-quality data and robust processes.

The post-holder will manage the College’s alumni database (DARS), acting as a knowledgeable and trusted first point of contact for database queries, and will lead projects to improve data quality and compliance. They will also play a key role in analysing giving patterns and engagement trends, preparing reports for colleagues and committees, and supporting the identification and tracking of potential donors. In addition, the role includes dotted-line management responsibility for the Development Coordinator, with a particular focus on overseeing operational activity.

This post would suit someone who is confident working with complex data, highly numerate, and able to spot patterns and trends. The successful candidate will be an excellent communicator, able to work collaboratively within a small, interdependent team, while also exercising discretion and sound judgement when handling confidential information.

Benefits include membership of the University staff pension scheme, free lunches during working hours when the College kitchens are open, and a generous annual leave entitlement of 30 days, in addition to public holidays. Opportunities for training and professional development are also available.

The main duties to be carried out by the post-holder include:

• Data and Database Management: Manage the alumni database (‘DARS’) and ensure that data held on alumni is GDPR compliant, comprehensive, and up to date. Oversee projects to maintain and improve the quality of the College’s alumni data and ensure engagement activities are accurately and effectively recorded. Produce data exports for third-parties such as consultancies and mailing houses and ensure any data received is processed and imported accurately. Produce accurate data content for publications such as lists of stewardship group members and deceased alumni. Become a competent ‘super-user’ of the DARS database and act as first point of contact for the Pembroke Development team for any queries about the database, ensuring that the team is both confident in using it and consistently recording data in line with GDPR. Actively engage with the central University team delivering the successor to DARS, ‘Halo’, to ensure it meets the College’s requirements, and lead on the migration to Halo at the appropriate time.
• Prospect Research and Tracking: Undertake prospect research to identify potential major donors among the College’s alumni and supporter base. Oversee research into alumni in particular regions in advance of College trips. Manage Pembroke’s prospect management processes, working with fundraisers and others to identify and assign new prospects within the team. Work with the Development Coordinator to prepare donor and prospect profiles ahead of events, trips, and meetings.
• Insights, Trends and Segmentation: Working closely with the Development Officer (Regular Giving and Legacies), proactively and creatively analyse patterns of giving to enable the team to target and segment Regular Giving appeals more effectively. Conduct research into wider sector giving trends, and provide recommendations for better engagement. Prepare regular reports on donor and engagement activities for the team and wider College, including the Development Committee and Campaign Board.
• Gift Processing: Ensure all changes to Direct Debits including cancellations and amendments are actioned in the agreed timescales. Communicate with donors in respect to these changes. Liaise regularly with the PCFNA (Pembroke’s 501(c)(3)) to ensure donations made through it are accurate. Record all donations including cheques/PCFNA/one-off bank payments as pledges on DARS. Identify missed pledge payments or recurring gifts. Support the Finance Business Partner in all Gift Aid administration including Gift Aid compliance, securing outstanding Gift Aid declarations and updating old Gift Aid declarations and review of non-eligible declarations. Liaise closely with the finance team to ensure donations are accurately classified and reported. Ensure that gift agreements and associated commitments (e.g. Gift Aid, pledges, payment schedules) are recorded accurately and actioned. Research into historic donor funds, where necessary.
• Gift Acceptance: Manage the gift acceptance process, ensuring that the College accepts gifts appropriately and in line with its Gift Acceptance Policy and Fundraising Policy. Undertake all necessary research and due diligence on prospective donors, and liaise with the central University and third-party providers of due diligence services where required. Oversee the gift acknowledgement process.
• Management: Supervise (with a dotted line reporting relationship) the Development Coordinator, with particular responsibility for overseeing their work in the Operations functional area. Be available for regular 1:1 meetings and as a point of contact for any queries, and support their line manager in making sure they receive all necessary training, induction and information to succeed in their role.
• Other: In common with all posts, ensure compliance with the College’s policies and procedures, statutory obligations, and best practice. Be the principal liaison with the Gift Registry and DARS teams, and keep up-to-date with changes/improvements to the system and how to utilise them. To undertake such other duties as may be reasonably required by the Development Director, which may include travel and occasional event attendance outside standard working hours.

For person specification, please see the Job Description attached. To apply, please submit an up-to-date CV and a covering letter, together with details of two referees.