Alumni and External Engagement Officer in Sheffield

The postholder plays a key role in the External Engagement team to engage graduates of the School. Their work reflects the needs of different graduate groups and supports the School's aims. The postholder will assist and coordinate the stewardship of School alumni volunteers and will take an active role in coordinating alumni events and communicating with alumni via a range of methods. This post requires significant networking with stakeholders at all levels of seniority and working closely with other teams, both within the School and the wider University. The postholder will support other external engagement activities as the need arises, working closely with colleagues in various teams including employability, student recruitment and marketing.

Main Duties And Responsibilities

• Develop and implement an alumni communications and engagement plan, to motivate alumni to support the work of the School and wider University, meeting the needs of different graduate populations to support the School's priorities.
• Develop impactful relationships with alumni.
• Develop and maintain proactive relations with current students to strengthen affinity to the School, in order to maximise the likelihood of them becoming engaged alumni.
• Coordinate the stewardship of alumni volunteers, before, during and after their volunteering activities, working with the Campaigns & Alumni Relations team to ensure best practice of volunteer engagement and relationship management.
• Communicate information across different channels and audiences.
• Develop a plan for alumni engagement with MBA students identifying their potential contribution to the School's objectives, noting their specific experience and seniority.
• Lead the development and implementation of tailored student and alumni awareness campaigns around specific rankings, accreditation and survey activities.
• Work closely with colleagues across the School, including student recruitment teams, Global Engagement, Business Partnership, Employability teams and academic colleagues, to support the School’s key external engagement priorities.
• Drive engagement between academic staff and alumni.
• Represent the School at events and lead on their organisation and delivery, including the School's prize-giving and graduation events to support the student to alumni transition.
• Work closely with colleagues in Campaigns and Alumni Relations, and other departments in the University, to ensure effective management of the School’s alumni.
• Capture insights into alumni requirements to inform future engagement activity.
• Provide high quality alumni engagement data for relevant audiences including supporting accreditation requirements.
• Ensure alumni activity data is up-to-date and shared with the Campaigns & Alumni Relations team via the University’s central alumni database.
• Develop networks across the University.
• Produce and maintain written documentation detailing processes and procedures related to own role, to enable cover in absence.
• Provide cover for elements of work undertaken by colleagues during absence.
• As a member of our Professional staff you will be expected to demonstrate a commitment to the professional behaviours set out in the Sheffield Professional Framework.
• Carry out 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.

• Essential Or Desirable
• Previous relevant marketing or communications experience, preferably within a higher educational or similar public or business environment.
• IT skills including a working knowledge of mailing software and content management systems e.g. Google drive.
• Strong networking skills and the ability to develop relationships with a range of individuals.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal to explain / present complex information to a range of audiences in print and in person.
• Highly motivated, and proactive approach to implementing new initiatives, processes and activities.
• Excellent organisation and time management with an ability to plan and prioritise own workload, organise resources, and plan and progress work activities.
• Experience of alumni and / or student engagement.
• Experience of using Raiser’s Edge or similar customer relationship management database.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, with a track record of communicating effectively with people from a variety of backgrounds and levels of seniority.

Further Information

• Grade 6
• Salary £32,080 - £36,636 (pro rata)
• Work arrangement Part-time - 17.5 hours per week (0.5 FTE)
• Duration Open ended
• Line manager External Engagement Manager

For informal enquiries about this job contact Grace Tebbutt, External Engagement Manager: on g.tebbutt@sheffield.ac.uk

Next steps in the recruitment process

This will consist of an interview and short presentation. We plan to let candidates know if they have progressed to the selection stage a week after the closing date. If you need any support, equipment or adjustments to enable you to participate in any element of the recruitment process you can contact mgt.hr@sheffield.ac.uk

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.

Closing Date : 23/02/2026

We are a research university with a global reputation for excellence. Our ideas and expertise change the world for the better, making a real difference to society. We know that when people come together with different views, approaches and insights it can lead to richer, more creative and innovative teaching and research and the highest levels of student experience. Our University Vision outlines our commitment to building a diverse community of staff and students that recognises and values the abilities, backgrounds, beliefs and ways of living for everyone.