Corporate Philanthropy Manager - Development and Alumni Relations Office - 102809Z26 - Grade 7

Development and Alumni Relations Office

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £36,636 to £46,049 with potential progression once in post to £48,822

Grade: 7

Fixed Term Contract up to August 2027

Closing date: 28th May 2026

This role is also open as an internal secondment opportunity which would need to be agreed by your current line manager. UK travel may be required for this role.

Our offer to you

People are at the heart of what we are and do. The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university. We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success.

We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector‑leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential. With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide‑range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to develop your career at the University.

We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate. We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work.

Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working.

In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries.

The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site. On campus we have a state‑of‑the‑art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens.

Background

The University of Birmingham is a global institution working within a diverse and vibrant City, offering an inspiring education to our students, and undertaking critically important research. We are a place of open, critical thinking, and the creation, sharing and dissemination of knowledge. Professional Services put students at the heart of all they do and enable an exceptional educational experience.

They provide outstanding support to our researchers and help the University to grow its influence regionally, nationally, and globally. They ensure the University’s resources are used wisely, manage and improve the infrastructure which sits at the heart of the institution, and support decisions to be made quickly and based on sound evidence.

Our Birmingham Professional programme operates across the University, supporting colleagues to network and collaborate, offering opportunities to learn and develop, contributing to the delivery of the University’s objectives, and helping everyone to understand the broader context within which we work.

Department Overview

Our University has a proud history of philanthropy stretching back to its foundation in 1900. With a clear vision to change the lives of the people of Birmingham, Joseph Chamberlain raised the funds required to build the University from citizens and corporations based locally and around the globe. Since then philanthropy has continued to play an important role in shaping the University.

There have been a number of fundraising campaigns, including a £1m urgent capital appeal after the Second World War and a £1.4m campaign to fund the Vale ‘student village’ in the 1960s. In 2015 we closed the Circles of Influence Campaign, raising £193 million, making it the largest HE fundraising campaign outside Oxbridge and London.

The University has global reach, including several partnerships with other leading universities around the world, and is grounded in its local community, having opened the first fully comprehensive University secondary school in the country in 2015. We are an ambitious and successful research‑intensive University (one of the top 100 research‑led universities globally) and have produced 10 Nobel Prize winners, including three who received their awards in 2016.

Academics here are exploring the impact of climate change, helping to address global health epidemics, and changing our understanding of Shakespeare. Our students come from nearly 150 countries and our flagship outreach programmes mean that almost 25% of our student population come from disadvantaged backgrounds: one of the highest proportions in the UK.

DARO exists to support this academic and student community by engaging, inspiring, and celebrating alumni, individuals, and charitable funders who give their money, time, and networks to support the University’s strategic priorities. The Office, which is comprised of five teams, is focused on fundraising and volunteering from alumni, organisations and individuals who are passionate about changing lives, through funding various research trials, supporting student bursaries, mentoring students, and providing internships.

Role Summary

Are you looking for a corporate partnerships role that contributes to a better society? Are you passionate about supporting the future pipeline of talent to fulfil their potential, regardless of their circumstances? Would you like to work with inspiring academics who tackle some of the world’s most pressing global challenges such as the impact of climate change on our woodlands and forests, issues caused by migration and displacement, the rise in youth mental health issues, and the prevention of needless maternal deaths in the developing world?

The University of Birmingham is recruiting a Corporate Philanthropy Manager, an exciting role that will join us in our ambitious ‘Birmingham in Action’ campaign and help us to grow our philanthropic income. You will manage a portfolio of corporate partners and prospects and will work with colleagues across the University to develop a pipeline of significant philanthropic gifts across priority themes and projects, with the opportunity to shape these based on your fundraising experience.

This role is a great opportunity to further develop your skills and will play a vital role in delivering projects to change lives locally, nationally and internationally. A key member of the Development and Alumni Relations Office’s (DARO) Charitable Partnerships team, you will identify, create and manage corporate philanthropic partnerships with local, national and global businesses. You will have an enthusiasm for building relationships, the skill to interact with high‑level corporate professionals and academics, along with the ability to translate complex information into a compelling case for support.

Responsibilities

• Developing and strengthening relationships with key current corporate funders to the University to grow philanthropic income.
• Identifying and building relationships with new corporate funders with the opportunity to raise five and six figure gifts.
• Managing a pipeline of short, medium and long‑term funding applications and relationships to enable year‑on‑year corporate philanthropy income growth.
• Oversight of key campaign programmes.
• Building close working relationships with academics, alongside other University colleagues, to find information needed to write clear and compelling proposals on existing and new areas of research, that aligns with the strategic priorities of corporate funders.
• Build effective, co‑ordinated, working relationships with a range of external stakeholders.
• Managing the whole donor journey of a corporate funder, from identification to acknowledgement and stewardship.
• Meeting reporting objectives of funders and ensuring an excellent experience for funders.
• Efficiently use the Customer Relationship Management system to record and report on activity.
• Be responsible for adhering to relevant fundraising regulation and current data legislation in the UK and in target markets whilst ensuring fundraising is ethical and that due diligence is undertaken as necessary.
• Understanding the breadth of the University and appreciating the differences of each College.
• Understanding the context of our work in relation to the wider operations of the University.
• Fosters a fair and equitable workplace for all staff.
• Identify and respond to equality and diversity issues in line with relevant university policies and procedures.
• Supports the University’s sustainability agenda through resource efficient working.
• Any other duties commensurate with the grade.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

• Educated to Degree level (or equivalent qualifications). Where no equivalent qualification is held, significant practical relevant experience and expertise in a similar role will be required.
• Evidence of writing motivational and persuasive reports or proposals – this could be demonstrated through performance in full time, part time or voluntary roles.
• The ability to understand and communicate complex expressions of academic vision to non‑academic philanthropic supporters.
• Outstanding understanding of and ability to represent the vision and mission of the University of Birmingham.
• Experience of working to a minimum of five figure gifts and exceeding targets.
• Ability to prioritise own workload under pressure and balance a range of competing deadlines.
• Passion for and knowledge of Higher Education, particularly research and the role of philanthropy.
• Ability to build strong relationships and engage with individuals and organisations, internally and externally.
• Ability to work collaboratively with a wide audience internally including academics and Professional Services staff.
• Personal confidence, independence and determination to succeed as an individual and as part of a team.
• The desire to support colleagues in the achievement of their individual and the collective goals and to celebrate others’ success as positively as your own.
• The ability to represent the University internally and externally through excellent interpersonal skills: diplomacy, discretion, tact, persuasiveness, the confidence to deal with a wide range of audiences, along with the ability to deploy negotiation skills when required.
• Good all‑round IT skills including competence with all aspects of MS Office.
• The flexibility and willingness to work unsociable hours (evenings and weekends) occasionally, when required.
• Knowledge of the protected characteristics and duties under the Equality Act 2010. Including fostering good relations and advancing the universities Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED).
• Communication and to present confidently to audiences of all sizes.

Informal enquiries to Claire Peters, email: c.i.macleodpeters@bham.ac.uk

AI in Applications

Use of AI in applications: We want to understand your genuine interest in the role and for the written elements of your application to accurately reflect your own communication style. Applications that rely too heavily on AI tools can appear generic and lack the detail we need to assess your skills and experience. Such applications will unlikely be progressed to interview.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations.

We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website.