Overview
Advancement Events Manager – Strand, London, WC2R 2LS
About us
Philanthropy & Alumni Engagement (P&A) provides a fundraising and alumni engagement function in support of King’s College London. We are proud to work with colleagues across the university and its health partners to help them serve society through world-leading education, research and healthcare. Our work also includes a partnership with the Maudsley Charity in support of children’s mental health initiatives between the university’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience and the South London & Maudsley NHS Trust.
We are a committed team that brings together fundraisers working across different channels, alongside colleagues who promote King’s College London’s engagement with its worldwide alumni community. Our work is underpinned and enhanced by a range of dedicated professionals in supporting areas covering proposition development, supporter engagement, supporter operations and business operations.
We have an impressive, well-established track record of success in securing support that allows the university and partners to deliver on their missions. This includes our global, award-winning World Questions: King’s Answers campaign, which set the standard in the sector and enabled us to raise substantial funds to help tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges. Ambitious and innovative, the team has won awards such as a CASE Platinum Award for Fundraising and a CASE Gold Award for Donor Relations and Stewardship. We are strongly values-driven with a focus on sustaining an excellent and supportive culture, which we see as key to creating a successful team that can support the university and its partners in making a real and positive difference to the world we live in.
More on King’s College London
King’s College London is an internationally renowned university delivering exceptional education and world-leading research. The university is dedicated to driving positive and sustainable change in society and realising our vision of making the world a better place. Through its commitment to exceptional education, impactful research and genuine service to society, King’s College London is creating positive change in its communities, both in London and on the world stage. The Strategic Vision 2029 looks forward to King’s College London’s 200th anniversary in 2029 and sets out ambitious plans in five key areas:
- Educating the next generation of change-makers;
- Challenging ideas and driving change through research;
- Giving back to society through meaningful service;
- Working with our local communities in London;
- Fostering global citizens with an international perspective.
Find out more here – https://www.kcl.ac.uk/about
About the role
Events play a vital role within Philanthropy & Alumni Engagement, creating opportunities to bring people closer to King’s, strengthen relationships and support philanthropic engagement and giving.
As Advancement Events Manager, you will play a key role in delivering an ambitious programme of high-quality events for King’s alumni, donors, prospects and supporters in the UK and internationally. You will take ownership of a varied portfolio of events, from intimate cultivation dinners and senior roundtables to larger receptions and digital engagement, developing experiences that are purposeful, creative and tailored to their audiences.
Working closely with colleagues across Philanthropy & Alumni Engagement, academics, senior leadership and external partners, you will lead events through their full lifecycle — from shaping the initial concept and developing the event plan, through to delivery, stakeholder management and post-event evaluation. You will bring strong project management skills alongside creative thinking, ensuring events are delivered to an exceptional standard while continually looking for new and innovative ways to engage our audiences.
This is an exciting time to join the team. As King’s moves into a major new Campaign and towards its Bicentenary, events will play an increasingly important role in bringing the University’s ambitions, priorities and propositions to life. You will have the opportunity to contribute directly to these high-profile moments, creating experiences that deepen relationships and help connect our global community to the impact of King’s.
The role will also contribute to the continued development of the Advancement Events programme, identifying opportunities to improve processes, share best practice and introduce new approaches that increase the effectiveness and impact of our events.
If you are an experienced events professional who combines excellent organisation and delivery skills with creativity, initiative and a genuine interest in building relationships, this is an opportunity to play a central role in an exciting period of growth and change for King’s.
About you
To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:
Essential criteria
- Experience of planning and delivering events end-to-end, with the ability to take ownership of multiple events and projects from initial concept and planning through to delivery, evaluation and follow-up.
- Excellent organisational and project management skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities, complex logistics, budgets and deadlines while maintaining a high standard of delivery.
- Strong stakeholder management and relationship-building skills, with the confidence to work effectively with senior leaders, academics, colleagues, external partners and suppliers.
- Creative and innovative approach to events, with the ability to develop engaging and audience-focused experiences, think differently about event formats and respond creatively to changing requirements and opportunities.
- Excellent attention to detail and sound judgement, ensuring events are delivered accurately, professionally and with appropriate consideration of risk, logistics, guest experience and financial management.
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to communicate clearly and confidently with a diverse range of audiences and to build positive relationships at all levels.
- Proactive and solutions-focused approach, with the ability to anticipate challenges, use initiative, make informed decisions and remain calm and effective in a fast-paced environment.
- Ability to evaluate and learn from events, using data, feedback and stakeholder insight to assess impact, demonstrate outcomes and identify opportunities to improve future activity.
Desirable criteria
- Experience of delivering events within a higher education, charity, membership or other stakeholder-led environment.
- Experience of delivering events that support fundraising, donor cultivation, stewardship, alumni engagement or other relationship-building objectives.
- Experience of contributing to campaigns or major institutional programmes, with an understanding of how events can support wider engagement and fundraising objectives.
- Experience of managing event budgets, monitoring expenditure and using financial information to inform planning and assess value and impact.
- Experience using CRM or relationship management systems, such as Microsoft Dynamics, and an understanding of how supporter data can inform event planning, audience selection and stewardship.
- Knowledge and experience of digital and hybrid event platforms, such as Zoom, Teams or similar tools.
Downloading a copy of our Job Description
Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the page. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.
IMPORTANT: Before applying for this role, please make sure you have the right to work in the country where the role is based. Unless it clearly stipulates within in the job advert above that the hiring company is looking to or able to sponsor applicants it is deemed that the hiring employer will only consider applications from those able to comply with and work in the country where the role is based.
