Head of Donor Relations

Head of Donor Relations

Department: Proposition Dev & Supporter Engagement

Grade and Salary: £65,091 - £72,593 per annum, including London Weighting Allowance

Job ID: 142565

About us

Philanthropy & Alumni Engagement (P&A) provides a fundraising and alumni engagement function in support of King's College London. We 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.

About the role

As King's College London approaches a landmark period-launching a new Philanthropy and Engagement Campaign in 2027 and celebrating our Bicentenary in 2029-our community of donors plays a vital role in shaping what King's can achieve. This moment presents an extraordinary opportunity to inspire, thank, and nurture lifelong relationships that enable our supporters to feel truly connected to our purpose and proud of the impact they help create.

King's seeks an outstanding Head of Donor Relations to lead a meaningful and sector leading stewardship and donor experience programme that recognises every supporter and clearly demonstrates the transformative impact of their giving. Reporting to the Director of Advancement Communications & Engagement and working across P&A, you will play a pivotal role in helping King's raise more philanthropic income by strengthening donor trust, loyalty and long term engagement.

Working in close partnership with academics, you will capture, evidence and communicate outcomes with clarity and credibility, translating complex work into meaningful impact stories that resonate with donors. You will lead the philanthropic naming and recognition strategy and advise philanthropy teams as they shape compelling opportunities.

You will collaborate closely with Advancement Events and Advancement Communications to deliver an exceptional end to end donor experience, explore appropriate automation, and showcase philanthropy internally and externally. You will also strengthen scholarship stewardship frameworks, ensuring strong links with the Student Finance Office and an approach that is mindful of safeguarding. As a confident, collaborative leader with an entrepreneurial mindset and a strong attention to detail you will support the development of your team and deploy department resources strategically to maximise impact.

You will lead a talented team and work closely with senior leaders from across the university, our Estates team, world leading academics, and fundraisers to ensure our highest value donors receive meaningful, personalised engagement.

This role is ideal for a confident, collaborative leader who can bring creativity, strategic thinking and insight to a complex and fast moving environment. Whether your background is in higher education, the nonprofit sector, or another complex organisation, you will bring strategic vision, service excellence and a deep commitment to building long term relationships with donors.

This is a full time post (35 hours per week) and you will be offered an indefinite contract. P&A has a hybrid working approach, with a minimum of 40% of time in the office, typically equating to two days per week.

About you

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

Essential criteria

• Substantial experience working in donor relations and stewardship.
• Proven leadership experience managing teams.
• Shaping and delivering strategic change within a complex organisation.
• Demonstrated ability to work with senior stakeholders and high value donors with discretion, diplomacy, and sound judgement.
• Advanced project and programme management skills; ability to manage competing priorities at pace.
• Experience managing naming rights, gift agreements, and donor recognition processes.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, capable of producing high quality narrative content for senior audiences.

Desirable criteria

• Experience in stewarding donors at all levels including principal gift level (£5m+).
• Strong analytical skills with ability to interpret complex programme data, evaluate impact, and shape strategic decisions.

We are open to discussing flexible working arrangements, including part time, compressed hours and/or job shares, as appropriate and in the context of the business needs associated with the role.

Equality and Diversity

The Equality Act of 2010 protects the rights of our students and staff and provides a framework to fulfil our duties to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.