The University of Sheffield is a remarkable place to work. Our people are at the heart of everything we do. Their diverse backgrounds, abilities and beliefs make Sheffield a world-class university.

We offer a fantastic range of benefits including a highly competitive annual leave entitlement (with the ability to purchase more), a generous pensions scheme, flexible working opportunities, a commitment to your development and wellbeing, a wide range of retail discounts, and much more. Find out more about our benefits (opens in a new window) and join us to become part of something special.

Department/School: Campaigns and Alumni Relations

Contract type: Open-Ended. Hybrid/Flexible Working considered

Overview

Are you a highly organised and creative individual with attention to detail and who enjoys working collaboratively? We have an exciting opportunity to join our stewardship team to support relationships with our major donors. You will ensure their five-, six- and seven-figure gifts to the University are recognised in an appropriate and timely manner and show impact to encourage repeat giving.

Excellent stewardship - or donor relations - is a key area of philanthropy. As the Donor Relations Officer, you will run the stewardship programme for our growing scholarship scheme, including producing student-focused impact reports for our community of major donors. This is a great opportunity for the right candidate to make their mark on a new stewardship programme for scholarships. As the cohort of 1,100 donor-funded scholars grows, you will be expected to critically evaluate and evolve our processes, ensuring our reporting remains both high-impact and operationally efficient.

As well as creating readable, engaging reports, you must ensure that all data and information is up to date and stored within our supporter database. Overall, your clear and concise written and verbal communication skills, attention to detail, and meticulous process handling will help to inspire our donors, demonstrate impact, and aid future fundraising.

Alongside the stewardship for scholarships, you will support the Stewardship Manager to deliver a comprehensive programme of tailored stewardship and donor recognition, showing the impact of philanthropy across the University, from research and student experience to capital projects.

This is a key role in Campaigns and Alumni Relations (CAR) - the department responsible for fundraising and graduate engagement at the University of Sheffield. Donations from our

alumni (former students) reduce financial barriers faced by students and accelerate research

that is bringing about real change, from breakthrough treatments for devastating neurological conditions, to global projects improving lives for refugees.

Main duties and responsibilities

Relationship Management and Communications

• Produce customised impact reports that bridge the gap between financial support and real-world change, weaving together data, student testimonials, and images to produce compelling narratives
• Act as the primary link between donors and departments, gathering case studies and photos from students and academics
• Lead the senior leadership "Thank You" process, ensuring the University’s most significant supporters receive highly personalised correspondence from key signatories
• Facilitate meaningful connections by helping the Stewardship Manager to coordinate high-level campus visits and ad hoc events that allow donors to witness the firsthand impact of their philanthropy
• Recruit, brief and manage scholar ambassadors

Strategic Project Delivery

• Elevate the donor journey by supporting the Stewardship Manager in designing and delivering a recognition strategy for the close of the University’s first fundraising and engagement campaign “Forged in Sheffield” and beyond
• Lead the seamless migration of donors from the outgoing scholarship stewardship model to our new, enhanced stewardship framework, ensuring that the process is continuously appraised and improved
• Develop, organise and deliver annual events for scholarship recipients, educating the next generation on the role of philanthropy
• Proactively evaluate and refine stewardship processes to ensure the scholarship programme remains scalable and efficient as the cohort grows from 1,100 students

Data Integrity and Administration

• Optimise University-wide recognition of donors, ensuring the accuracy of physical and digital donor recognition, including honour rolls, plaques, and campus signage.
• Using our alumni/supporter database, use data to trigger timely acknowledgements and maintain meticulous records of donor interactions
• Use data on scholarships and prizes to ensure awards meet the criteria that have been agreed with donors
• Ensure compliance by auditing gift agreements to ensure every promise made to a donor is tracked, met, and documented
• Establish ways of working so that consent preferences are recorded correctly and the student experience is at the heart of our stewardship

Cross-Departmental Collaboration

• Collaborate with the Student Fees & Funding team and the wider Campaigns and Alumni Relations team to streamline scholarship administration
• Collaborate with teams across the University to gather evidence showing the impact of philanthropy from a wide range of donor-funded activity, from research to student support and capital projects
• Be responsible for organising the regular Stewardship Team meetings with fundraisers to plan and deliver activity. Ensure follow-up stewardship activity is clear, and related donor records are kept up to date
• 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 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.

Further Information

Grade: 6

Salary: £32,080 - £36,636

Work arrangement: Full-time

Start date: July 2026

Line manager: Stewardship Manager

Direct reports: None

Our website: www.sheffield.ac.uk/alumni/welcome-car

For informal enquiries about this job contact Zoë Hepworth, Stewardship Manager on z.hepworth@sheffield.ac.uk

Next steps in the recruitment process

It is anticipated that the selection process will take place on Wednesday 27 May 2026. This will consist of an interview and task. We plan to let candidates know if they have progressed to the selection stage during the week commencing 18 May 2026. If you need any support, equipment or adjustments to enable you to participate in any element of the recruitment process you can contact Kirsty Duke on k.duke@sheffield.ac.uk

Our vision and strategic plan

We are the University of Sheffield. This is our vision: sheffield.ac.uk/vision (opens in new window).

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

More details can be found on our benefits page: sheffield.ac.uk/jobs/benefits (opens in a new window).

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.

Criminal record

A basic DBS check will be needed for this role. More details on the checks can be found on the Government website: gov.uk/criminal-record-checks-apply-role (opens in a new window).

Possession of a criminal record is not an automatic bar to employment at the University of Sheffield. We recognise the value of steady employment in the rehabilitation process and examine each case in its own right. More information can be found on our Information for candidates page:- sheffield.ac.uk/jobs/candidates (opens in a new window).

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 (www.sheffield.ac.uk/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.