DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
FELSTED SCHOOL

Felsted School seeks to appoint an outstanding and experienced Development Director to build upon the fundraising achievements to date and set an ambitious strategy to take the School’s philanthropic endeavours to the next level and beyond. This is a strategic, senior leadership role and an important appointment for the School.

Felsted is a leading day and boarding independent school based in a stunning rural village campus in North Essex. Founded in 1564, Felsted, provides an exceptional holistic education to approximately 1100 boys and girls, aged four to eighteen. It celebrated its 450th anniversary in 2014, one of only a handful of schools in the country that have claimed this historic milestone, an occasion that was marked by a visit by Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh. This year in 2020, Felsted celebrates 50 years of co-education.

Felsted has been very fortunate to have many generous benefactors across the years, and these have made a significant difference to its ability to grow and develop. It has strong links with its alumni and an active Old Felstedian society. The School now looks to build upon and grow community engagement and philanthropic income at all levels. The Development Director will be responsible for devising and implementing a clear strategy to deliver a significant step-change in the School’s development activities. There is a strong degree of engagement and support for the Development function from the School’s Board of Governors and Senior Leadership Team.

Reporting directly to the Headmaster – and working closely with the new Chairman of Governors – the Development Director will lead and grow a team in all aspects of fundraising and alumni relations. This will include raising funds for transformational bursaries, that will enable more children from all backgrounds to benefit from all that Felsted School can provide. There are also a number of key capital priorities for the School, which would present the opportunity for some creative campaigns.

The ideal candidate will be an accomplished leader in a comparable organisation with a track record of success in securing philanthropic gifts of six figures and above. They will be adept at building strong, effective relationships across a wide constituency, and will have a passion for the transformational impact of education. Above all, they will be be an outstanding ambassador for the School and all it wants to achieve in the future. 

This is an exciting and career-defining opportunity for a commensurate fundraiser to make their mark, achieving a well-structured and high-performing operation that will deliver significant income for the School over the coming years.

An excellent remuneration package is offered for this role, reflecting the seniority and significance of the position.