Director of student services jobs in edinburgh
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Reporting to: Director of Fundraising and Development
Location of work: Remote with ad hoc time in the office for team days, events, campaigns and organisation away days.
Contract type: Ideally full-time, 35 hours per week, 28 hours / flexible hours will also be considered. The role may require occasional evening and weekend work.
Contract Length: Permanent
Salary: £31,500
BACKGROUND
Our work has never been more needed. The latest research suggesting that the number of children and young people at risk of hunger has rocketed to 2.6 million* means that one in five children don't have enough to eat.When a child is too hungry to learn, when they’re aching for something to eat, they can’t concentrate. They can’t absorb information. Big feelings and worries can be impossible to control. They fall behind in their studies.
Magic Breakfast provide a nutritious and filling breakfast to over 300,000 children and young people every school day. We work with schools in areas of high disadvantage, helping staff target the children most in need without barrier or stigma. Magic Breakfast are ambitious to grow our impact to remove hunger as a barrier to learning for all children and young people in the UK.
This is an exciting time to join Magic Breakfast if you wish to make a difference to the lives of children as we work to influence both policy implementation, with the national rollout of primary-aged universal school breakfast, and legislative change, through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. There has also been commitment from the Scottish Government for a national breakfast scheme and we are seeking to expand our advocacy work into Wales. Magic Breakfast’s influence will be instrumental to ensuring school breakfasts are implemented in a way that is hunger-focused and barrier free.
In addition, thousands of secondary school children are at risk of losing their free school breakfasts from September next year. For many of these students, this is their only opportunity to have a nutritious meal before facing a demanding school day, including taking exams. And for the very youngest, we know that the disadvantage gap begins before they even reach reception. With the Government commitment to another 100,000 places in school-based nurseries, early years is also a critical part of our advocacy work.
Being part of the work of Magic Breakfast is your chance, together with parents, teachers and people across the UK, to demonstrate the power of school breakfasts and to shape the way forward to end morning hunger for good.
*Food Foundation Insecurity Tracker Jan 2025
JOB PURPOSE
The Fundraising and Development department is responsible for ensuring Magic Breakfast’s on-going sustainability through the generation of income and other critical non-financial support. The Department Coordinator will work closely with the Director of Fundraising and Development and other members of the Fundraising Leadership to facilitate closer alignment across the department, help unlock and enable income growth, whilst also providing administrative and coordination support to the team more broadly. The successful candidate will also play a critical role in developing and delivering the department-wide calendar of stewardship events, working with colleagues from across the major gifts team to identify opportunities to connect our supporters even further with the impact of our work
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
Department Coordination
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Work closely with the Director of Fundraising to coordinate effective planning and management of the Fundraising & Development (F&D) strategy by coordinating quarterly review and monthly Core Management Group (CMG) meetings and managing all aspects of the monthly F&D team meetings ensuring they have maximum impact for all individuals and the organisation. This includes managing actions, minutes and agendas
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Support with the planning, coordination and diary management for any department away days, planning or reflection sessions
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Lead efforts to enhance synergies within and across the F&D and other departments, identifying and enabling opportunities to add value, enhance efficiencies and reduce siloed working, for example through reviewing current systems and facilitating opportunities for collaboration and support
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Provide project management support for significant team level projects, including developing project timelines and plans using Asana (e.g., for the Magic Morning webinars process and the department’s involvement in giving campaigns or annual reports)
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Work across the department to identify any gaps or updates required for process/ ‘how-to’ documents
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Act as the department representative for Asana, systems and process champion, providing training to colleagues where necessary
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Act as the department lead for other key internal groups such as the all staff away day.
Supporter Care
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Support the Fundraising Officer where necessary to act as the key welcome point to people reaching out to support Magic Breakfast, responding to enquiries received on the phone, escalating and triaging queries where necessary.
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With support from across the Department, develop and deliver a calendar of department wide engagement events, including group school visits, stakeholder events, thought leadership dinners, and our online ‘Magic Mornings’ - a speaker series where we invite funders to hear more about our work.
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Lead on the planning, review and learning capture/ sharing for all events, and more broadly the stewardship calendar across the department.
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Work across the department to review cross-departmental stewardship and identify opportunities for improvement, collaboration and alignment to key objectives, either through events or other activities.
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Ensure that all confidential donor data is stored and handled in accordance with data protection regulations and all records retained on Salesforce where required.
Fundraising Administration
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Provide general administration support to the Fundraising & Development department, working in collaboration with the admin network across the organisation. Potential tasks may include but are not limited to meeting logistics, booking venues for away days and accommodation/travel bookings
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Develop and maintain accurate and efficient administration systems and tools to support the department, for example our intranet section
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Manage the Department’s resources and order supplies
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Assist the Gifts Officer with gift processing when required, including the processing of cheques, sending acknowledgements, and adding gifts to our CRM, Salesforce
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Administrative support to the Director of Fundraising and Development as required, including pulling reports and occasional diary management
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Ad-hoc support to other team members.
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Support the department with scoping and research for new fundraising products or initiatives
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Make purchases on behalf of the Fundraising and Development department in adherence with internal budget approval processes and delegation of authority
General:
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Support the Fundraising & Development team by attending events and working on collaborative initiatives
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Attend meetings and cross-team working groups to represent the Fundraising and Development Department and its interests
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As requested, provide regular updates to key stakeholders
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Ensure compliance with data protection regulations
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Occasional work outside of regular office hours and at weekends
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Exemplifying through behaviour our values-led culture that encourages curiosity, engagement, positivity and continuous improvement underpinned by a commitment to social impact, ensuring that children and young people are at the heart of everything we do.
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Working collaboratively across the organisation to build good working relationships.
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Actively contributing to team meetings and supporting team members where necessary.
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Participating in occasional work-related events at external venues.
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Undertaking any other duties commensurate with the role.
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Adhering to all Magic Breakfast policies and procedures.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Skills and abilities
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Ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously and work to deadlines.
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Strong interpersonal skills to build effective working relationships with a range of stakeholders, a collaborative team player.
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High level of competency in the use of Microsoft.
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Confidence in using Microsoft Word IT packages.
Knowledge and experience
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Experience planning and organising online and in person events.
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Experience of working for a charity desirable but not essential.
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Experience or knowledge of administration within fundraising desirable but not essential.
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Experience using Salesforce / similar CRM or an aptitude for learning new software quickly.
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Experience using Asana or an aptitude for learning new software quickly.
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High level of competency in the use of Microsoft.
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Experience of working in an administrative role.
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Share Magic Breakfast’s commitment to Diversity, Equality and Inclusion within the workplace.
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Experience of working well collaboratively within a team.
Other :
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Passion for Magic Breakfast’s mission of ensuring that no child is too hungry to learn.
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Enthusiasm for delivery a high standard of supporter care.
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Shared commitment to our values and active contributor to our enabled and empowered culture
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Experience of working for a charity desirable but not essential.
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Experience or knowledge of administration within fundraising desirable but not essential.
WHAT WE OFFER
At Magic Breakfast we value our employees and work hard to develop offer a supportive, respectful culture which enables everyone to bring their whole self to work.
Please find attached our job pack.
APPLICATION PROCCESS
Should you wish to discuss the role before applying please email our People and Culture Team, recruitment @magicbreakfast. com
Shortlisting - 19th - 20th May
Interview 1 - 26th and 27th May
Interview 2 and informal interview - 2nd and 3rd June
Registered Charity 
51 - 100
Thank you!
Unifrog’s mission
We’re on a mission to level the playing field when it comes to young people finding and applying for their next step after school. We're achieving this by bringing all the available information into one single, impartial, user-friendly platform that helps students to make the best choices, and submit the strongest applications. We also empower teachers and counselors to manage the progression process effectively.
Our outlook is global - we work with schools and universities all over the world, from the US to New Zealand, and from Italy to Hong Kong. We want to make it so that young people can compare every opportunity taught in English, wherever it is in the world, and have all the support they need to make successful applications.
We have a clear social purpose, and we’re hugely ambitious. We already work with over half of UK secondary schools, and over a thousand international schools. We are growing rapidly in terms of the number of our customers, in terms of how much they use our platform, and in terms of the breadth of products we offer (check out this video to hear more about the Unifrog platform).
Our next exciting step is to start working with primary schools, helping them to deliver careers and the PSHE curriculum across all year groups in primary school. Together, we’ll work to break down barriers, challenge stereotypes, and inspire children - especially those who may feel certain pathways are out of reach - when it comes to what their future might hold.
Our team is at the heart of our business and is integral to our success. We work hard to foster a culture of openness, happiness and innovation, and we commit to helping every individual learn and grow so that they can reach their full potential. We want to hire talented people, whatever their background. If you are excited by our mission and are ready to work hard, please don’t hesitate to apply. We look forward to hearing from you!
We believe in the power of diversity. If you are from an ethnic minority background, we would like to strongly encourage you to apply. In advance of applying, if you have any questions about working at Unifrog, please contact Mhairi (details on our website).
What you’ll do
As one of our first Primary Schools Partnership Managers, you’ll play a key role growing our newest partner base and supporting primary school partners to make the most of the Unifrog platform and resources. Excellent customer service is at the heart of what we do, and you’ll make sure that all interactions with Unifrog are positive and successful.
Your key responsibilities:
Sell Unifrog subscriptions to primary schools
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Design and deliver impactful prospecting campaigns and marketing collateral aimed at engaging potential new partners, tracking campaign performance and continually improving your approach to secure demonstrations and drive partnership growth.
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Meet with potential partners on video calls (and sometimes in-person). Understand their priorities, demonstrate the Unifrog platform and resources, and secure their subscription.
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Identify and attend conferences and events to promote Unifrog to primary school audiences, while networking and cultivating relationships for future partnership opportunities.
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Develop a sound awareness of Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) and the PSHE Association Framework within the UK. You’ll need this to confidently navigate conversations with relevant contacts at primary schools.
Support primary school partners to make the most of Unifrog
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Set up new partner schools for success. Help them to embed Unifrog across their staff, student and parent community. You’ll deliver an initial staff training session then provide ad-hoc support.
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Proactively work to foster a sense of community amongst our primary school partners and think of ways to promote the sharing and embedding of Unifrog best practice across between partners.
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Achieve sky-high resubscription rates by securing partner renewals when their subscriptions come to an end.
What we’re looking for
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Resilient, and motivated to exceed targets: Our sales and resubscription targets are achievable but ambitious. You’ll need to be determined to meet and exceed them.
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Sales experience: You’ll be responsible for meeting sales targets so sales experience is desirable but not essential.
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Strong communication skills: You’ll be in frequent communication with lots of different people, both within Unifrog and externally – this will be in person, written, over the phone and via video call. You’ll need to be an outstanding communicator.
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Strategic and innovative: You’ll be strategic in your approach to driving growth within the newest team at Unifrog, and be innovative and creative in your solutions to any barriers along the way.
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Personable, with a track record of excellent relationship management: At Unifrog we’re known for our excellent customer service. You’ll need to provide fantastic support for your partner schools.
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Sector insight: You will be working with schools that have different contexts and priorities; you’ll need to be quick to understand how we can support them.
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Attention to detail: It’s important you have the skills and discipline to carefully check your communications to schools, your prospects and contacts in your network.
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Proactive attitude and willingness to get stuck in: You need to be excited about going beyond the core responsibilities detailed above to improve what we do and make it a success.
You will be one of the first members of our newest team at Unifrog, with the opportunity to be at the forefront of building an exciting and impactful offering for primary schools across the UK. If this excites you and you’re an energetic person who is willing to learn, we’d love to hear from you.
Working together
You’ll work alongside one other Primary Schools Partnership Manager and be line managed by our Partnerships Director (UK schools and Employers). You will also have daily contact with the wider Unifrog team, including our Marketing, Content and Finance teams.
Key benefits
Head to our jobs page for a full list of the excellent benefits we offer our team.
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Join one of ‘the best organisations to escape to’ and help transform careers and destinations in schools.
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Become part of a committed, dynamic, and growing company. We want to build our team for the long term: if you do well, we will do our best to make sure you want to stay at the company for a long time.
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Professional development is important at Unifrog. You will define your own 6-month objectives and will be supported by your line manager and the rest of the team to achieve them. You will have an annual training allowance to spend on what you need to grow and progress.
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Influence the company’s direction: we love to promote great ideas, wherever they come from.
Key details
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£37,485 per annum (Grade B), plus:
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Unlimited commission, OTE of £50,000.
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Bonuses linked to strong performance against KPIs.
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Full-time
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28 days paid holiday per year (plus bank holidays).
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Working hours are 9am to 5pm, Monday to Thursday, and 9am to 4:30pm on Friday – some days you may need to start earlier but you can finish earlier as a result.
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All travel expenses covered and car allowance paid.
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Full UK driving licence is essential.
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The role is remote (or hybrid for candidates in London or Edinburgh).
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Start date: as soon as possible (but no later than August 2025).
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We can only consider candidates who have the right to work in the UK.
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To discuss reasonable adjustments or any details about the role before applying, please contact Mhairi (details on our website).
Application process
Deadline: 10:00am (BST) Monday 19th May 2025.
Stage 1: Application form (~1 hour) ✍️
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Visit our website to upload your CV and complete the questions and tasks below. Please note that we do not review CVs at this stage of the application process so please be as specific as possible about your experience.
i. With reference to examples of your recent experience, what would make you an excellent candidate for this role? (250 words)
ii. A school we are hoping to partner with have concerns about the budget available for Unifrog. What would be your approach to securing a partnership with them for this academic year? (250 words)
iii. Tell us about a time when you had to manage conflicting priorities whilst meeting targets. What was your approach? (250 words)
Stage 2: Phone task (15 minutes) ��
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A short role play task over the phone. We will schedule these tasks throughout the application window so we encourage you to apply early.
Stage 3: Video call interview (45 minutes hour) ��
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Short pre-prepared presentation (15 mins)
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Standard Q&A from a panel of three, including questions about your experiences and how these relate to the role, and scenario questions based on common situations you might face (plus time for your questions) (30 mins).
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Video call interviews will be held w/c 26th May 2025.
Your answers are an opportunity to let us know more about your motivations and experience. While we understand that candidates might want to use AI to improve parts of their application, we strongly encourage you to write your answers independently.
Please note, we compare all answers to an AI generated answer. Where we suspect AI has been used to write the majority of the answer, this will be taken into consideration when scoring
Inclusion and diversity at Unifrog
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Within the company we try to foster a culture of innovation, and a happy working environment, both because this is the right thing to do, and because we think this results in the most effective team. To this end we believe in open communication, celebrating successes, supporting each other, not being afraid to be wrong or to fail, and promoting good ideas wherever they come from.
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As a platform that supports teachers and students from a huge variety of backgrounds it’s important that our team and leadership reflects this diversity. This is something we are actively working towards and prioritising. We want to embed diversity, equity and inclusion across everything we do, continually evaluating policies and practices to make sure they are inclusive and equitable.
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To make sure everyone’s voice is heard and people have the opportunities to learn to be better allies in the workplace, we encourage the team to share what they’re celebrating, facilitate training and group discussions, and seek regular feedback about what more the company could do to help people feel included.
- To ensure that our recruitment process is consistent and fair, we anonymise your application and therefore do not see your name, personal, educational or professional background. We also randomise the order of responses so that it’s less likely that a candidate is advantaged or disadvantaged by where their answers appear compared to other candidates.
