Legacy Officer

Legacy Officer
£39,755-£44,685
James Clerk Maxwell Building

About us

Philanthropy & Alumni Engagement (P&A) raises philanthropic funds in support of King’s College London and engages with the university’s worldwide alumni community. We are proud to enable the work of colleagues across the university and its health partners, helping them serve society through world-leading education, research and healthcare.Our activity includes a partnership with the Maudsley Charity in support of children’s mental health and initiatives between the university’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience and the South London & Maudsley NHS Trust. 

We are entering an exciting period as a team. Our work is identified as a key enabler of the new King’s Strategy 2030, with associated ambitions that include preparing for our next major philanthropic and engagement campaign. This will accelerate and energise our work in support of the University’s mission to be ‘in service to society through academic excellence’ – be that through exceptional, impact-led research; ensuring our students are supported to thrive during their time at King’s and beyond; or by helping the university to invest over the long-term into its people, ideas and infrastructure. We plan to deepen and scale engagement with our global alumni community, donors and other supporters, mobilising them behind these shared priorities. We are strongly values-driven with a focus on sustaining a strong and supportive culture, which we see as key to creating a successful team that can realise these ambitions.

More on King’s College London  

For almost 200 years, King’s has been a place where ideas turn into action. From revealing the structure of DNA to reimagining nursing, from advances in medicine, law and the study of war and peace to shaping culture and public debate, our work has always been guided by a belief that knowledge should serve society. Over our history, King’s has been home to 14 Nobel Prize winners, and to scholars whose ideas and leadership have shaped thinking, policy and practice around the world. King’s has always been a place where knowledge is put to work for the benefit of others. King’s College London is a world-renowned university that delivers exceptional education and world-leading research. We're committed to creating positive and sustainable change in our local and global communities through outstanding education, impactful research, and genuine service to society.

King’s Strategy 2030 sets out how we take that purpose forward, with four key priorities including student success in and beyond university, investment in research and education excellence that responds to the changing world, fostering innovation and entrepreneurship, and delivering sustainable finances for a secure future.

About the role

This is a new role that has been created to support the delivery of King’s College London’s legacy and in-memory giving programme, contributing to the growth of a strong pipeline of legacy pledgers and future income. The postholder will be responsible for managing legacy enquiries with sensitivity and professionalism, converting interest into confirmed pledges, and supporting the delivery of stewardship, communications, and events. Working collaboratively across Philanthropy & Alumni Engagement and the wider university, the postholder will help build relationships and develop compelling content to inspire legacy support, while ensuring excellent supporter care and efficient programme delivery. 

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, this equates to two days per week, but we’re very happy for colleagues to be in more frequently if they wish.

About you

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

Essential criteria

1.      Fundraising experience in either a Charity or Higher Education setting 

2.      Good knowledge of the legacy and in-memory giving marketplace, with an understanding of the current legacy climate and the nuances of legacy communications and marketing. 

3.      Good understanding of the legacy supporter journey, and motivations for legacy giving. 

4.      Project management skills with the ability to plan and deliver projects within budget and on time. 

5.      Excellent communication skills, both spoken and written. 

6.      Excellent interpersonal skills with an ability to build relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, both internally and externally. 

7.      Computer literate with working knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and relational databases.

8.      Ability and commitment to working in a truly collaborative and respectful way with colleagues, taking accountability for actions and supporting P&A's ambitions as a whole Directorate.

Desirable criteria

1.      Experience of legacy fundraising in the Higher Education sector.

2.      Knowledge of the laws, ethics and practice of legacy fundraising.

3.      Knowledge of Microsoft Dynamics or other similar fundraising database. 

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.

At King’s, we believe that the diversity of our community and a culture that is welcoming, open, inclusive and collaborative, are great strengths of the university.

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 in addition, to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. At times, this will include balancing rights and beliefs that can feel in tension.

We are committed to free speech and to academic freedom, believing that our foundational purpose as a university, is to create spaces where a wide range of ideas, including ideas that are controversial, can be discussed and debated, and where members of our community can express lawful views without fear of intimidation, harassment or discrimination.

When engaging in the robust exchange of ideas, we ask that our community is mindful of our Dignity at King’s guidance.

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the person specification section of the job description. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is evolving rapidly, and we recognise its growing role in professional work. Applicants may use AI tools to support preparation of their application, for example to research the role or structure written responses. However, applications must reflect the applicant’s own work and experience. AI tools should not be used during interviews or assessment activities unless this has been agreed in advance as a reasonable adjustment. Further guidance on the use of AI in recruitment can be found here.

We reserve the right to close adverts early due to the volume of applications we receive. While the closing date may change, all adverts will close at 23:59 to allow sufficient time for applications to be submitted on that day.

We encourage you to apply at the earliest opportunity to avoid disappointment as once we have closed a vacancy you will be unable to submit your application.

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our ‘How we Recruit’ pages.

In P&A we want to build a diverse team, which represents the communities served by the organisations we support. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented.

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.  

This post is subject to Disclosure and Barring Service and/or Occupational Health clearances.

Closing date: 17 November 2026