Imperial College London is one of the world’s great universities, renowned for ground-breaking research, a highly talented community of staff, students and alumni, and international reach. Our mission is to achieve enduring excellence in research and education in science, engineering, medicine, and business, for the benefit of society.  

We were founded in 1907 with a mission ‘To be useful’ – but we know that before anyone can usefully change something, they first need to understand it. That’s what we do here: we use science to try to understand more of the universe and improve the lives of more people in it. At Imperial, we are deeply engaged in the central forces that are shaping the future. The research and innovations we produce are right now helping to navigate some of the world’s toughest challenges in global health, climate change, AI, business leadership and more. 

Our new strategy, Science for Humanity, is unashamedly ambitious in seeking to maximise Imperial’s potential as a force for good in the world. Our Imperial Class of 2030 programme will nurture the most talented, the most enterprising and most diverse graduating class we have ever served; the next phase of our White City Deep Tech Campus will be a powerful engine for investment, inclusive economic growth and job creation; and four new cross-institutional Schools of Convergence Science will bring focus and research impact to the emergent forces shaping our future at unprecedented scale: climate, energy and sustainability; human and AI; health, medtech and robotics; space, security science and telecommunications.

Philanthropic support is essential and crucial to our realisation of this strategy. Advancing strong, mutually beneficial relationships with supporters – drawn from our over 240,000 alumni in 200 countries; global trusts, foundations and corporations; entrepreneurs and business leaders – is a central tenet of our future plans and ambitions. We are now in the planning phase for a major comprehensive institution-wide fundraising campaign, the biggest in our history.

It is in this context that we seek to recruit our next Vice President, Advancement. You will be the accountable officer for all activity within our 80-person strong advancement division, currently responsible for generating circa £60 million per year. Reporting to the President, Professor Hugh Brady, and serving as a member of the university management board you will provide the highest level of strategic leadership in philanthropy, alumni and corporate engagement. Working with senior colleagues, the Vice President will nurture philanthropic relationships to support our vision, values and strategy and the delivery of our mission.  

This is an exceptional opportunity to drive and implement a strategy for philanthropy at the heart of an outstanding academic community. Candidates will be passionate about Imperial’s mission and will bring a successful track record of building effective, long-term, high-value philanthropic relationships together with evident major gift fundraising and leadership experience. Candidates will have experience in developing and executing a complex philanthropic campaign, including the delivery of key strategic objectives and targets. Candidates will have demonstrable experience within global world-class fundraising environments. With an inclusive approach to leadership, the successful candidate will have a proven commitment to, and experience promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion.  

To apply, or to download further information on the required qualifications, skills and experience for the role, please visit https://candidates.perrettlaver.com/vacancies/ quoting reference 7249. If you would value a conversation, please reach out to Jaanvi Patel jaanvi.patel@perrettlaver.com Applications will close on Monday 13th May 2024. 

Salary: Competitive

Location: South Kensington, London 

As a leading institution in the heart of London, Imperial College proudly upholds a longstanding commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion. Valuing the diversity of the Imperial community is one of the four cornerstones of the recent strategy and Imperial College London strongly encourages applications from those with a diverse range of backgrounds. 

We will build a supportive, diverse, inclusive and highly motivated staff community across all disciplines, functions and activities. This will help us to attract and retain the talented and diverse staff we need to achieve our mission. 

Please visit the following links in order to find more information about the use of personal information provided by candidates to Imperial College London and Perrett Laver:  https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/administration-and-support-services/legal-services-office/public/data-protection/Privacy-Notice-for-Staff-and-Prospective-Staff-(002).pdf  

http://www.perrettlaver.com/information/privacy/ 

For a conversation in confidence or should you require access to these documents in alternative formats, please contact Jaanvi Patel. If you require any reasonable adjustments to assist you in the selection process, please advise us of these so that we can make appropriate arrangements.

If you have comments that would support us to improve access to documentation, or our application processes more generally, please do not hesitate to contact us via accessibility@perrettlaver.com.

Imperial in numbers 

More than 23,000 students and 8,000 staff from 150 countries 

250,000 alumni in 213 countries 

Annual income of £1.27bn, including research income of more than £500m 

Sixth best University in the World, QS World University Rankings (third in the UK) 

Top in the UK for research quality, REF 2021 

Guardian University of the Year 2023 

TEF Gold Award 2023