Executive Director of Advancement

Chinese International School (CIS) is now inviting applications for the role of Executive Director of Advancement.

About CIS

Founded in 1983, CIS is a private non-profit school in Hong Kong offering an international education from Reception to Year 13 in two languages Mandarin and English. CIS places a strong emphasis on integrating Chinese culture into its curriculum and broke new ground with the launch in 2013 of a residential study centre in Hangzhou for all Year 10 students. The school has approximately 1650 students aged 4-18 representing over 30 nationalities. CIS is committed to excellence of all kinds, with a mission to inspire students to a lifelong love of learning. Further information about CIS is available here: https://www.cis.edu.hk/about-us/about-cis

Transformative Growth under Vision 33

CIS is in the midst of a period of exciting and transformative growth guided by Vision 33, the Schools ambitious road map for the coming decade in the run-up to its 50^th anniversary in 2033. Further information about this strategic commitment is available here: https://www.cis.edu.hk/about-us/vision-33.

As part of Vision 33, CIS will be expanding its campus, redeveloping an adjacent property at 9 Hau Yuen Path just awarded to the School by the Hong Kong Education Bureau. Scheduled to open in August 2028, CISs redevelopment of the 9 Hau Yuen Path site will house students in Years 26 and create a number of additional spaces for the community as a whole. It will also permit an increase in CISs overall enrolment, opening up  opportunities for more families to join the School.      

In partnership with the Head of School, the Leadership Team and the Board of Governors, the Executive Director of Advancement will play a critical role in helping CIS  realise its ambitious goals for the future. He or she will have a chance to make a meaningful difference on the landscape of education, locally, regionally and globally.

Advancement at CIS

CIS strong culture of giving has played a key role in the Schools extraordinary development since 1983 and in its tireless dedication to continuing as a renowned leader in bilingual international      education in Hong Kong, China and beyond. CIS has a generous community that gives back in many different ways, from volunteering time, energy and ingenuity to making annual, capital and endowment gifts, and more.

Further information about Advancement at CIS may be found here: https://www.cis.edu.hk/giving/overview and the most recent CIS Annual Report may be found here: https://www.cis.edu.hk/about-us/about-cis

The Role

Reporting directly to the Head of School, serving as a member of the Schools Leadership Team, and working closely with the Board of Governors Advancement and Capital Campaign Steering Committees, the Executive Director of Advancement leads the CIS advancement team, with roles and responsibilities that include the following:

• Developing and executing a comprehensive fundraising plan in collaboration with the Head of School and by extension the Board of Governors that implements effective systems-based fundraising programmes which are uniquely suited to the schools community and expand upon CISs ongoing individual, institutional and corporate/foundation fundraising activities;
• Planning and implementing Annual Fund, Major Gifts, and Capital Campaign fundraising initiatives, with particular support to the Head of School and Board of Governors regarding the cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of the schools philanthropic partners;
• Increasing the portfolio of gifts to CIS by ensuring the establishment of effective policies, processes and practices for monitoring, projecting and guiding everything related to the schools development efforts, while also maintaining active, productive relationships with donors to deepen their engagement and financial support;
• Leading the development of corporate and foundation prospects, leveraging those insights into positive partnerships for CIS, and ensuring all development-related contacts and data are properly tracked;
• Developing and managing an annual budget for fundraising;
• Supporting the engagement of the Head of School and Board Governors in the schools overall advancement activities, with a particular emphasis on encouraging a high level of participation in fundraising;
• Overseeing all on- and off-campus, small and large advancement-related events which involve the Head of School, Board of Governors and related philanthropic partners in ways that further advance the cultivation, solicitation and stewardship dimensions of CIS fundraising;
• Mobilising and leading an extensive network of committed parent and staff volunteers in support of the schools advancement activities;
• Collaborating with the Executive Director of Community Relations to develop and execute strategies for all communication and branding materials connected to CISs advancement efforts;
• Stewarding and expanding alumni participation in these same activities;
• Leading and building out as necessary an advancement team that is currently composed of three other full-time fund-raising professionals; and
• Contributing to and assuming the roles and responsibilities associated with being a full-fledged member of the CIS Leadership Team.

In keeping with Vision 33, the successful candidate will enthusiastically, actively, and effectively advance the schools commitment to remaining at the forefront of Primary and Secondary education in Hong Kong, China and the world as a whole. He or she will be highly meticulous, creative, energetic and motivated to grow CISs fundraising program, including, but not limited to its Phoenix Gold campaign (currently in its silent phase).

In particular, CIS invites applications from candidates with the following qualifications:

• A senior fundraising background, with proven and growing achievements over time;
• Demonstrated skill with the development and implementation of context-sensitive fundraising strategies and programmes, ranging from capital campaigns and major gifts to annual funds and special events;
• A successful record of frontline fundraising, including personally identifying, cultivating, soliciting and stewarding new and existing major individual and institutional donors, with a proven aptitude for achieving annual growth in new donor engagement;
• Comprehensive management experience, including short- and long-term planning; staff recruitment, evaluation and development; and all aspects of financial administration; 
• An impressive history of setting and achieving targets, fostering efficiency, resourcefulness, innovation and transparency along the way, and delivering results;
• Exceptional interpersonal skills and the ability to build positive, durable relationships with highly diverse internal and external stakeholders; 
• Mastery of digital information systems and data analytics, with a demonstrated ability to maintain timely, adequate and accurate donor information, as well as to create data-rich reports of all kinds, as may be required by Head of School and/or any advancement-related project of the Board of Governors;
• Excellent familiarity with fundraising in independent educational institutions, preferably in Hong Kong, Greater China and East Asia;
• A longstanding affinity for multilingual, multicultural working environments, ideally at the confluence of Chinese and Western cultures, as well as for what it takes to flourish therein; and    
• Fluency in English, preferably with a high degree of proficiency in Mandarin and Cantonese.    

How to Apply

The Chinese International School will be supported in this appointment process by the executive search firm Perrett Laver. Applications for the role of Executive Director of Advancement should include the following:

• CV (maximum 4 pages)
• Letter of application (1-1.5 pages) with a detailed statement of aspirations and relevance for the position
• The names and titles of three references (which will not be contacted without prior permission from the candidate concerned)    

Initial enquiries and requests for information may be directed in confidence to Mr. Kenneth Chan at Kenneth.Chan@perrettlaver.com.

Applications can be submitted via https://plusportal.perrettlaver.com/ (reference number 8140). Review of applications and nominations will continue until the post is filled.

We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applications from all qualified candidates. Information provided will be treated in strict confidence and used only for recruitment purposes.

Protecting your personal data is of the utmost importance to Perrett Laver and we take this responsibility very seriously. Any information obtained by our trading divisions is held and processed in accordance with the relevant data protection legislation. The data you provide us with is securely stored on our computerised database and transferred to our clients for the purposes of presenting you as a candidate and/or considering your suitability for a role you have registered interest in.

As defined under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Perrett Laver is a Data Controller and a Data Processor, and our legal basis for processing your personal data is Legitimate Interests.  You have the right to object to us processing your data in this way. For more information about this, your rights, and our approach to Data Protection and Privacy, please visit our website http://www.perrettlaver.com/information/privacy

recblid 4g6pjp4y3i7ae7shh1hp9xod3rpy7f