The Development Officer makes sure ALSA members are prepared for the profession, not just the degree. You build their visibility and connection with the legal world through three things: networking events that put members in the room with practitioners, the Spotlight programme that recognises students whose strengths do not show up on a CV, and workshops that sharpen the soft skills needed to navigate high-value clients and relationships. This is the most externally facing officer role on the executive team.
- Identify and approach practitioners and organisations for speaking roles and event partnerships. This is outreach work. You are building relationships that do not exist yet, which means cold emails, warm introductions, and follow-through.
- Plan and deliver networking events that connect members directly with the profession: panels, practitioner nights, and career pathway sessions. You own the event from concept to debrief: the framing, the format, and whether members leave with a real connection, not just a talk they sat through.
- Manage speaker logistics from first contact through to post-event follow-up. Every speaker needs a briefing, a confirmed time, and a thank you.
- Run the Spotlight programme to give deserving students visibility with the profession. The goal is to create a platform for students whose strengths do not fit neatly on a CV. You identify who deserves recognition, shape how their achievement is told, and feature them in the ALSA newsletter where members and practitioners will see it.
- Design and run workshops that build the soft skills members need in practice. Reading a room, managing a high-value client relationship, holding a professional conversation with confidence. These are the skills that separate competent graduates from trusted ones, and they are rarely taught. Make them practical, not theoretical.
- Build and maintain a contact list of practitioners and firms willing to engage with ALSA members. This list outlasts you. Every semester, the next Development Officer picks it up. Keep it accurate and warm.
- Coordinate with the Operations Intern on run sheets and logistics for each event. The intern handles the detail work. Your job is to brief them clearly and check the output.
- Report to the Operations Director on your pipeline and event progress. Keep them informed on what is coming and lock in dates with the Secretary at least four weeks out.
- Update the handover document after every event and initiative. Record what you did, what worked, what to change, and where things stand. The person who takes this role next semester should be able to pick up exactly where you left off.
- Write a brief monthly update for the ALSA newsletter. At the end of each month, contribute a short summary of what the development portfolio delivered and what is coming next. Members should know what this role is doing.
- Time commitment: Roughly 8–10 hours per week; expect more in event weeks
- Meetings: Attend the weekly operations team meeting and the monthly all-team session. Once a month, the portfolio meeting is replaced by a full-team session where every portfolio and cabinet come together.
- Events: Deliver at least two professional development events per semester
- Pipeline: Maintain an active list of at least five practitioner relationships at any time
- Planning: Submit event proposals to the Operations Director at least four weeks before the event date
- Follow-up: Debrief notes submitted within 48 hours of each event
By end of semester, ALSA has hosted at least two professional development events with strong attendance, and has a documented list of practitioners and firms ready to engage in future semesters. Members have had at least one direct interaction with a practitioner they would not have met otherwise.
Read the executive standards before your first meeting. In the first two weeks, you will attend your first executive meeting, introduce yourself to at least three practitioners on ALSA's existing contact list, and bring one speaker or event concept to the Operations Director.
Throughout the two weeks, send brief, regular updates to your director: what you worked on, what is next, and anything you are stuck on. These updates are how you demonstrate you can operate without being managed.
Good fit
- You are comfortable making cold approaches and do not need to be prompted to reach out
- You can manage multiple moving pieces simultaneously without losing track of any of them
- You want a role that builds real professional relationships, not just internal ones
Not the right role
- You are looking for a role that is primarily internal, creative, or design-focused
- You are uncomfortable with external outreach and cold communication
