We are looking to recruit three Funding Officers to join the London, Southeast and East Team, the roles will be responsible for more specifically London regions. You’ll be part of a team, led by a Funding Manager, and comprised of several other Funding Officers.
Social connections and community activities are at the heart of creating healthier, happier lives and a flourishing society. That’s why through The National Lottery Community Fund Strategy 2023-2030 we’re looking to make a bigger difference in the years ahead, by listening and responding to communities and by focusing on supporting bolder change.
Thanks to National Lottery players, we plan to distribute at least £4 billion of funding by 2030. Supporting projects that will create resilient communities that are more inclusive and environmentally sustainable. Projects that will strengthen society and improve lives across the UK.
As a Funding Officer you will assess requests for funding and work together with colleagues to make funding decisions. By working closely with people and communities from a defined geographical area, you will understand what matters to them and where our funding can make the biggest difference.
You will:
* Manage grants using local knowledge, best practice, thematic expertise, and the experience of customers and stakeholders to improve our grant making and inform our decision making.
* Be responsible for supporting local people and communities, therefore have a strong understanding of our vision, our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion and our funding products.
* Support our stakeholders, helping them to make connections that will help them achieve their goals.
* Be responsible for the pipeline of projects, therefore need to understand and respond to the different needs of our customers by providing support and considered feedback and be willing to have challenging but constructive conversations.
* Ensure our grant management and assessment play an effective part in contributing to the Fund’s knowledge and learning as a grant maker.
* Manage your own caseload, liaise with grant recipients, undertake project visits, identify, and manage risk and support organisations to deliver their projects and measure their impact.
* Work within the Fund’s policies and procedures and the necessary legislation, and in a way that is in line with our vision and principles.
* Work with stakeholders at different levels, be able to travel and represent the Fund within your local area including at funding fairs and external meetings and create opportunities for people to come together
* Share learning from your conversations, events, grant holder reports and evaluations with other colleagues so that we can maximise our impact.
Interview Dates: W/C 17th March and 24th March - Virtual
Location: We have a hybrid approach to working, work pattern and regional patch will be agreed with the successful candidate. London is the regional Office.
What we are looking for
We are looking for local talented people from a wide range of backgrounds, cultures and experiences who share our values and are passionate about making a difference through our funding.
Whether through lived or gained experience you will really understand the communities we work with. You could come to grant-making from a variety of backgrounds.
Whatever your background, we will expect you to have some skills and experience in areas such as:
* project management
* research / data gathering & insight with presentation / report writing
* basic accounting and budget management
* database administration
You will need to show an understanding of the voluntary and community sector, so you will find it helpful to have paid or unpaid work experience in these areas. You might have experience in the type of projects that we fund, for example, community work, health, arts, sports or environmental conservation.
In return we can offer the opportunity to develop relevant skills and gain experience working with one of the largest funders in the UK. You can progress to becoming a trained and skilled Funding Officer with good progression routes in the sector.
On application, please align your supporting statement to the criteria below
Essential Criteria
* Creative & curious, viewing continuous improvement an opportunity, with an ability to work collaboratively with others - A strong team player who will ensure good use of knowledge and insights in the grant decision-making process.
* Confidence to take initiative, use own judgement and challenge when appropriate.
* Strong communication skills – both listening and verbal & writing skills with the ability to interpret large amounts of information and convey complex information in a succinct and clear way.
* Ability to build and maintain excellent relationships at several different levels.
* A strong commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion and the ability to apply this lens to assess and challenge applications.
* An ability to manage a large workload, prioritise with minimal supervision, and keep Manager up to date on key issues and risks.
You will work from several locations across the area, including your home and our office with the expectation that you will be flexible in order to get the best outcomes for our customers.
Desirable Criteria
* Experience of working in grant making ideally linked to at least one of our mission areas; supporting communities to come together, supporting babies, children and young people to thrive, environmental sustainability, and/or enabling people to live healthier lives.
* Understanding of financial planning and business plans, ability to analyse accounts and numerical data, IT skills, database admin, project management and info gathering
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Communities in the UK come in all shapes and sizes. National Lottery funding is for everyone – therefore, we are committed to equity, diversity and inclusion and we work hard to ensure our funding reaches where it is needed.
We also believe our people should represent the communities, organisations and individuals we work with. That’s why The National Lottery Community Fund is committed to being an inclusive employer and a great place to work. We recognise and celebrate the fact that our people come from diverse backgrounds. We positively welcome applications from people from ethnic minority backgrounds, people with disabilities or longstanding health conditions, people who are LGBTQ+, and people from different socio-economic and educational backgrounds, as well as people of all ages.
As a Disability Confident Employer, we take a proactive approach in making reasonable adjustments, if needed, throughout the recruitment process and during employment. (This can be related to a physical and mental health condition.)