Purpose of role: Giving grants with and for donors and funders, to charitable and voluntary groups, to make positive impact on lo.....
Purpose of role: Giving grants with and for donors and funders, to charitable and voluntary groups, to make positive impact on local communities and needs.
About Us:
We set up and manage inexpensive grant-giving funds for families, individuals, companies, national funders and the public sector, and we revitalise historic grant-giving trusts that have become dormant or onerous. We specialise in giving grants to vital local charitable groups that help keep our area thriving. We have given over £1m in grants every year for the last few years.
Overview of the Role:
The two Grants Officers share the workload of managing the grant-giving of donors and funders to achieve their giving aims, and help support local charitable groups meet the needs of the communities they serve. We currently manage around 50 grant-giving funds, most named and directed by different families, individuals, companies, and public sector bodies e.g. the NHS. We have well-established grant giving processes. We plan to keep increasing our impact on and support of local communities.
We have mandatory Monday team meetings in person, and then work at home or our small offices as preferred, with external meetings as required. You’ll have access to the national network of Community Foundations.
We are a place-based funder. A consistent presence in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, and access to personal transport, are important.
Key Responsibilities and Tasks:
1) Grant Giving Processes
a. Help manage our Making Local Life Better Fund, which combines a number of donor funds who wish to give responsively, and which is open to groups to apply for any (charitable) support, at least three times a year.
b. Help manage intermittent standalone funds of over £50k, within agreed timescales, for donors and funders who wish to make a specific impact.
c. Most donor funds work in one or other of these two ways, but there are some who work differently to make their grants, and you will help manage these.
This work includes some or all of the following:
i. Direct contact with some donors and/or funders
ii. writing fund criteria based on donor/funder aims in ways that applicants can easily understand
iii. Developing forms and processes on our CRM System
iv. promoting funds on the website, networks, funding fairs, etc
v. offering basic support where groups need help with applying
vi. reading and assessing grant applications thoroughly, against the criteria of the fund, for governance and legal requirements, viability impact etc, asking questions if necessary
vii. writing brief accurate summaries of applications that donors and funders understand, and that can also be used in reports
viii. setting up and supporting decision-making panels in person or online
ix. ensuring grant offers/agreements/payments are made
x. arranging interim visits to groups if needed
xi. Some formal monitoring and reporting for donors and funders
xii. creating reports as required for Board and other audiences
xiii. some line management in terms of briefing and supporting freelance or administrative staff who help our grant giving
2) Strategic Planning, Stakeholder Work; Local Intelligence
a. Maintain and develop our knowledge of and reach to local charitable groups, via visits, workshops, briefings and other methods
b. Periodical improvements of systems, policies, and impact
c. Develop our Advisory Group, and pool of assessors and panellists
d. Develop/maintain relationships with external stakeholders e.g. councils, external working groups, infrastructure groups, other funders, 360 Giving, the Community Foundation network
e. Start to contribute to our local needs analysis, and impact measurement, for understanding of how our grants create change for the better
3) Administration and Teamwork
a. Manage our grant giving and your own administrative needs by maximising our CRM system (a version of Salesforce), and Microsoft Office tools
b. Work with the constraints and opportunities of a small charity
c. Help maintain the Community Foundation’s good reputation, offering equitable access and timely communications.
Skills and Qualifications required
1) Considerable experience of grant-giving (particularly between £1,000 and £10,00000) in the local charitable and voluntary sector, or related sector
2) Strong organisational and administration skills: you will use Microsoft Office applications and our bespoke Salesforce CRM database daily
3) Excellent “people” skills; you need to be very organised, but this is not a purely an administrative role; communication and teamwork are needed to work with all staff in the small team, as well as with donors, funders, trustees, and other stakeholders
4) A strong understanding of inclusion, equity and diversity, and the ability to work effectively with people from a range of backgrounds, proactively seeking to include eligible groups from all areas in the city and county
5) Skills in writing and summarising information
6) Ability to manage workloads constructively
7) Ability to research relevant information and keep up with key developments
8) Ability to learn internal and external policies and processes, in line with GDPR, Charity Law, and our own rigorous Quality Accreditation process
9) A positive flexible approach to a challenging sector and wider environment; ability to “stand back” and review periodically for the best outcomes
Please send a CV of your career and experience that clearly shows us how you have the skills we need. If you pass the first screening stage you will be asked to write a covering letter of 500-800 words summarising how you meet the Skills and Background Needed. If you don't send us a covering letter at this stage we will not be able to review your CV.
