Funding Officer – West Anglia

Community Fund are currently seeking two talented and passionate individuals to work as part of our team as Funding Officers in West Anglia.

The roles would be responsible for building positive relationships with a range of organisations in order to embed grant making in our local area. They will ensure we respond to what matters most to local communities and learn from the funding we invest.

The roles will be focused in the following locations:

• Hertfordshire – 1 FTE (fixed term for a minimum of 12 months)
• Bedfordshire & Luton – 0.6 FTE (permanent)

Are you a confident communicator who enjoys working with people?

Do you see the potential in ideas as well as the challenges?

Are you passionate about making a difference in your local community in reducing disadvantage and poverty? 

The National Lottery Community Fund is looking for a Local Funding Officer to work across West Anglia as part of the London and South East Team to ensure our grant funding investment responds to what matters to local people and communities. The Local Funding Officer will build long-term relationships with people and not for profit /public sector groups to discuss their funding ideas, ambitions and assess funding requests providing useful feedback, customer experience and support to our customers.

About Us

The National Lottery Community Fund is the largest community funder in the UK. Last year we distributed more than £700 million to over 13,000 projects across the UK.

We believe strong, vibrant communities are built and renewed by people living in them. Communities come in all shapes and sizes, and The National Lottery Community Fund is there for all communities.

We focus on supporting charities, community groups and beneficiaries with great funding ideas, local or national, large or small, that will create opportunities for people and communities to improve their lives by putting people in the lead. We aim to work with customers flexibly and on their terms, improving the ways we interact with communities and building new partnerships with partner funders, charities and individuals and of course communities.

We are changing the way we work in England by improving our grant-making processes and by moving closer to the communities we fund/support. We are looking for diverse and talented individuals who share our values and are passionate about making a difference to people and communities by advancing equalities and funding great ideas that matter most to communities.

About the role

Local Funding Officers are responsible for our grant-making activity in a geographical area, including early contact, pre-application support, assessment, decision-making, grant management, gathering and sharing of learning/intelligence through report writing. You will ensure our funding responds to the local context, and challenge yourself and colleagues to continually improve the way we work in supporting local communities.

You will build long term relationships with people and organisations in the area you cover. The area you will focus on is West Anglia, part of the London & South East Regional Team. This will include reaching out to new and under the radar groups, supporting groups who are applying and continuing to support successful groups (post-grant being awarded) to obtain and share learning/best practice.

You will be responsible for understanding how customers funding ideas align with our national/local funding priorities, and making good judgements about when to take a funding idea further or when to signpost to other opportunities/funders.

You will combine local knowledge of communities and services, understanding of best practice and the experience of grant-holders to make informed recommendations about who and what we fund through concise report writing and effective decision making structures.

You will represent The National Lottery Community Fund within your local area including at funding fairs, external meetings, events/conferences, and create opportunities for groups and people to come together through outreach and community engagement. You will share learning from your conversations, events, grant holder reports and evaluations with other colleagues across England so that we can maximise our impact and make meaningful change to the lives of people and communities who we support.

You’ll be part of the West Angelia team with a focus on Bedfordshire and Luton. You will be led by a Funding Manager and including other local Funding Officers.  Therefore, excellent team working skills are essential in this role.

The Person

We are looking for individuals who are passionate about making a difference through our funding, who really understand communities, including not for profit groups and partners who we work with to tackle disadvantage and poverty.

You will have:

• Strong written and verbal communication including report writing skills and confidence to operate in a wide range of environments
• Ability to build, maintain and strengthen excellent working relationships
• Ability to manage your own workload with minimal supervision
• Sound literacy/numerical skills
• Sound IT skills
• Confidence to use your own judgement, take initiative and challenge when appropriate

You will have a good understanding of the local areas including public/voluntary service provision. You will work from a number of locations, including your home and our offices with the expectation that you will be flexible in order to get the best outcomes for our customers.

How to apply

To apply online and further details about our application process, the Fund’s work, and our range of excellent benefits, please visit our website. 

Closing date:  23.03.2020

Interview date: Week commencing: 30.03.2020

We are an equal opportunities employer and positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, marital status, or pregnancy/maternity.

We welcome applicants who can speak a second language and from diverse communities.

We are committed to increasing employment opportunities for people with disabilities and will respond positively to meet individual needs throughout the recruitment process. Once in post, the National Lottery Community Fund will ensure that any appropriate reasonable adjustments to our workplace are made, in order to support colleagues with any form of disability.