Funding Officer

We are looking for a Funding Officer to cover areas across Hampshire (Fareham, Gosport, Havant and Portsmouth) and the Isle of Wight. The role will join a passionate, vibrant and friendly team and be part of ensuring our funding supports a wide variety of communities and places locally. This is a fixed term contract role to support a maternity cover until May 2025.

You’ll be part of the Solent and Surrey Team, led by a Funding Manager, and comprised of three other Funding Officers, that sits within the wider team of London, South East and East. LSE&E is one of the largest teams in the Fund (circa 50 people) and distributes over £100m annually. The team is committed to learning and impact and the role offers a chance to gain insight into and learn from the fantastic work communities are doing on the ground and how this can be used to help others.   

As part of our funding team you will assess applications for funding and manage grants from our Reaching Communities and Partnerships programme. You will use your local knowledge and experience, and the experience of our grant holders and local stakeholders, to ensure we are making the best decisions on the grants we make. 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 gain an understanding of our vision, our commitment to equity and inclusion and our funding programmes. You will be responsible for your own caseload; liaise with grant recipients, visit projects, identify and manage risks, supporting organisations to deliver their projects and measure their impact.

You will need to understand and respond to the different needs of our applicants and grant holders by providing advice and feedback and be willing to have challenging but constructive conversations. 

You may come from a voluntary sector background - many of our colleagues do, but we are also very open to transferrable skills from any and all backgrounds. Just reach out to us for an initial conversation if you’re unsure.

Interview Date: Monday 11th March

Location: Mobile across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight with occasional travel to London and to other areas within the LSE&E region for team meetings. You’ll work mainly from home and community locations

This is a fixed term contract role to support a maternity cover until May 2025.

On application, please align your supporting statement to the essential and desirable criteria below:

Essential criteria

•      Relationships: Ability to build and maintain excellent relationships at several different levels.

•      Analytical Skills: Ability to absorb a wide range of information including financial health and make judgement-based decisions with confidence.

•      Communication skills: Strong listening, written and verbal communication with an emphasis on written communication for assessment purposes.

•      Values: Values-driven and passionate about the Fund’s purpose, with a strong commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.

Desirable criteria

•      An ability to use your initiative and manage your own workload working comfortably with competing priorities and deadlines and a can-do attitude.

•      Be responsive to emerging issues and trends which impact on your work, the work of your team, or the Fund.

•      Understanding of our communities and voluntary sector within Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

•      Ability to assess a high volume of applications and manage a caseload; analyse accounts and numerical data; write reports, challenge when appropriate and manage risk.

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.)