Grants officer test jobs

About The Big House

The Big House Multibank is committed to improving lives and building a more sustainable Scotland by reducing waste, maximising resources, and ensuring essential goods reach families who need them most. Working with partners across business, government, and the community, we divert surplus products from landfill and distribute them to households facing hardship. Our work delivers social, environmental, and economic impact - strengthening communities while tackling poverty and waste at scale.

Role Overview

As we grow our reach and deepen our impact, we are seeking a highly capable team member to lead our partnerships and fundraising work. This role is central to securing the resources, relationships, and income needed to ensure our Multibank meets rising demand across Scotland while contributing to the wider ambitions of the National Multibank network.

Working to a strategy agreed and developed with the CEO, the Partnerships & Fundraising Manager will build strong corporate, community, and referral partnerships; unlock surplus and donated goods; and secure sustainable income through grants, corporate giving, and strategic collaborations. This is a dynamic, relationship-led role suited to someone who thrives in a fast-paced environment and enjoys creating opportunities, strengthening networks, and helping drive organisational growth.

Key Responsibilities

Partnership Development

• Build and manage strong relationships with businesses, retailers, manufacturers, and logistics partners to secure surplus goods and in-kind support.
• Expand and maintain a network of referral partners, including schools, health professionals, local authorities, and community organisations.
• Identify and pursue new partnership opportunities that extend the Multibank’s reach and strengthen supply.
• Identify new partnership opportunities and progress these independently, escalating strategic or high-value decisions to the CEO as appropriate.
• Work collaboratively with the National Multibank and Regional Multibank network, building and nurturing strong relationships and contributing to shared partnership and fundraising opportunities.

Fundraising & Income Generation

• Work closely with the CEO to develop and deliver a pipeline of funding opportunities across trusts, foundations, corporate partnerships, and individual supporters.
• Prepare compelling funding proposals, business cases, and impact reports that clearly communicate need and demonstrate value.
• Secure restricted and unrestricted income to support operational costs, cost-price procurement, and strategic initiatives.

Innovation & Strategic Support

• Work closely with the CEO to identify and secure funding for pilot projects and new delivery models.
• Help shape partnership approaches that support test-and-learn innovation, wrap-around support, and new community pathways.
• Represent The Big House at meetings, events, and stakeholder forums, helping raise the profile of the Multibank and its mission.

How to Apply

To apply for the Partnerships & Fundraising Manager role, please submit:

• A current CV, outlining your relevant experience and career history

• A cover letter (maximum two pages), clearly demonstrating how you meet the essential criteria outlined in the person specification and why you are interested in the role

Please download the job description for full details. 

Role description, February 2026

Reports to:         Executive Director of Marketing and Communications    

Direct reports:  One (Digital Marketing Manager)

Location:             Unit 7, Finsbury Business Centre Clerkenwell, London, EC1R 0NE, hybrid (at least one office day a week to qualify for London Weighting) 

Status, hours:   Permanent, full-time   

Salary:                 Starting at £50,622 plus benefits (includes 11% London Weighting), more could be considered for an exceptional candidate. 

Role Summary    

This is a crucial role in our digital and marketing team, ensuring that we engage significant new and existing audiences through campaigns, marketing activity and digital content year-round. You will coordinate delivery of Alcohol Change UK’s flagship Dry January® challenge and ensure that other campaigns (Sober Spring, Alcohol Awareness Week and wider marketing initiatives) connect with audiences across the UK and internationally. Working closely with external agencies and the Executive Director of Communications and Marketing, you will increase the profile of our work and help drive growth in our audiences, and those taking part in our behaviour change programme.

Key Tasks and Responsibilities  

Please refer to the candidate pack for role and responsibilities of this post.

Important note: We monitor for use of AI in responses and will reject applications containing fully AI generated answers.

We encourage applications from people who meet most, but not all, of our essential criteria. And we encourage applications from people who have been disabled by society, are from minoritised groups, have personal experience of alcohol harm or have experienced any other forms of societal discrimination.

Deadline for us to receive your application: Strictly 9am, 3 March 2026. The online application form gives a date and time stamp to all applications.  

We will aim to get back to you by: 5 March 2026. All applicants will receive a response.  

Interviews: 10/11 March 2026 (please save this date!) 

We are seeking a Fundraising Officer with experience in finding, applying for and securing grants, with an interest in exploring and planning for new income generation.This is a great opportunity to join our organisation and play a pivotal role in growing income that supports our mission and vision.

The Fundraising Officer will focus on Trusts and Foundations fundraising initially, with opportunity to explore additional income streams over time. 

We are looking for a dynamic, highly motivated and experienced individual with a proven track record in fundraising roles within the not-for-profit sector.

Thrive (Community Council for Somerset) is a countywide charity supporting communities to thrive.

Our work starts on the ground. We listen to people, respond to need, and help communities build strength, connection and resilience.

We are growing and changing. Alongside our commissioned work, we are investing in fundraising so we can increase unrestricted income, tell our story better, and build long-term sustainability.

The Fundraising Manager will lead and develop Thrive’s fundraising activity, with trusts and foundations at its core and a growing focus on community fundraising, events, and individual giving.

This role replaces our Trusts and Foundations Officer post and brings together grant fundraising, supporter development and team leadership into one coherent function.

You will line manage our Fundraising Administrator and support their development, including helping them begin to take on smaller grants and applications.

You will also work closely with the Head of Development and Communications to test and develop new income streams over time.

This is a hands-on role for a confident self-starter who understands community development and can translate impact into income.

For more information on what you'll be doing please read the attached job description and person spec.

Money and Mental Health has a trusted reputation and a strong track record of impact. We’re ready to take our fundraising to the next level, and we’re looking for an ambitious and talented Senior Fundraising Officer to help us grow our income, develop our fundraising culture and strengthen our relationships with funders.

The primary aim of this role is to help Money and Mental Health secure the income it needs to deliver its mission and further strengthen the charity’s financial footing for the future. This is a crucial role in our new Fundraising team, and the successful candidate will work across all elements of our income generation activities - from grant-writing to donor stewardship and pipeline development.

The role will have a particular focus on securing funding from Trusts and Foundations, but there will also be ample opportunities to engage corporate partners and other prospective funders. 

The successful candidates will have the chance to bring their ideas in terms of identifying new routes to funding for the organisation and shaping our income generation activities.

Key responsibilities:

Funding bids and proposals

• Draft and develop effective and impactful fundraising bids and proposals to secure both grant income and corporate sponsorship

• Project manage the process of developing funding proposals - including completing funding checklists, coordinating the team on relevant deadlines and booking in time for sign off from relevant colleagues.

Relationship management

• Play a key role in donor stewardship alongside Head of Fundraising and Senior Leadership Team (SLT), including grant makers, corporates and individual donors

• Support SLT in identifying - and building relationships with - relevant individuals within prospective funder organisations - including coordinating meetings.

• Ensure we stay on top of our grant requirements, including drafting grant reports and coordinating other team members to fulfil those requirements

• Work with External Affairs team to create excellent supporter journeys for online donors.

Pipeline development

• Work with Head of Fundraising to undertake research into new fundraising prospects and to develop a strong funder pipeline

• Stay on top of new developments in the charity sector and wider funding landscape

• Make recommendations to Head of Fundraising on new funders we should engage with or seek to build relationships with

• Maintain accurate pipeline data and prospect records, ensuring regular updates

Planning, strategy and vision

• Contribute to the delivery of our income generation strategy - including meeting relevant targets set out in the strategy. 

• Support the team with advance planning on funding bids, project managing complex cross-team processes, matrix-managing small project teams and ensuring all key milestones are met 

• Proactively suggest ideas for ways of improving our processes and ways of working to better support our income generation targets or better deliver our work.

About you:

We’re seeking someone who is ambitious, driven and emotionally intelligent. We need a relationship-builder and a clear and concise communicator, ready to step into an exciting new role and help build a fundraising function which leaves a lasting legacy.

Essential qualities 

• A proven track record of securing five-figure grants or income from trusts, foundations and/or corporate partners.

• A demonstrable track record of writing impactful and effective funding proposals, and leading the end-to-end process of applying for grants and reporting on those received 

• Strong copywriting skills, and the ability to articulate the impact from donations

• Excellent project management skills 

• Solid relationship management skills, with the ability to lead donor stewardship and develop excellent working relationships with key teams internally

• A genuine commitment to the organisation’s mission, as well as to the principles of equality, diversity and inclusion

• Ability to work independently and as part of a team, managing a busy to-do list

• Ability and desire to be hands-on and get stuck in

• Excellent attention to detail, record-keeping and commitment to high standards.

• Basic understanding of fundraising regulations, including Fundraising Code of Practice, and how they apply to your work

• Experience of working towards personal income targets and managing individual KPIs.

Desirable qualities 

• Experience using relevant trusts and foundation and CRM databases

• Experience of developing and managing a pipeline of funding opportunities, and advising colleagues on where to prioritise our resources

• Experience of fundraising for a small charity, think tank or a research charity

• Experience of working with project budgets.

Corporate Partnership Officer
Alton, Hampshire
(flexible/remote but with weekly visits to our charity’s head office in Alton, Hampshire)
Up to 35 hours per week

Permanent
C.£30,000 depending on experience

About us

7.2 million people in the UK have chronic kidney disease (CKD), a diagnosis that can turn your world upside down.

For 50 years, Kidney Care UK has been at the forefront of supporting people with kidney disease. From our early days when we campaigned to introduce donor cards in the UK, we have worked hard to support and represent the interests of everyone affected by this lifelong condition. We continue to provide practical, emotional, and financial support for individuals and their families, while also working with healthcare professionals to improve care services and campaign for change.

Kidney disease can affect anyone and there is no cure. We are here for the young and the old, for those struggling to make ends meet, for families and loved ones. We fight tirelessly, giving our total support, to improve the lives of kidney patients and their families.

We’ve grown significantly over the past five years. But this is just the start – we want to grow our income significantly in the next three years. We have to – there are so many people who need us.

We’ve been making quite a splash recently – our ‘Cost of Staying Alive Report’ made the front cover of The Guardian last year, and the follow up ‘Left Out in the Cold’ report was recently featured on Sky News and in The Evening Standard. Our ‘Priced Out of Existence’ campaign was shown on the BBC 6 o’clock and 10 o’clock News and referenced by media across the UK. Our #BloodyAmazingKidneys campaign has reached more than 6 million people and 294,000 of those have taken our digital kidney health checker.

We’re building partnerships with leading companies across the UK, raising the profile of kidney disease and working with them to make sure that their customer service teams understand the needs of kidney patients throughout the country, working with them to make sure that kidney patients are top priority for their vulnerable customer teams. We’re working with global pharmaceutical companies developing world class patient information and advice. And we want to identify more companies in different sectors who are passionate about supporting people with kidney disease, which is why we are expanding our Corporate Partnerships team.

The charity is set to build on this success and aims to continue this growth, so that we can reach more kidney patients and their families, providing critical support at a time when it is needed now more than ever.   

About the role

The Corporate Partnerships Officer will play a key role in this growth, managing and securing new corporate partnerships with support from the Corporate Partnerships Manager. Our corporate partnership income has grown from zero in 2020 to c£2.3 million in 2025. It is a very exciting time to be joining the charity and our Fundraising team.

Primarily, you will be responsible for managing your own portfolio of corporate partnerships, growing strong relationships, delivering partnership activities, and proactively securing new corporate partnerships, including charity of the year relationships. You'll further support the Corporate Partnership Manager and Director of Fundraising, Marketing and Communications as needed with key activities within larger partnerships, developing a well rounded understanding of how Kidney Care UK works in partnership. 

You will also work closely with the Events, Marketing & Communications teams to promote and support all opportunities to drive corporate income growth ensuring strong collaboration.

Key duties will include;

• Managing relationships with key contacts,

• Delivering partnership activities such as renal unit visits or training presentations to key staff,

• Delivering informative annual reports,

• Proactively secure and onboard new partnerships within your target area. 

You will do this by stewarding the significant number of existing relationships and partnerships we already hold and maximising any opportunities that exist. Alongside this, you'll be working with the Corporate Partnership Manager to manage a personal goal of generating new partnerships through proactive engagement to and through our supporters, beneficiaries, networks, and contacts.

The right candidate will have a proven record of building strong and rewarding relationships, and confidence in managing and building these relationships autonomously. You will be a driven and enthusiastic fundraiser with experience of cultivating new relationships across a range of businesses and sectors and a willingness to learn and develop your skills. 

The role will adapt and develop with the individual and offers huge potential for personal and career development.

What we offer

Working at Kidney Care UK is incredibly rewarding and you will see the life-changing impact that the charity has on kidney patients and their family:

• Flexi-time – we are flexible about start and finish times, and flexible about your location.
• Annual and Christmas leave – we offer 25 days annual leave for full time employees plus bank holidays. We also close for three days between Christmas and New Year, and you don’t need to take this from your annual leave allowance.
• Pension – you’ll be eligible for and auto-enrolled into a pension scheme.
• Health cashback plan – ability to claim back a wide variety of routine medical treatments.
• Employee Assistance Programme – access to a wide variety of support including counselling, health resources and advice.
• Cycle2Work scheme
• Learning and development – you’ll be able to access the full benefits of our membership of Fundraising Everywhere and Charity Comms.

The International Prader-Willi Syndrome Organisation (IPWSO) is seeking a talented and motivated CEO who will deliver our organisational strategy which aims to improve the lives of all those affected by a rare genetically determined disorder called Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). 

The role of CEO at IPWSO is both challenging and rewarding. You can help deliver change for people affected by PWS from across the globe by helping us build solidarity, promoting scientific reasoning and research, helping to foster new relationships, supporting our members, and striving for equality for everyone affected by the syndrome.

You will work alongside passionate volunteers and experts in PWS from across all continents and with a skilled and small staff team based in the UK. We are all dedicated to making a tangible difference!

For the full person specification and the JD, please refer to the attachment below.

#CEO #Chief Executive #Chief Executive Officer 

Are you a passionate, values-driven fundraiser looking for a career-defining opportunity? Join WSUP at a pivotal moment as we grow our impact and strengthen our fundraising in line with our ambition to prevent and end homelessness in our community.

Click Apply, download our Recruitment Pack and find out about WSUP's strategic priorities.

This Fundraising Lead role (Maternity Cover) is central to our strategy - designed to secure sustainable income through community engagement, partnerships, and bold, values-aligned funding. You’ll lead the development and delivery of an ambitious fundraising strategy that aims to grow income to £400,000+ per year - supporting both WSUP’s immediate needs and long-term growth. This will include a blend of bid writing, challenge events, and community-led fundraising, working closely with volunteers, partners, and local supporters to build strong relationships and unlock sustainable income.  

Your work will help expand our trauma-informed services, embed lived experience across the organisation, and ensure we respond to rising demand with dignity and care- while building a local solidarity economy based on mutual support and community-led solutions.

We’re looking for a creative and strategic thinker with excellent relationship-building skills and a commitment to equity and inclusion. You’ll be working closely with our leadership team and wider network of partners and volunteers, shaping a fundraising programme that reflects WSUP’s grassroots ethos and the powerful stories at the heart of our work.

This is a unique opportunity to help shape the future of a trusted local charity - and to play a vital role in building a healthier, more just Greenwich for all.

Key Responsibilities

Fundraising & income generation 

· Trusts & grants: Research, write, and submit compelling funding applications to trusts, foundations, and grant-making bodies to secure new and repeat funding.

· Corporate & individual giving: Work alongside Service Delivery Manager and Deputy Service Manager to develop relationships with corporate sponsors and individual donors, creating engagement opportunities.

· Donor stewardship: Manage and nurture relationships with funders, ensuring timely reporting and impact updates.

· Donor stewardship: Provide timely and effective follow-up communications with supporters, ensuring they feel valued and engaged.

· Fundraising strategy: Support the development and implementation of WSUP’s fundraising strategy, identifying new opportunities for income growth.

· Event fundraising: Assist in planning and delivering fundraising events to engage supporters and raise unrestricted funds

· Financial oversight: Work with the CEO to develop fundraising budgets and ensure accurate income tracking.

· Financial oversight: Process cash and cheque donations for Community & Events income, including ensuring this income is processed and recorded accurately on our database which may include batch uploads.

· Campaigns & appeals: Develop and implement online fundraising campaigns, such as Winter Appeal or emergency appeals.

· Storytelling & impact reporting: Work with Communication Lead to share real-life stories that showcase WSUP’s work.

Person Specification

Essential skills & experience

· Fundraising knowledge: Understanding of trust, foundation, and corporate fundraising, with proven experience of writing successful grant applications.

· Communication skills: Strong written and verbal communication, with the ability to craft compelling proposals and reports.

· Relationship management: Ability to build relationships with funders, donors, and stakeholders at various levels.

· Organisational skills: Ability to prioritise workload, meet deadlines, and manage multiple projects simultaneously.

· IT proficiency: Strong skills in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), databases, AI tools and social media scheduling tools.

· Financial literacy: Ability to create fundraising budgets and financial reports.

· Compliance: Knowledge of fundraising legislation, including Gift Aid and GDPR compliance.

Desirable skills & experience

· Experience in a small charity setting, ideally within the homelessness or health-related sector, understanding the challenges and opportunities of grassroots fundraising.

· Experience organising donor engagement events or corporate sponsorship opportunities.

· Proven ability to use videos and infographics to enhance fundraising campaigns.

· Social media: Experience using social media for fundraising and engagement, with an understanding of digital marketing principles.

· Experience with volunteer management or coordinating fundraising volunteers.

Personal attributes

· Passionate about social justice and WSUP’s mission to support people in crisis.

· Self-motivated and able to work independently, with a proactive and creative approach.

· Adaptable and willing to take on a variety of tasks in a small but dynamic team.

· Resilient and resourceful, with a problem-solving mindset.

· Comfortable working in a fast-paced, evolving environment where flexibility is key.

What we offer

· The opportunity to make a real impact in a grassroots charity supporting local communities.

· Flexible working arrangements (remote work possible).

· Professional development and training opportunities.

· A supportive and inclusive team culture, with a strong emphasis on lived experience and trauma-informed practice.

About Figurative

Figurative is a new organisation, and this is a brand new role. Our mission is to bring new funding capital to the cultural and creative sectors, and to deploy it in ways that optimise for social impact and for sector sustainability.

We bring together deep expertise through Arts & Culture Finance (formerly part of Nesta) and New Philanthropy for Arts & Culture to unlock new and innovative ways of funding and supporting the UK’s arts ecosystem.

Figurative manages three investment portfolios that have supported over 60 organisations and raised more than £30 million in investment capital over the last decade.

About this role

Culture and creativity are essential to human flourishing, yet the financial models supporting them are in need of a serious reimagining. Public subsidy is declining in real terms, traditional philanthropy can't fill the gap, and commercial investment often doesn't align with how cultural and creative sector organisations work best.

Figurative exists to create a third way: impact investment that brings new capital to culture and creativity, while respecting what makes the sector special. But scaling a genuinely new funding model requires more than good intentions - it needs robust infrastructure, diversified capital sources, and deep credibility with the organisations we exist to serve.

This is a unique opportunity to join Figurative in its infancy, and to take responsibility for growing Figurative from £30m to £100m+ over the next 3-5 years. Your work will directly enable cultural organisations to access capital they couldn't reach through traditional routes - capital that allows them to take creative risks, sustain their missions, and amplify their social impact without compromising their values.

You will be joining a dynamic, inclusive, collaborative team that is committed to learning on the job, and in the open. This involves testing out new ideas, and finding partners who are keen to explore innovative ways in which their money can be used to bring about their desired outcomes through the power of culture and creativity.

Key Responsibilities

The Development Director will:

• lead our efforts to raise money into our own parent charity, from primarily new sources;
• support the CEO and investment team to raise investment capital (which may take the form of repayable grants) into our investment funds;
• lead our efforts to support organisations in the sector to raise philanthropic giving as a source of income for themselves, particularly focused around place (including the development of our existing Arts Council funded place-based philanthropy networks) and social impact (including our Big Give Arts for Impact match funding campaign);
• develop and implement our place-based strategy, which will aim to demonstrate the power of blended finance.

The Development Director will be a member of the senior leadership team and report directly to the CEO, working closely on strategy and communicating strategic priorities and progress to existing and potential grant funders (into Figurative) and investors (into our funds); whilst providing philanthropic expertise to cultural organisations and partners to optimise social impact and sector sustainability.

In this role, the successful candidate will have to be/demonstrate: 

• Strategic infrastructure builder: Proven track record designing and implementing fundraising/investor relations systems and processes in growth-stage organisations - not just using existing ones.
• Financial literacy: Comfortable with impact investment concepts, fund structures, and articulating risk/return/impact trade-offs to sophisticated investors. You can speak credibly to family offices and institutional investors, not just traditional arts funders.
• Cross-sector translator: Ability to articulate culture's value to investors whose primary focus is climate, social impact, or economic development. Fluency in making the case for why culture matters to non-arts audiences. Ability to build and manage partnerships across philanthropy, commercial creative industries, and the public sector, navigating complex stakeholder environments with diplomacy and credibility.
• Cultural sector credibility: Deep understanding of how arts organisations operate, their funding challenges, and why they might be sceptical of intermediaries. Genuine commitment to supporting sector sustainability, not extracting from it.
• Proposition development: Ability to craft compelling narratives for complex funding models. You can explain why impact investment in culture is different from traditional philanthropy and why it complements (rather than competes with) existing funding.
• Scale-up mentality: Comfortable moving from £30m to £100m+ - you understand what infrastructure and processes are needed at different stages of growth.

Core Skills

Essential:

• Strategic Philanthropic Fundraising: Demonstrated ability to design and execute philanthropic fundraising strategies aligned to mission-driven objectives, including multi-year funding pipelines and donor portfolios
• Major Donor and High Net Worth Engagement: Proven experience cultivating and stewarding relationships with, and securing gifts from high net worth individuals, family offices, and trusts and foundations, and confidence engaging sophisticated donors around arts and the creative industries.
• Foundations and Institutional Giving: Strong capability in identifying, soliciting, and managing relationships with foundations, philanthropic trusts, and institutional funders in the UK and internationally.
• Cultural and Creative Philanthropy Expertise: Demonstrated knowledge of arts and cultural fundraising ecosystems, including experience working with artists, cultural organisations, and creative industry stakeholders, to aid in the development and delivery of place-based philanthropic initiatives.
• Relationship Management and Stewardship: Advanced relationship management skills, including donor stewardship, reporting, and long-term engagement, ensuring trust, transparency, and repeat support
• Proposal Writing and Funding Submissions: Strong written communication skills, with a track record of producing high-quality funding proposals, pitches, grant applications, and tailored donor materials
• Stakeholder Engagement and Representation: Confidence representing the organisation externally at events, briefings, and convenings, including presenting to boards, donors, and advisory groups.
• Data-informed Fundraising and CRM Use: Competence in using CRM systems and fundraising data to track prospects, manage pipelines, and inform strategy, with attention to compliance and good governance
• Project Management and Delivery Strong organisational and project management skills, enabling delivery of fundraising campaigns, events, and reporting requirements on time and to a high standard.
• Judgement, Discretion and Ethical Practice: High level of professional judgement, discretion, and integrity when handling sensitive donor information, complex funding arrangements, and reputational considerations
• Leadership and Team Management: Proven ability to lead and develop teams, work effectively with Boards and senior stakeholders, and collaborate within the wider organisational structures. Experienced in managing direct reports, aligning team delivery with organisational priorities and maintaining strong internal relationships.

Desirable:

• Experience in impact investing, social finance, or blended finance - ideally in a growth/scale-up phas
• Existing relationships with family offices, climate investors, or foundations exploring innovative funding models
• Understanding of place-based funding partnerships and multi-stakeholder models
• Track record of investor diversification - successfully broadening an organisation's funding base

What We Offer

• Salary: £55,000 - £65,000 FTE, depending on experience
• Location: Hybrid working arrangement based at Somerset House in central London, with flexibility and some travel within the UK.
• Reports to: CEO
• Hours: 3 days/ week (0.6 FTE)
• Location: Hybrid working arrangement based at Somerset House in central London, with flexibility and some travel within the UK.
• Benefits:
  • 25 days annual leave + bank holidays + ability to buy additional holiday
  • Pension (Employer Contribution 8% + a further 4% where the employee contributes 4%
  • Life Assurance
  • Post probation - Private health and dental insurance 

Making an Application

To apply for this role, please submit your application below before midnight Sunday 22nd February 2026. Please include a one-page cover letter covering the following questions

• What are the main challenges you think Figurative will have to navigate within this phase of development
• What are the most important messages to convey to existing and potential stakeholders about Figurative’s mission and motivations?

First interviews will be held virtually on Wednesday 4th March 2026.

Second interviews will be held in person in our London offices on Thursday 12th March 2026.

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and particularly encourage those who are underrepresented in the investment sector to apply.

Please note that we actively screen for AI-generated applications. We are looking for authentic, personal responses that reflect your own experiences and motivations.

I look forward to hearing from you

Francesa Sanderson

CEO

The vacancy

The Housing Officer role is 37.5 hours a week, working shifts between 8am and 8pm Monday-Friday which you will share with two other staff members on an 8-4, 10-6 or 12-8 rota pattern.

The role is based in Colchester.

Your time will be spent working with residents towards independent living by assisting them to claim and maintain benefits, move into work, education or volunteering, learn about successful budgeting, to eat healthily and keep themselves safe and healthy both physically and mentally. You will also interview prospective residents, carry out room checks, fire checks, assist with our food distribution scheme, collect payments and arrears, attend appointments with the young people as and when necessary, take an active role in resident engagement and support the management team.

Who we are and what we do

YMCA Essex has a 44 room, supported housing unit on Magdalen Street in Colchester. We house young people aged 16-25, supporting them towards independent living and a well rounded life. We encourage and support them into work, education or training and to be able to maintain a tenancy and look after themselves when they leave YMCA. Residents can live at the YMCA for a two-year period after which time we assist them in moving onto independent living.

You

Have an active care and concern for the community, work in an inclusive way, welcoming the diverse needs of our young residents. You are tolerant, understanding and non-judgemental. You have an interest in the needs of young people and a thirst to support them towards being the best they can possibly be.

You have experience of working in supported or general needs housing, wellbeing planning, risk assessments, working with young people and a great knowledge of welfare benefits, grants and other sources of income available. You have housing management, rent accounting and tenancy sustainment expertise as well as experience of dealing with anti-social behaviour and resident engagement.

Your IT skills are current with a good understanding of Microsoft packages and Sharepoint and you have an excellent level of education. You are experienced in working in and handling stressful situations. You are flexible and adaptable in regard to working hours and are able to take part in an on-call rota evening and weekend rota. You have a driving licence or can get to Magdalen Street at any time of day or night (if on call) within 30 minutes.

As a great communicator you are able to demonstrate an empathetic and person centred approach, problem solve on a daily basis, work with minimal supervision and with discretion and integrity whilst respecting confidentiality.

PLEASE NOTE THIS IS NOT A CARER ROLE. THERE IS NO PERSONAL CARE INVOLVED AND RESIDENTS ARE PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY ABLE. CARE WORK EXPERIENCE WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED AS HOUSING EXPERIENCE.

YOU MUST HAVE RELEVANT EXPERIENCE TO BE CONSIDERED AND LIVE WITHIN 30 MINUTES TRAVEL OF COLCHESTER.

Are you looking for a dynamic and rewarding role working for an organisation with the feminist agenda at the core of its ethos? Do you believe in our values; to listen and support, to empower and respect, collaborate, innovate, and take accountability? 

Then working at Advance Charity could be the career choice for you!

We are looking for a Bid Officer (Bid Writer)

Salary: £34,000 - £39,000 per annum

Location: Hammersmith Head Office

Hours: 35 hours (full time)

Contract: Permanent

We recognise that many working women have commitments outside of work, so we’re open to discuss flexible working options and solutions that suit you, and still suit the needs of the business. Please indicate in your supporting statement if you’d like to discuss flexible working options with the Hiring Manager, should they contact you regarding your application.

About us:

Advance Charity is a well-respected, award-winning, and innovative women-only organisation, established in 1998, providing emotional and practical support to women experiencing domestic abuse, and supporting women with short-term sentences to reduce offending.

About the role:
As the Bid Officer, you will support statutory and non-statutory funding across Advance’s services, with oversight by the Development Manager and support from the Development and Fundraising Co-ordinator. They will also provide assistance to the Head of Fundraising. The role will ensure a high standard of professional bids are created, showing strong attention to detail, an ability to work under pressure and to demanding deadlines.

You will plan and produce compliant proposal documents, bringing together expertise, best practice, research and data to develop compelling tender responses. Your role will be responsible for shaping service delivery models in collaboration with internal subject matter experts, bid writing and editing, coordinating the final document review and document governance. 

Please note: In this role we are always exploring new technology and tools to support better ways of working, however the sector we work in means that we are often required to submit bids that are written without AI involvement. We need someone with great writing skills in this role and will be testing this with an in-person assessment as part of our recruitment process.

Key responsibilities include (but are not limited to):

• Plan and write compliant, professionally produced proposals within defined timeframes and coordinate supplementary documents required

• Foster collaboration and coordinate proposal input from a variety of stakeholders including Services, Evidence and Insights, People team, Finance and Governance team, Safeguarding

• Undertake editing of proposals, including spelling and grammar checks, and share with internal stakeholders for final approval in advance

• Project manage the writing of smaller tenders/grant applications including responsible for agreeing budget with Finance team

• Ensure all supplementary documents, including approval documents, are produced in a timely fashion and accompanying governance processes are completed

• Follow team processes for filing and version control

• Work alongside external partners to inform competitive bid submissions

• Support preparation for tender handover following contract award with Implementation Manager

• Monitor statutory and non-statutory funding opportunities (local authority, central government, trusts) via portals and support existing services to prepare for retender

• Brief leadership on go/no go decisions

• Conduct post-proposal reviews and support continuous improvement of the department

About You:

To be successful as the Bid Officer you’ll need the below experience and skills:

• Experience of writing successful tenders, proposals or grant submissions, with excellent written and verbal skills that support coordination of clear, compelling and concise bid responses

• Excellent attention-to-detail and accuracy with strong editing and proof-reading skills

• A pro-active approach to developing strong working relationships with staff at all levels of the organisation and with external stakeholders

• Be highly organised and solutions-focused, able to plan, prioritise and meet deadlines under pressure

• Be committed to Advance’s values and ethos, with a clear understanding of safeguarding, equality, diversity and inclusion in the delivery of statutory services.

This post is open to female applicants only as being female is deemed to be a genuine occupational requirement under Schedule 9, Paragraph 1 of the Equality Act 2010.  

Please note: Any offer of employment will be made subject to references and confirmation of the right to work in the UK, and satisfactory enhanced DBS check.

How to apply:

Please submit your up-to-date CV with a supporting statement. Please note that only applications made via the job advert will be considered. 

Please see the end of the advert for the downloadable Job Specification

Closing Date for Applications: 26th February 2026 *Advance reserves the right to extend the advert and/or close the advertisement early, or on the appointment of a candidate

Interviews are taking place: Between 3rd to 9th March 2026 (this may be subject to change),

We recognise that women often only apply to roles if they meet 100% of the criteria (whereas men apply if they meet only 60% of the requirements). We encourage you to demonstrate how your skills and experience would make you an asset to the role, and if you don’t have the exact skills/experience, tell us in your cover letter how you think you might grow and develop in the role.

Under the Equality Act 2010, we are required to make any reasonable adjustments. If you have a disability as defined under this act and/or have additional needs, please email the Talent Acquisition Team will aim to make the necessary arrangements to accommodate your needs.

What we can offer you - Employee Benefits: 

• An exceptional 30 days of paid holiday per year (pro rata for part time), PLUS public holidays on top (that's nearly 40 days paid holiday per year!) 

• Additional days off to celebrate International Women’s Day, and for religious observance and moving home

• Perkbox - an employee discount platform where you can receive free rewards as well as take advantage of savings on clothes, groceries, travel, leisure and more

• Pension scheme

• Enhanced maternity/adoption provision

• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme

• Access to Yoga/Meditation and many more activities on our wellbeing online platform

• Employee eye-care scheme

• Clinical supervision for front line staff and first line management roles

• Refer a Friend Scheme - £250 for each referral who passes probation

• Organisation wide away days-

• Thorough induction and training

• Career development pathways 

Diversity, Inclusion and Equal Opportunities

We value diversity and believe the variety of ideas, perspectives and experiences it brings creates an effective environment in which talents can be fully utilised to achieve our goals.

We are committed to providing equality of opportunity and actively seek to recruit people from groups underrepresented in our current team. We have policies and processes in place to ensure that all employees are offered an equal opportunity in recruitment and selection, promotion, training, pay and benefits.

Are you an influential leader looking for a new challenge? Would you like the opportunity to take a leading charity through the next exciting phase of its remarkable journey?

Harrogate Neighbours exists to support and improve the lives of elderly and vulnerable people across the region, transforming lives and empowering the community on a daily basis! With over 50 years of experience, they provide a vast range of services ranging from residential care (at their homes in Starbeck and Boroughbridge) to meals on wheels in the community to The charity’s values focus on compassion, accountability, respect and excellence, and the incredible staff team deliver an uncompromised standard of care to all.

We have a career defining opportunity for a new CEO to lead this organisation, and community, and in doing so inspire and transform lives across the region!

The Role

The CEO will be accountable to the talented and committed Board of Trustees and be responsible for the overall strategic management, leadership, and development of Harrogate Neighbours. Duties will include:

• Ensuring the development and implementation of integrated strategies across care, housing, operations, finance, marketing and communications, human resources and workforce, information management and technology, estates and performance monitoring, management and reporting.
• Providing overall leadership for Harrogate Neighbours in line with the vision, mission and values agreed by the Board of Trustees.
• Providing strategic leadership for fundraising and income diversification, ensuring the organisation has a sustainable and mixed portfolio of income.
• Developing and maintaining positive collaborative partnership arrangements with commissioners, local authorities, local communities, MPs, the voluntary sector, communities and other key partners and stakeholders.
• Overseeing the financial processes for the organisation and leading delivery of the agreed budgets.

The Person

We are looking for a visionary leader - a creative, charismatic and influential individual who is passionate about the values, ethos and mission of the charity! The skills and experience we are looking for include:

• A demonstrable track record of working in a senior strategic leadership role
• Evidence of working with senior leaders and board members to ensure strong and effective financial management
• Strong networking and influencing skills with an ability to build excellent relationships with a wide range of stakeholders
• Strong and clear communication skills with an ability to lead internally, and also deliver messages to a variety of audiences externally.

This is a truly wonderful opportunity to lead a fantastic charity where you will directly influence the landscape for the communities across the Harrogate region, for the future. As CEO of Harrogate Neighbours, you will be leading a financially stable organisation with a strong board and talented staff team. The charity also promotes a supportive culture, has a generous pension scheme, offers a variety of wellbeing initiatives, 6.6 weeks annual leave and a range of additional benefits (including Blue Light Card and paid for massages!).

If you believe that you could be the right person to lead this charity through the next phase of its exciting journey then get in touch for more information, or apply here before Friday 27th February.

First stage interviews have been scheduled for Friday 20th March, and second stage interviews will be on 25th, 26th and 27th March 2026.

Please note: If you would like to submit an application or express your interest in an alternative format, such as audio or video upload, please contact either Charlie or Leanne who will be happy to advise on this.

Please also be aware that Charity Horizons use anonymous recruitment methods when submitting shortlists for all our roles and we only work with organisations that are happy to engage with us in this way.

Charity Horizons is an equal opportunities employer and as such actively promotes equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We welcome and encourage applications from all suitable candidates irrespective of age, disability, hidden disability, race or national origin, religion or belief, gender, gender expression, political view, sexual orientation, medical condition and pregnancy.

We're looking for an enthusiastic Head of Fundraising with a strong track record in fundraising and grant management, who is particularly motivated to join Khulisa because of a deep commitment to our mission – supporting the wellbeing and mental health of young people.

About Khulisa

Khulisa, meaning 'nurture' in the Zulu language of South Africa, is an award-winning charity dedicated to providing therapeutic support to young people. We focus on reaching those who are most at risk – young people from deprived communities who are often marginalized, vulnerable to exclusion, and at heightened risk of becoming involved in crime

Our approach centres on safe, exploratory methods that aim to understand behaviour and experiences often rooted in trauma, abuse, and neglect. We deliver intensive therapeutic programs within educational and community settings, empowering young people to confront the underlying causes of their emotional distress and work toward healing. To create lasting, sustainable change, we work to establish trauma-informed environments around young people by equipping parents, caregivers, educators, and other professionals with the tools they need to offer effective, supportive care. Currently, our services are active in London and Manchester.

About the role

Over the last two consecutive financial years, we have raised approximately £1 million each year – primarily through trusts and foundations, corporate donors, and individual supporters. As the successful candidate, you and the team you lead will play a pivotal role in maintaining this level of fundraising success, ensuring our vital work with young people continues to flourish. This role will involve:

• Reviewing and evaluating our funder qualification processes to ensure donors align with our values and meet our ethical standards.
• Ensuring that detailed research on prospective funding opportunities, including trusts, foundations, corporate partners, HNWIs, are carried out and that plans for making approaches are developed and carefully implemented.
• Initiating, nurturing and maintaining strong relationships with prospective funders and donors.
• Working together with the Senior Leadership to develop and periodically review Khulisa's 3-year fundraising strategy, taking ownership of key elements and processes, and periodically developing and testing new fundraising approaches.

For a full list of duties and responsibilities, please see the attached job description below. 

The post holder will be required to work from home permanently but be willing and able to easily travel to various locations across the London and the North West as necessary to fulfill the requirements of the role and to engage with stakeholders and colleagues.

What we're looking for

Abilities/Experiences

• Extensive fundraising and grant management experience working on large bids (£100K plus).
• Excellent writing skills with ability to produce clear, concise and engaging reports.
• Demonstrable ability to communicate effectively with a wide range of stakeholders and build relationships easily.
• Demonstrable experience of successfully raising funds from Trusts & Foundations, Corporates and Major Donors.
• Experience of leading or significantly contributing to development and/or delivery of a fundraising strategy.
• Experience of budget management and financial processes in income generation activities.
• Experience of mobilising and managing implementation of grant agreements from initiation to reporting and possibly reapplication.
• Ability to confidently negotiate or renegotiate with senior stakeholders on programme budgets, deliverables and objectives. 

Knowledge/Skills

• Good knowledge of Khulisa's work and ability to use this to creatively engage with new donors and secure their interest.
• Strong knowledge of CRM database, preferably Salesforce, in managing funder/donor relationships and fundraising activities.
• Strong account management and negotiation skills.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: We are actively looking to recruit a diversity of talent. We embrace, respect and value the difference in our employees and believe that we and our work is better for it. We are committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive environment that consists of fairness, dignity, and caring for everyone, and one that enables every employee to flourish and realise their potential.