Innovation manager jobs in cherwell, warwickshire

The Charity and The Vision.    

Scotty’s Little Soldiers is a UK-based charity dedicated to supporting military children and young people (0 to 25 years) who have experienced the death of a parent who served in the British Armed Forces. Founded in 2010 by Nikki Scott following the death of her husband, Corporal Lee Scott, the charity offers a unique blend of emotional, practical, and educational support to over 700 young people, and we have big ambitions to support over 1,000 children annually by 2030.    

We are proud of our vibrant, non-traditional culture, which puts the needs of bereaved children and young people at the heart of everything we do. We embrace innovative approaches, are committed to creating smiles and believe in the power of community, resilience, and connection.    

Role Mission.  

At Scotty's, we believe every bereaved military child deserves our support. As Head of Grants, your role is to secure and manage major, long-term grant funding, maintain strong relationships with funders, and report on our impact to encourage continued support.  

I am accountable for…  

• Strategic Grant Income Growth: Developing and delivering an ambitious pipeline of grants income that not only meets but exceeds our annual agreed income budgets. Securing those multi-year, high-value grants that fuel the long-term sustainability of the charity's strategic growth and allow us to reach more families.  

• Grant Funder Relationships: Cultivating and expanding deep, long-term, and genuinely mutually beneficial relationships with a diverse portfolio of military and non-military grant-making organisations.   

• Grant Portfolio Management: Overseeing the lifecycle of all awarded grants, ensuring reporting, optimal allocation and tracking of funds (balancing restricted and unrestricted to best serve our families), and administrative oversight to maintain high standards of compliance and transparency which our funders expect and deserve.  

• Impactful Storytelling and Application Development: Translating Scotty's heartfelt mission and profound impact into compelling, donor-centric narratives and high-quality proposals that truly stand out from the crowd. We want to demonstrate our social value and inspire significant, transformative investment.  

• Best practice grant management: Championing the very best practices in grant fundraising, positioning Scotty's as a charity of choice for major grant-makers.  

• Financial Stewardship & Forecasting: Providing regular, insightful forecasting of our grants pipeline (using Salesforce) and working with the Finance Team to ensure funds are being correctly used and logged - so we always know where we stand.  

I am responsible for:  

• Grant Strategy & Planning: Developing and implementing the grants strategy with a comprehensive, rolling programme of grant applications that are perfectly aligned with our charity’s strategic plans and agreed annual budget. We'll be focusing on securing those larger, transformative grants that make a real difference to starting each year with a higher percentage of funding already secured.  

• Funder Research & Identification: Proactively researching and identifying new, high-potential funding opportunities that truly resonate with Scotty's mission and strategic priorities. This means using industry best practices and relationship building to find our perfect partners.  

• Proposal Development & Submission: Leading the end-to-end development of high-quality, persuasive grant applications. This involves crafting compelling narratives from the heart, developing robust budgets factoring in overheads, and ensuring timely submission.   

• Relationship Management & Stewardship: Building and nurturing strong, long-term relationships with both our existing and prospective funders. This means regular, personalised communication, sharing impactful updates and acting as a Scotty’s ambassador at funder events and meetings.  

• Grant Management & Reporting: Meticulously managing all stages of awarded grants, including careful financial tracking (using Salesforce), ensuring we always adhere to grant agreements, and compiling comprehensive, insightful end-of-project reports that truly demonstrate our impact and foster continued support.  

• Internal Collaboration: Working closely with our Families team, Finance Team, Comms Team and Fundraising Team to identify funding needs, gather powerful impact data, and ensure seamless delivery and awareness of all grant-funded activities. We work to weekly transparent Success Measures (3 key agreed metrics which help show we’ve had a great week and give leading and lagging indicators on how we’re doing), monthly and quarterly budget targets and short, daily and weekly team huddles to share good news, keep our culture forefront and ensure we can best support each other and deliver for the charity.  

• Pipeline Management & Forecasting: Develop and maintain a robust pipeline of grant opportunities, regularly tracking progress, and providing accurate forecasting to help us make smart, strategic decisions for our future.   

• Data Management: Ensuring all grant funding information, relationships, and communications are accurately inputted and updated on our charity’s CRM database (Salesforce). Keeping things tidy and organised is key for good governance.  

• Grants landscape: Staying abreast of the trends and developments in the grants and trusts sector, identifying new approaches and opportunities to enhance Scotty's fundraising efforts and keep us ahead of the curve.  

• Team Support: Providing a helping hand with administrative support to other areas of the charity if required. We're all good team players here at Scotty's, and we always support each other.  

3-Month Goals:  

• Onboarding & Immersion: Dive deep and achieve a comprehensive understanding of Scotty’s operating system (The Scotty’s OS), our values, our behaviours, our mission, and the significant impact we have. This will happen through intro meetings with everyone on the team and a tailored onboarding program.  

• Grant Portfolio Audit & Handover: Conduct an audit of our existing grant portfolio, reviewing active grants, reporting schedules, and our funder relationships. We'll begin the handover process for existing relationships with the Head of Fundraising, ensuring a smooth transition.  

• Funder Engagement & Feedback: Reach out and initiate contact with at least 5 key existing funders. This is about listening, gathering their valuable feedback, understanding their priorities, and beginning to build those personal, trusting rapports.  

• Pipeline Initiation: Identify and qualify a minimum of 5 new potential grant-making organisations. We'll prioritise those who truly align with Scotty's mission and have the capacity for significant, multi-year funding – our future partners.  

6-Month Goals:  

• Income Target Ownership: Take full, enthusiastic ownership of ensuring we are on track to hit our existing grant budget lines. You'll provide regular and accurate forecasting, keeping us all informed and confident.  

• Relationship Deepening: Strengthen relationships with at least 5 key funders, leading to demonstrable progress towards increased or renewed multi-year support.  

• New Grant Acquisition: Secure at least 2 new grants of significant value (e.g. £10k+) from previously untapped funders, showcasing your success in converting those pipeline opportunities into real impact.  

• Strategic Grant Mapping: Develop a comprehensive grant funding strategy, outlining key target areas, funder tiers, and a detailed timeline for our major applications for the next 12-18 months.   

• Impact Reporting Enhancement: Collaborate internally to refine and enhance our reporting mechanisms. We want to ensure our data is readily available and tells the most compelling story for our funder reports.  

9-Month Goals:  

• Multi-Year Grant Success: Secure at least one new multi-year grant partnership with an annual income of £50k+, truly demonstrating your ability to unlock larger, sustained funding that makes a lasting difference.  

• Pipeline Expansion & Value: Add £100k+ of new, qualified grant fundraising opportunities to our pipeline each month, always with a keen eye on those high-value prospects.  

• Income Exceedance: Be on track to exceed the annual grant fundraising target, demonstrating strong performance and strategic growth that helps more bereaved military families.  

• Innovation & Best Practice: Introduce at least one innovative approach or best practice (e.g. involving AI) to our grant fundraising strategy. This could be a new, heartwarming cultivation event, a bespoke reporting format, or a new research methodology – anything that helps us grow.  

• Personal Development & Leadership: Review your personal development needs and opportunities, actively seeking ways to enhance your leadership in the grants sector and contribute to the wider fundraising team's success. We believe in growing together.  

Essential Criteria  

• Proven experience in charity grant management.  

• Strategic planning: Ability to develop, implement, and evaluate grant strategies that align with the charity’s mission and objectives.  

• Financial acumen: Competence in budgeting, financial monitoring, and reporting for grant programmes.  

• Stakeholder engagement: Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to build relationships with funders, beneficiaries, partners, and internal teams.  

• Analytical and decision-making ability: Skilled in assessing applications, monitoring outcomes, and making evidence-based decisions.  

• Excellent written and verbal communication: Ability to produce clear reports, guidance, and correspondence tailored to a variety of audiences.  

• Organisational skills: Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.  

Desirable Criteria  

• Sector-specific experience: Prior work within children’s bereavement, military-related charities, or with vulnerable children and families.  

• Evaluation and impact measurement: Familiarity with monitoring and evaluating the impact of grant programmes, including data analysis and reporting.  

• Policy development: Experience in developing or reviewing grant-making policies and procedures.  

• Public speaking: Confident in representing the charity at external events, conferences, or media opportunities.  

Additional Information  

• The role may require occasional evening or weekend work  

• Enhanced DBS check required  

• Travel will be required to events and team training days  

The Scotty’s Way  

At Scotty’s, our personal performance is only 50% of what success looks like. Our culture is equally important. When you join our team, you sign up to The Scotty’s Way, rooted in our four core values:   

1. Families Come First  

1. Everyone a Supporter, Every Supporter a VIP  

1. Love What You Do  

1. Remember, Every Day  

Our values are further supported by our four non-negotiable behaviours of Show Respect, Speak Up, Take Ownership and Actively Collaborate. We are looking for an individual who embodies these values and behaviours.  

Thank you for your interest in joining our team, we are an equal opportunities employer, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace where all employees are treated with respect and given equal opportunities for employment and advancement.   

We do not discriminate based on race, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability or any other protected characteristic.   

We encourage all qualified individuals to apply for employment within our charity, and we provide a fair and inclusive recruitment process for all candidates.  

Harris Hill are delighted to be working with a fantastic charity to recruit for the Head of Individual Giving in order to lead on the development and delivery of a forward thinking Individual Giving strategy that drives donor acquisition, retention and income growth.

You will manage and grow a diverse range of fundraising products across Regular and Personal Donations, Payroll Giving, Legacies, In Memory, and Mid Value Donors. With the support of experienced colleagues in Events, Partnerships and MarComms, you will build a seamless and supporter focused experience that boosts engagement across all touchpoints.

you’ll be responsible for growing awareness and diversifying income through well planned, evidence based fundraising and strategic communication. You’ll lead campaigns, manage digital and offline channels, coordinate fundraising events, and report clearly on performance and progress.

You’ll work closely with the CEO and senior leadership, shaping messaging that inspires donors and stakeholders, while also managing volunteers and apprentices to support campaign delivery. The role is varied, rewarding, and deeply rooted in creating a more inclusive society.

As a Head of Individual Giving you will:

• Lead the design and execution of an integrated Individual Giving strategy
• Develop engaging supporter journeys using automation and personalisation tools
• Test and scale new giving products to reach wider and more diverse audiences
• Use data and insight to guide decision making and evaluate success
• Work cross functionally to align fundraising and communications for a cohesive supporter experience
• Manage the delivery of donor appeals and campaigns from concept to execution

About You:

You’re an experienced Individual Giving specialist with a strong track record of delivering income growth across multiple channels. You understand the value of data, automation and personalisation, and know how to turn supporter insight into action.

You’re creative, proactive, and results driven, with excellent communication and relationship building skills. You bring energy, innovation, and a genuine passion for building meaningful supporter relationships that last.

To be successful, you must have experience:

• Significant experience in Individual Giving, Legacy or Personal Giving, including digital
• Strong understanding of donor journeys, segmentation, and CRM systems
• Proven ability to develop and deliver integrated fundraising campaigns
• Experience managing budgets, agencies, and campaign performance
• Exceptional communication and influencing skills

Salary: £50,000 - £55,000 DOE

Location: Remote (occasional travel to regional Hubs in the North-East, Manchester, and Norfolk)

Contract: Permanent, Full-time (37.5 hours/week)

Closing date: 28th August at 9am 

Interview: w/c 1st September 

Recruitment process: Cv and Supporting Statement to

If this sounds like you, then please do get in touch ASAP!

Unfortunately, due to resource capacity, we will only contact candidates that are shortlisted for interview. Therefore if you do not hear from us within 2 weeks of the closing date please note your application has been unsuccessful.

As leading charity recruitment specialists and a certified B Corp™, Harris Hill is committed to high and ever-improving standards of equitable and inclusive recruitment. We actively welcome applications from all sections of the community regardless of age, disability, gender, race, religion, sexuality and other protected characteristics.