Are you passionate, creative and curious about creating change in communities across the UK? We’re looking for a proactive and energetic person to join our UK Portfolio Team as a Portfolio Manager.
- This role is being offered as a six month secondment. Due to business needs, we will only be considering internal applicants and individuals already in the civil service that have a short notice period (four weeks or less)
The UK Portfolio supports the ambitions and potential of communities across the UK. Our funding is intended to complement the work of other country portfolios: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
We’re a relatively small team with wide ranging experience and interests, which reflects in the work we deliver. Annually we distribute approximately £80m across two programmes supporting projects from Fife to Omagh, Teesside to Bridgend.
Our new strategy has reaffirmed our purpose: it starts with community. We’ll continue to support amazing community-led projects and make a bigger difference in the years ahead. This is a time of optimistic change and growth as we deliver our ambitious new strategy.
Our Portfolio Managers manage the design and delivery of funding programmes. We focus on scaling projects with a UK-wide benefit, through significant investments, which enable systems-level change for communities.
You will be one of eight Portfolio Managers and report to one of our senior team, working closely with them to deliver the UK Portfolio strategy, with practical responsibility for overseeing the ‘end to end’ (proposal to decision to grant management) funding lifecycle across one or more of our funding programmes. Our current open programmes are The UK Fund and the Climate Action Fund.
Management responsibilities will include:
- Overseeing and supporting Portfolio Officers in their work ensuring they are benefitting from learning and development and continuously improving
- The operations and resourcing across our programmes, managing budgets, risk and reporting
- Working closely with teams across the Fund to ensure our work is connected into and adds value
- Taking on lead roles in areas that work across the whole Portfolio
You’ll be joining a dynamic and welcoming team, working with hugely important and fascinating projects that are responding to and addressing a wide range of topics from employment to climate, racial justice to community cohesion.
This role would suit people who:
- Have experience of one or more aspects of the funding cycle, with the ability to apply critical analysis at each stage
- Have project management experience and strong organisational skills
- Understand and can work within the Fund’s policies and procedures and the necessary legislation, and in a way that is in line with our values and ways or working
- Can contribute, add value to and role model a healthy, inclusive and positive team culture
Importantly we need people who are curious about the society we live in and passionate about making a difference through our funding and the vital role of charities and voluntary organisations in helping communities to thrive.
You will need to travel from time to time for this role, supporting colleagues and communities across the UK. We do not expect this to be more than a couple of occasions per month.
Interview Date: Friday 18 and Monday 21 October
Location: UK Wide
We have a hybrid approach to working, work pattern and location will be agreed with the successful candidate. The role can be based at any of our UK offices, these are Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Exeter, Glasgow, Leeds, London, Newcastle and Newtown.
If you would like an informal conversation about the role specifically, please contact: [email protected]
Any questions about the recruitment process, please email: [email protected]
On application, please align your supporting statement to the criteria below
Essential criteria
- You have experience of either managing projects and / or funding work that fits with the work and programmes of the UK Portfolio .
- You have strong project management and organisational skills, including budget and risk management.
- You have strong written and verbal skills with an ability to communicate with confidence to a wide range of individuals and audiences.
- You have excellent interpersonal and people skills and can build effective working relationships to bring people together to achieve organisational aims and can demonstrate strong stakeholder engagement.
- You will show the ability to apply critical analysis and consider strategic implications in your work, thinking about how things impact the whole Portfolio, Fund or sector.
Desirable criteria
- Values driven and passionate about the Fund’s purpose and our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.
- Experience in leading and motivating people and teams, (including remote teams) role modelling a culture of inclusion.
- Experience of working and / or interest in the areas of either climate and the environment, bringing diverse communities together or youth voice.
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.)