Grants Manager

About Smart Works   

Smart Works is a dynamic, high profile and fast-growing UK charity that dresses and coaches unemployed women for success at their job interview. We empower each woman by giving her the clothes and the confidence she needs to succeed. After visiting Smart Works, 69% of clients secure a job within a month, gaining financial independence and transforming their lives.

The Smart Works service is delivered in London, Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Newcastle, Reading and Leeds. Over the past ten years, Smart Works has helped over 30,000 women. It is our mission that any woman who needs our service should be able to find her way to a Smart Works centre.

In April 2022, Smart Works launched a new Three-Year Plan that will see the charity double the number of women helped annually from 5,000 to 10,000 women a year. To achieve this, we will grow our existing centres and open new centres in areas of need including Bristol and Liverpool.

More information about who we are can be found on our website.

 About the role   

Smart Works exists to empower all women who need help getting into work. As such, we require vital funding from high-value donors to enable us to achieve this mission.

The Grants Manager is an integral role within the Fundraising and Partnerships team, working with the Head of Grants & Strategic Development, to build a strong pipeline of five and six-figure gifts from Trusts & Foundations.

The role will be varied with responsibility for managing key stakeholders from existing relationships held in the portfolio.

We are seeking a proactive self-starter, with experience in philanthropic fundraising and excellent written communication. Good attention to detail, managing multiple priorities and the ability to build strong working relationships would also be advantageous.

It is an exciting time to join Smart Works as we are in a significant growth phase, aiming to double the number of unemployed women per year we support to 10,000 by 2025.

Smart Works is a fast-paced collaborative environment with dynamic teams and ambitious plans. It is also a lot of fun, with opportunities to attend nationwide fundraising events, expert leadership panel discussions and designer fashion sales.

The Fundraising and Partnerships team are based in London, operating out of our North London centre in Islington. This is a hybrid role, working from our North London centre twice per week, with the opportunity to work the remaining from home, or from our West or South London centres.  Some evening and weekend work is required to lead on philanthropic fundraising and support wider partnership team events.

If you’re passionate about supporting women and thrive in a fast-paced environment, then this is an ideal opportunity for you.

Duties and responsibilities  

Essential Criteria 

• Proven track record in securing five figure philanthropic income.
• Ability to exceed income targets as set by the Head of Grants & Strategic Development, and the Director of Partnerships.
• Experience of cultivating relationships with multiple and senior stakeholders.
• Demonstrable experience of strong written communication and of working with funding grant applications.
• Ability to prepare engaging and inspiring proposals, plans and reports.
• An understanding of the high-value fundraising landscape, its current challenges, opportunities and trends.
• Target driven with excellent organisation and time management capabilities.
• Passionate and enthusiastic about the mission and vision of Smart Works, demonstrated through clear initial research and understanding in the written application.

Desirable Criteria 

• Proven track record in securing six figure philanthropic income.
• Good attention to detail, especially where completing contractual arrangements.
• Strong prioritisation and ability to manage a varied workload.
• Outstanding interpersonal, verbal communication and presentation skills, in order to build strong working relationships.

Benefits, terms and conditions

• Full-time role, based across our three London centres.
• Monday-Friday with typical working hours 9 am-5 pm in line with centre opening hours. Happy to discuss flexible working at the interview.
• Salary of £29,500 – £34,000 depending on experience
• 25 days annual leave, excluding bank holidays.
• 3% pension employer contribution after the qualifying period.
• Positive, supportive working environment with opportunities for practical training and progression.
• VIP access at Smart Works sales, events and pop-up shops.
• All successful applicants must provide two satisfactory references and complete a Basic DBS check.

How to apply  

Please submit a CV and answer the following questions via our recruitment portal here. Your application should be addressed to Charlotte Owens, Head of Grants and Strategic Development.

• Why do you want to work for Smart Works? (Max 250 words)
• What experience and skills do you have that makes you well suited to the role of Grants Manager? (Max 400 words)
• In your opinion, what is the biggest challenge and biggest opportunity in the current Philanthropy & Grants space? (Max 400 words)

If you require any reasonable adjustments or alterations for the application and recruitment processes, please contact recruitment@smartworks.org.uk about submitting a manual application.

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