Funding Officer

The National Lottery Community Fund

Hybrid

Community

Full time

£27,000 per year

Job summary

Funding Officer, FTC to 31/12/2026

We are recruiting a full time (part time considered) Funding Officer working across Leicester and Leicestershire on a fixed term contract basis. You’ll be part of a team of 9, led by two Funding Managers and working alongside 6 other Funding Officers, as part of a patch covering Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and Coventry, within a larger Midlands team.

Job description

Ideally you will live in or near to Leicestershire or have excellent knowledge of the county. This role is classed as mobile working which means you will be expected to work from and visit several locations across the area, including your home. The ability to drive and have access to a vehicle is therefore beneficial, although not essential.

You will assess applications for funding and manage grants using local knowledge, best practice, thematic expertise and the experience of customers and stakeholders to improve our grant making and inform our decision making.

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.

Being responsible for supporting local people and communities, you will have a strong understanding of our vision, our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion and our funding products. You will also need to support our stakeholders, helping them to make connections that will help them achieve their goals.

Being responsible for a pipeline of projects you will need to understand and respond to the different needs of our customers by providing advice and considered feedback, and be willing to have challenging but constructive conversations.

You will also ensure that both grant management and assessment play an effective part in contributing to the Fund’s knowledge and learning as a grant maker. You will manage your own caseload, liaise with grant recipients, undertake project visits, identify and manage risk, support organisations to deliver their projects and measure their impact.

You will also need to work within the Fund’s policies and procedures and the necessary legislation, in a way that is in line with our vision and principles.

You will represent the Fund within your local area, including at funding fairs and external meetings, creating opportunities for people to come together. You will share learning from your role with other colleagues so that we can maximise our impact.

Interview details:

Interview date: 4th February 2026
Format: In Person
Location: Leicester

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact david.nicklin@tnlcommunityfund.org.uk.

Any questions about the recruitment process, please email recruitment@tnlcommunityfund.org.uk.

Person specification

How to apply:

Upload your CV in word format and write a supporting statement (1000 words) with the following criteria, we will use this to score your application.

Essential Criteria:

Lived Experience or working knowledge of the needs and priorities of communities across Leicestershire and the local third sector.
Relational skills: Ability to build and maintain effective relationships with colleagues, community organisations and other stakeholders at various levels, with a strong commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.
Analytical skills: Ability to absorb a wide range of information and to make judgement-based decisions with confidence, to challenge when appropriate and manage risk.
Organisational skills: Ability to use your initiative and manage your own workload with minimal supervision, dealing with competing priorities and deadlines and demonstrating strong self-organisation and prioritisation skills.
Communication skills: Strong listening, written and verbal communication with an emphasis on report writing for assessment purposes.
Values driven and passionate about the Fund’s purpose.

Desirable Criteria:

Understanding of financial planning, ability to analyse accounts and numerical data and to identify and manage risk.
Sound IT skills and the ability to learn detailed processes.

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.)

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £27,000, The National Lottery Community Fund contributes £7,821 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

A full list of our benefits can be found on our website using the link below:

Generous Civil Service Pension Scheme
Flexible working
Enhanced paid maternity/ paternity leave
Paid volunteering leave
Season ticket loan

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

Upload your CV in word format and write a supporting statement (1000 words) with the following criteria, we will use this to score your application.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

UK nationals
nationals of the Republic of Ireland
nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

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Contact point for applicants

Salary range

£27,000 per year