We are recruiting two Innovation Managers to join our Innovation Team.
Role 1: Permanent – 0.5 FTE
Role 2: FTC until 26/04/2028
Please state clearly in your supporting statement if you wish to be considered for the FTC, Permanent or both roles.
The role
Ever wanted to join a team where innovation feels accessible, energising and genuinely meaningful? We create safe, structured spaces for bold ideas, help people navigate complexity with confidence, and turn creativity into sustainable practice with equity at its heart. If the idea of working in a major funder and shaping futures that matter excites you, we’d love you to be part of our journey.
In this role, you’ll move fluidly between designing and facilitating creative sessions, collaborating with colleagues to unpack complex challenges, and turning insights into clear, co-created practical next steps. Your day might involve shaping a new tool or provocation, making sense of emerging patterns, meeting partners to explore possibilities, or helping teams navigate ambiguity with confidence. No two days are the same, which is why we work supportively together, creating space to listen, challenge, reflect and offer different perspectives.
What you’ll bring
We’re looking for someone to join us with both the skills and approach to thrive in this work. You’ll bring a deeply human, emotionally intelligent way of working, with empathy to understand the people and communities we design with, and to create spaces where they feel safe to explore new ideas. Resilience is essential too; innovation is rarely linear, and you’ll navigate ambiguity, shifting priorities and occasional setbacks with calm, curiosity and a sense of possibility. You’ll bring creativity and openness, continually finding new ways to frame challenges, alongside a reflective mindset that learns in the open, listens deeply, and adapts thoughtfully as ideas evolve. Above all, you’ll believe that meaningful change comes from people working well together and you’ll use your skills to help make that happen.
Exploring it with us
1. Interview: Week Commencing 20th April 2026
2. Where: Virtual
3. Format: Online Tasks, competency- based questions and meet the team
We have a hybrid approach to working, with a home/office split that suits you, though the role will include travel across the UK. Work pattern and location will be agreed with the successful candidate. The role can be based at any of our UK offices: Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Exeter, Glasgow, Leeds, London, Manchester, Newcastle, and Newtown.
How to apply:
Upload your CV in word format and write a supporting statement (up to 1,000 words) responding to the following questions, we will use this to score your application:
4. Who or what has shaped how you think, create and challenge?
5. What skills will you bring to the team and how did you develop them?
6. What experience do you have working with or for communities who are less likely to have applied for or received our funding?
7. What values feel most important to you, and how do they guide the choices you make?
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.)