Our client exists to strengthen local communities by investing in the grassroots organisations that make Oxfordshire a fairer, healthier and more connected place to live.
Prospectus is delighted to be working with our client to recruit an outstanding Head of Grants and Inclusion to lead its grant-making cycles and act as the face of the organisation to the small charities and community groups they fund. This is a senior, highly visible, and rewarding role for someone who thrives on building relationships, understands the power of being present in communities, and is motivated by social impact.
The Role
As Head of Grants and Inclusion, you will be a senior member of the team, leading grants programmes and championing inclusive, community centred funding across the region.
This is a strongly external and public facing role. You will spend much of your time out in Oxfordshire s towns, villages and neighbourhoods visiting groups, attending community events, and building deep, first hand understanding of local needs. These in person connections are essential to how the organisation works and to the intelligence they provide to donors, partners and grantees. This leadership role will be the primary point of contact for leaders from the grassroots charities and community groups funded by the organisation. They will assess need, monitor grants, offer support, and build trusted relationships. They will be representing the organisatio at external forums and occasionally speaking to community audiences.
The Head of Grants and Inclusion is responsible for leading the organisation's grants decision making processes whilst ensuring fairness, rigour and inclusion. They are the key staff link with the expert Grants and Impact Committee which oversees the organisation's grant-making for the Board. They also present to and participate in monthly decision-making Grants Panels drawn from community volunteers. Monitoring and evaluating the impact of the organisation's funding is a key responsibility and this person will be responsible for utilising and developing the organisation's CRM database (Salesforce), including playing an active role in its upgrade. They will work closely with colleagues in the Oxford office, including attending the all staff day each Tuesday.
The Person
The successful candidate will have an established track record as a Senior Grants Manager in the UK and will be an organised, confident and natural relationship builder who believes that inclusion is essential to successful grant making.
They will have a strong educational background, excellent written and verbal communication skills with a good eye for detail and accuracy. They will also have strong organisational skills and the ability to manage your own workload and support others to deliver on time (line management experience would be an advantage). Fantastic customer service mindset, with empathy for volunteers and small organisations and the confidence working with databases and systems, ideally including Salesforce and a collaborative, solutions driven approach and a willingness to get involved across the breadth of a small organisation. They will be comfortable engaging with monitoring and evaluation concepts and knowledgeable or willing to learn about their application in a grassroots context.
This person will also need a natural enthusiasm for travelling across Oxfordshire and being out in the community on a weekly basis, a willingness to attend occasional planned evening events (with time off in lieu) and a full driving licence will probably be essential. They will either be living in the Oxfordshire region or willing to re-locate.
If you are motivated by community impact, inclusion, and building relationships where they matter most, we would love to hear from you.