Big Lottery Fund
England Grant Making Director
Candidate Briefing Pack
April 2015
An introduction from Dawn Austwick –
Chief Executive of the Big Lottery Fund
I am delighted that you are interested in joining the senior team at the Big Lottery Fund.
Each of these three appointments is critical to our future success and to the development and delivery
of People in the Lead, our new Strategic Framework (a copy of which is included in your pack).
I have now been at the Fund for eighteen months and we are building a senior team to drive the
organisation forward. Last summer Danny Homan joined us as Chief of Staff from Historic Royal
Palaces, and Ian Hughes has just taken up his post as Finance Director, having previously been FD for
BBC News and Current Affairs. They join our Directors for Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, HR and IS
on the leadership team; as will these three appointments.
We have a lot to do and an exciting brief. The Big Lottery Fund distributes 40% of the National Lottery
Good Causes funding across the UK, around £650-700 million per annum, as well as making grants on
behalf of others. We are the largest UK grant-maker in our field. We operate a blended funding model
– part responsive funding, part strategic interventions – across social change, the environment, health
and education. The majority of our funding is in the UK but we also spend about £20m internationally
each year. To give you some more texture you will also find in the pack a thumbnail sketch of our
current England portfolio; please do also take a look at our website.
We believe this funding mix gives us a unique view of the world: one that we need to utilise more
widely as we develop. Our new Strategic Framework is ambitious and will require us to be outwardfacing and focussed on the ambitions and aspirations of the people and communities we serve. We
developed the framework through extensive engagement with stakeholders holding over 50
roundtables and running the Your Voice Our Vision website to foster a conversation about the future as
well as holding workshops for all our staff. To make People in the Lead a reality we now want to build
on this engagement, play a catalytic role in making change for the better, and continue to be a great
grant-maker.
I do hope that you choose to apply for one of these roles.
Dawn Austwick
CEO
Big Lottery Fund
Current England Portfolio
The main strands of our funding portfolio in England are as follows:
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Enabling charities and community groups to identify and respond to local needs and
opportunities by offering £200m per year in open, demand led funding through our Awards
for All and Reaching Communities programmes.
Supporting around 60 partnerships with £500m of strategic funding for preventative,
evidence based systemic change within tough social policy issues over the next 5-10 years.
Responding to key emerging needs by offering around £30 million to partnerships which can
help people cope with hardship crisis; and around £50 million for women's led organisations
to improve services and empower women and girls.
Backing people to improve the places they live with £300m over the next decade through
the Local Trust, which allows people in 150 neighbourhoods to decide how to spend £1
million over ten years to improve their area, and the Power to Change Trust, which
supports community businesses.
Supporting our grant holders to develop their skills and confidence through our Building
Capabilities offer, and enabling access to sources of funding such as social investment
where this can help voluntary organisations fulfil their mission.
Working together with other independent funders in areas of mutual interest, such as
funding projects as part of the Preventing Child Sexual Exploitation Funders Alliance,
testing localised approaches to early and preventative action in services through the Early
Action Neighbourhood Fund, and improving parks and green spaces through Rethinking Parks
and Parks for People.
Working with Local Enterprise Partnerships to commit over £500m through Building Better
Opportunities over the next seven years that will support the people furthest from the
labour market to get jobs and other support to improve their lives.
Strategic Framework 2015 -2021
We believe people should be in the lead in improving their lives and communities. Our approach
will focus on the skills, assets and energy that people can draw upon and the potential in their
ideas.
We feel that strong, vibrant communities can be built and renewed by the people living in them making them ready for anything in the face of future opportunities and challenges.
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Our principles
Six key strands of our work to achieve this vision
Our first steps
What this new framework means for how we work
Our principles:
We will be guided in the choices we make by a set of principles:
Confidence, not control
We trust in people's ability to make great things happen, believing that our funding should enable
rather than control.
Simple processes, good judgements
We use simple, proportionate processes which enable us to make good judgements.
The strengths people bring
We start with what people can contribute, and the potential in their idea.
A catalyst for others
We listen to, learn from, act on and facilitate the things that matter to people, communities and
our partners.
Shared direction, diverse approaches
We value the diversity of communities we work with across the UK, are consistent in the quality
and opportunities we offer, and support people to tackle inequalities. Using resources well we
make informed choices about the resources given to us by National Lottery players: with
knowledge, with people and with money, and in an environmentally sustainable way.
Six key strands of our work to achieve this vision:
Grant-making
People in the lead at every stage of the funding cycle, both in the programmes we develop and the
projects we fund, with involvement and ownership by the people our funding supports.
Knowledge and learning
We will continually improve our practice and support others to improve theirs, by openly sharing
knowledge and learning internally and externally, and by helping our funded projects and
stakeholders to share theirs too.
People
Our people will be equipped and engaged in the new ways of working that this vision inspires, and
supported to continually grow their capabilities and confidence.
Digital and technology
People will be able to access what they need - anytime and anywhere. Communications and
engagement People and communities will be aware of the funding and opportunities available, and
able to share their stories, ideas and learning with us and others.
Financial stewardship
An operating model which supports the Fund to take a longer term view in how to achieve the
vision efficiently and effectively.
Our first steps:
Accelerating Ideas: a pilot programme providing a flexible route to funding for innovative practice
that can be adopted and adapted more widely to grow its impact.
Awards for All: new test-and-learn pilots are underway to simplify our open small grants
programme.
Digital Community: a new function of our website which will begin to put digital at the heart of
our grant-making. The community will enable people and organisations to network, collaborate and
communicate, opening the Fund up to our stakeholders.
What this new framework means for how we work
Our new strategic framework will guide us in the choices we will make. It is ambitious,
flexible, and adaptable to the changing context we're operating in. It reflects the fact that what
will work today may not work tomorrow, and provides a direction to help us navigate the way
ahead. It is informed by the feedback we received from Your Voice Our Vision – a conversation held
throughout 2014 with people all over the UK.
As a grant-maker
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Tackling disadvantage by focusing on what people contribute, supporting communities
(geographical or otherwise) to be better prepared for future challenges
Strengthening our blended funding model:
o Keeping open, demand-led funding at our core – making it more accessible and
responding to what people tell us our money can help them achieve
o Using strategic interventions to tackle specific issues, seizing opportunities to improve
and grow great practice, and generating useful learning for us and others
o Developing the interplay between different funding approaches across our portfolios,
sharing learning and building on great practice
Simplifying processes so they support stronger and better informed judgements about what we
fund.
Backing ideas on the basis of flexible, proportionate applications, using a more conversational
approach to progress great ideas.
Being more open and participatory in how we fund – for example crowd-sourcing ideas through
digital and media channels and involving partners in problem-solving.
Growing a greater presence outside of the office, with stronger local networks and
relationships.
Exploring new types of grant-making such as social investment and other funding instruments,
opportunities to build on full cost recovery, and options for continuation funding.
As a catalyst
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Developing the skills of individuals and communities to take the lead in civil society, such as
building community enterprises and increasing digital capability.
Distributing the majority of our funding to voluntary, community, and social enterprise
organisations as our core civil society partners.
Encouraging different parts of civil society - from informal associations to small and medium
sized entrepreneurs, through to the biggest charitable organisations – to adapt to current
opportunities and challenges.
Backing innovation – giving momentum to people, communities and practitioners with new
approaches to thorny problems, prioritising and growing the best ideas and practice.
Creating partnerships with those who can support great community-led activity – civil society
organisations, other funders, government, public and private sectors.
Being open and engaged with new approaches and forms of organisation, such as social
enterprises, co-operatives and mutuals, and community interest companies, alongside our core
civil society partners.
As an organisation
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Strengthening our networks across the UK to actively share ideas, knowledge and evidence from
across our funding portfolios and outside the Fund, to enhance our judgement and decisionmaking and to support others looking to develop ideas and practice
Collaborating with those who can make a difference, recognising that we can't deliver this
vision alone, sharing our skills and characteristics and drawing on the expertise of others
Being flexible in how we manage our resources and costs to maximise the good causes money
available to civil society
Ensuring that our attitude to risk supports people and communities to make change happen,
enabling bolder grantmaking in the pursuit of better practice.
England Grant Making Director
Job Description
Reporting to:
Responsible for:
Salary:
Location:
England Grant Making Director
CEO
Member of the Senior Management Team
Funding budget circa £500million: Operating budget circa £15 million: Staff
Numbers circa 450
Highly competitive salary package
Birmingham or Newcastle offices - but other locations considered within England
Member of the Fund’s Senior Management Team
The Role:
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Overall operational leadership of a wide-ranging, blended funding portfolio, informed by sound
knowledge of the funding sector and civil society
Develop England grant-making operations to deliver the aspirations of the Strategic Framework
Support the England Portfolio Development Director as she/he leads the development of the England
portfolio
Accountabilities:
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Build and develop capability of the England division to meet the aspirations of the Strategic
Framework supported by senior colleagues across the organisation specifically bringing 'People in
the Lead' to life in England Grant Making.
Delivery and development of high quality grant-making achieved through the involvement of
customers, stakeholders, and colleagues
Deliver England funding programmes within the business plan with a commercial focus, high level
of organisational capacity, intelligence and enthusiasm
Effective leadership and development of the England team to ensure delivery of the Fund's
financial, funding, and service objectives
Overall responsibility for delivery of the England annual operating plan and portfolio plans
Establish, with senior colleagues across the Fund and within the England management team,
appropriate and proportionate performance targets demonstrating commitment to continuous
productivity improvement and innovation
Ensure the Fund adheres to the highest standards of probity and judgement in England funding
operations and decision-making
Corporate:
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Leadership role across the Fund as a member of the Senior Management Team actively
contributing to the realisation of the Strategic Framework
Play a key role on the Senior Executive Team in the development and performance of the
Fund's operating systems, acting as a key client to central services
Working closely with senior funding and learning colleagues across the Fund to ensure that the
strategic ambition to be 'more than the sum of the parts' and to play a catalytic role externally
is realised
Contribute to the development of both the England funding strategy and strategic development
more generally through a grounded understanding of the external funding and policy context
Responsible, alongside the England Portfolio Development Director, for ensuring that corporate
priorities, and in particular, the ambition and approach set out in the Strategic Framework, are
reflected and realised in England. Supporting the England Portfolio Development Director with
the development of an effective portfolio strategy for England
Responsible for the management and positive development of strategic and operational
external relationships, working closely with the CEO and England Portfolio Development
Director
Governance:
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Provide comprehensive monthly performance against target reports to the Chief Executive
Ensure that England Committee is effectively served by the executive team and that their
expertise is utilised to support England's portfolio development and delivery as set out in the
Committee's Terms of Reference
Advise the Committee Chair on funding activity and developments in England as appropriate
Attend Board and committee meetings as required
People:
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Provide professional leadership to staff at all levels
Ensure that all members of the England management team, have credible and challenging
Personal Development Plans and oversee their delivery
Supported by the Fund's HR team, ensure that England staff are motivated, trained and
developed, and working with the England management team and beyond to get the best
performance from the staff team
Ensure that the Fund offers the best possible working environment and processes to deliver
its ambitions in England
Promote a multi disciplinary, evidence based, cross organisation approach
Visibly demonstrate the qualities of servant leadership
England Grant Making Director
Person Specification
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Circa five years in senior management position
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Funding experience is highly desirable but not essential
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Financial acumen and commercially focused, understanding how to achieve efficiencies
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High level of organisational capability
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Intelligence and enthusiasm
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Highly developed skills of diplomacy, engagement, and with a practical and accessible manner
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Experience of re-shaping organisational structures and functions understanding the impact of
change
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Experience of deploying staff resources effectively
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Excellent organisational skills that ensure we are well managed with a natural inclination for
planning
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People management skills, able to motivate and inspire to achieve excellent performance
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Strong analytical skills that translate to well articulated, strategic management and leadership
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Able to assess and balance risk and opportunity
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Excellent written and oral communication skills
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Great listening and facilitation skills
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Able to work effectively with and in teams
England Grant Making Director
Advertisement and How to Apply
The Big Lottery Fund is strengthening and reshaping its Senior Management Team who, working closely with Chief
Executive Dawn Austwick, will lead the organisation in the delivery of the recently launched 2015-2021 Strategic
Framework: 'People in the Lead'.
The new Strategic Framework will be the central driver of our approach to funding, focusing on the strengths of
people and communities, trusting them to make great things happen. This Framework will guide our portfolio
priorities over the next six years.
The England Grant Making Director is a newly created position, responsible for developing and delivering grant
making operations of the highest quality, building the capability of the England division to meet the Framework's
aspirations and bringing 'People in the Lead' to life. As the Fund becomes more outward facing and focussed on the
ambitions of the people and communities we serve, our grant-making will be acting as a catalyst to encourage and
enable aspirational change. Our grants must be more effective and our approach more supportive, responsive,
collaborative and innovative than ever before.
Leading the development and performance of England's grant making operations, the England Grant Making Director
has overall operational responsibility for a wide-ranging, blended funding portfolio. As a member of the Senior
Management Team, the post holder will provide leadership across the Fund, actively contributing to the realisation
of the Strategic Framework.
Please enclose with your application:
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A full CV, including educational and professional qualifications, a full employment history showing the more
significant positions, responsibilities held,
Relevant achievements and budgets and staff managed, and latest remuneration including any benefits;
A supporting statement of not more than 2 pages (total) summarising your proven ability related to the person
and job specifications; and
Daytime, evening and/or mobile telephone numbers (to be used with discretion).
Recruitment Process
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Deadline for applications:
Longlisted applicants will be invited to interview with Prospectus:
Shortlisted applicants will be invited to interview with the Fund:
Preferred candidates will be invited to a Final Panel with the
Fund:
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Friday 22nd May 2015
Thursday 28th May to Thursday 11th June 2015
Monday 29th June 2015
Tuesday 14th July or Wednesday 15th July 2015
NB Candidates invited to interview will be requested to undertake online psychometric assessment prior to the
interview
Terms of appointment:
The role will be based at Big Lottery Fund's offices in Birmingham or Newcastle but other locations considered within
England. The post holder will be expected to spend time regular time in London where the CEO is based, as well as
travel to other Fund offices in England.
The Fund is an equal opportunities employer and positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and
eligible
candidates
of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or
Please enclose
withregardless
your application:
belief, marital status, or pregnancy and maternity. We are committed to increasing employment opportunities for
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 relevant
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and staff managed, and latest remuneration including any benefits;
 a supporting statement of not more than 2 pages (total) summarising your proven ability related to the person
and job specifications; and
 daytime, evening and/or mobile telephone numbers (to be used with discretion).