Grants Officer (Individual)

---

Job description

The Henry Smith Charity was established in 1628 and is one of the oldest and largest grant-making foundations in the UK distributing close to £40m of grants in 2020. They aim to bring about lasting change to people's lives, helping them to benefit from and contribute to society. They achieve this by funding organisations that work with people to reduce social and economic disadvantage, as well as providing grants to individuals as part of their Kindred Programme, which is part of the charity's primary objects as set out in Henry Smith's will.

The Kindred Team award grants of approximately £900,000 per year to some 250 descendants of Henry Smith who are in financial need. They also offer wider support including a Helpline run by a 3rd party. They are delighted to be recruiting for a Grants Officer to join their established Kindred Team. Working collaboratively with the Kindred Grants Programme Manager, you will be responsible for making grants to individuals in need who are eligible by virtue of being descendants of Henry Smith. Your role will include fielding telephone and e-mail enquiries, requesting the necessary information to assess need and analysing this information in order to make small grants and also appropriate recommendations to the Kindred Trustees for approval. You will also deal with enquiries from individuals who want to register as Kindred and will need to ensure that they are eligible and deal with registrations. You will play a key role in the efficient, empathic and timely delivery of this grant programme to individuals who are experiencing hardship, including those who need grants to progress their lives, perhaps to access training or help with mental health issues.

To be considered, you will have previous experience of dealing with enquiries from individuals experiencing hardship, combined with a good knowledge of the welfare benefits system. You must also be highly numerate. This is a crucial role for Henry Smith Charity, and as such you will possess excellent communication skills both oral and written, as well as the ability to handle sensitive and personal data. Due to the nature of this position, previous experience of engaging with people in difficult life situations is essential, as is a strong level of empathy and understanding.

Henry Smith Charity highly value the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion and these are central to their successes in grant making, helping individuals and communities to thrive. They are looking for talented people from a wider range of backgrounds, cultures and experience who share the same values as Henry Smith Charity and are passionate about making a difference through grant funding. They welcome applications from people with a wide range of backgrounds and experience including people with disabilities, Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic backgrounds, people who identify as LGBTQI+ and individuals from different socio-economic and educational backgrounds.

Please let us know if you need any additional support to take part in the selection process. If your application is successful, the organisation will make reasonable adjustments to the working environment to enable you to fulfil the role.

Henry Smith Charity offer a range of generous benefits including 24 days (rising to 26 days after two years completed) annual leave, company pension scheme, health insurance, paid volunteering days, access to a free Empathy helpline, travel ticket loan and cycle to work scheme.

The office is London based, but like many employers, Henry Smith Charity is currently trialling hybrid working.

To find out more about this role, please apply with a Word format version of your CV; cover letters are not required at this stage. A full job description will be provided to candidates shortlisted by Prospectus.