Head of UK Programmes

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Job description

Prospectus is delighted to be working with a leading UK Grant-making Foundation to recruit a Head of UK Programmes.

Priority programme areas for the Foundation include: enabling disadvantaged children and young people to fulfil their potential (with a focus on education attainment, employability, well-being and community-based interventions); health and well-being; and arts, culture and heritage.

The Foundation's approach to grant-making is distinctive, in that it focuses on capacity building to strengthen the impact, effectiveness and/or sustainability of non-profit organisations so they can thrive and fulfil their charitable goals.

The Foundation has grown substantially and has re-focussed its work in a more strategic and impactful direction. This is an exciting time to join as the Foundations looks to develop and enhance the way it works. The Head of UK Programmes role will be critical to the Foundation fulfilling these ambitions.

The role:

Working closely with the Foundations' Chief Executive and collaboratively with the wider team (including the Heads of the Europe and Asia Pacific Programmes and the Head of Research, Impact and Learning), in addition to overseeing the wider UK programmes, the post-holder will have particular responsibility for leading the programme focused on enabling disadvantaged children and young people fulfil their potential, also responsible for pro-actively sourcing, delivering and managing a significant strategic portfolio of grants. The post holder will also inform the strategic development of the Foundation's other key programmes and will oversee the UK grants team planning, development of the pipeline of grants across all programmes to meet grant-making goals and all aspects of the grant-making life cycle for the UK Foundation.

The post holder will line manage the Programme Manager; Arts, Culture & Heritage (operating across the UK and international Foundations) and will also sit on the Foundation's Senior Leadership Team and will therefore contribute to the wider success of the UK and international Foundations.

The person:

The successful candidate will have an established and substantial track record in the non-profit/philanthropic sectors in the UK, with a particular focus on children and young people. They will have in-depth knowledge of the sectors' funding ecology, policy environment and key trends and will have in-depth knowledge of 'what works' in enabling disadvantaged children and young people to thrive. An insight into non-profit organisations active in the fields of health and well-being and arts, culture and heritage will also be very advantageous, but not essential. This person will ideally have managed small teams, and will have in-depth knowledge of good practice and key trends in philanthropy and grant-making.

Given the Foundation's focus on strengthening the capacity of non-profit organisations, this person will be adept at assessing and analysing an organisation's capacity building needs, looking closely at an organisation's leadership and governance, operations, impact and financial position. They will have excellent strategic thinking, planning and communication skills, with the ability to simplify data and craft clear and concise proposals whilst making strategic choices to inform decision-making and tailoring material to diverse audiences.

Finally, this person will be emotionally intelligent with excellent inter-personal skills, able to work at pace and build trust with diverse stakeholders. A deep-seated respect for the views and insights of others and an ability to listen actively and openly will be essential. And while drawing on extensive knowledge and experience, they will be highly collaborative and will have humility in their approach. This role a superb opportunity for someone with demonstrated leadership and management skills to make a real and lasting difference to the work of the Foundation.