Funding Manager – Our Natural World

Job Title: Funding Manager – Our Natural World (ONW)

Salary: £45,000 to £49,000 per annum

Location: Hybrid – London, UK. The Foundation has a hybrid approach to working and the candidate will work from the Kings Cross office (N1 9JY) two or three days per week – these will include Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Occasional UK travel will be required, which may include an overnight stay.

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full-time working to standard office hours (35-hours per week, Monday to Friday, broadly office hours). We will also consider candidates looking to work 0.8 full-time.

Reports to: Director – Our Natural World 

Applications close: Thursday 27th February 2025

About Esmée

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation is one of the largest independent funders in the UK.  We aim to improve our natural world, secure a fairer future, and strengthen the bonds in communities in the UK. We do this by contributing all that we can to unlock change by people and organisations with brilliant ideas who share our goals.

The Foundation provides around £50m annually in grants towards a wide range of work in support of our aims.  We also provide social and impact investment to support organisations creating social and environmental impact.

In everything we do, we are motivated by the need to address the causes and impacts of climate change and to recognise our role in addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion.

More about our approach can be found on our website:

https://esmeefairbairn.org.uk/about-esmee/diversity-equity-and-inclusion/

Useful links to learn about us:

• Our values
• Working for Esmée

About the role

The role is based in the Foundation’s Our Natural World team. We are a small and friendly team of six people that holds over 250 relationships across the UK, through grants, investments and other support.  These cover a wide range of organisations from the well-known and high profile through to start-ups, social enterprises and organisations working on niche issues.  In Our Natural World, we are working towards three impact goals: sustainable and ethical food, clean and healthy freshwater, and preserved and improved species health and habitats.

We have five funding priorities under our current strategy: nature friendly farming, fishing in tandem with nature, freshwater, peat and space for nature.

This role will be primarily focused on sustainable and ethical food and our nature-friendly farming priority.  We are therefore seeking candidates with experience and passion in this area.  Last year, we undertook a review of our work in nature friendly farming, which provides further context to our work.

The Foundation aims to be an engaging employer and a good place to work.  All members of the team have opportunities to learn more about how we work and to join colleagues in visiting projects and attending relevant meetings and events. You will be part of a vibrant organisation with a wealth of knowledge and expertise. Contributions to the Foundation’s strategic direction are encouraged throughout the organisation.

The Foundation has an executive team of 43. There are 12 trustees who oversee the work of the Foundation via regular board meetings and committees.

Why apply?             

We are in the midst of a climate and nature crisis. This is a unique opportunity to work with and support a range of organisations, initiatives and projects that are on the front line of tackling this challenge and that are working with communities across the UK to secure a just transition. We have independence, resources and influence that enable us to move at pace and make a positive difference for people and communities in the UK. We have ambition and risk appetite to try new things and work with new and unusual partnerships to deliver our aims. A key question that guides our work and action is “what more can we do?” – come and help us answer it.

Purpose of Job:

The main purpose of the post is to:

• To make a significant contribution to the delivery of the Foundation’s strategy – with a particular focus on our sustainable and ethical food portfolio.
• Identifying and building a pipeline of activities that will contribute to the delivery of the five-year roadmaps for the impact goals.
• Assessing a wide range of proposals and managing a broad portfolio of activities and relationships.
• Supporting the development of relationships between partner organisations and others so they can achieve greater impact collectively.
• Building relationships and brokering collaborations.
• Supporting the development of social investment opportunities in the sector.
• Gathering learning from activities and using that learning to inform future activity and the development of roadmaps towards our impact goals.

Key Responsibilities:

1. To assess and manage a portfolio of proposals including investigating, seeking further information, making site visits, giving advice to and taking advice from colleagues, advisers or other organisations.
2. To contribute to the development and maintenance of a pipeline of activities as part of our roadmaps towards our impact goals.
3. To build cross-sector relationships in the UK to support the Foundation’s strategy for the impact goals and to maximise the impact of the strategy.
4. To support the development of relationships between partner organisations (and others) so they can achieve greater impact collectively. This may include brokering, identifying and supporting unusual alliances.
5. To develop proposals with recommendations for consideration and approval.
6. To monitor the progress and impact of activities in line with the Foundation’s learning and evaluation strategy.
7. To represent the Foundation at seminars, conferences, functions and other events.
8. To be a positive and active member of the Foundation team, working with and supporting colleagues in helping the Foundation deliver the strategic plan.
9. To undertake any other duties in support of the Foundation’s business as may reasonably be required.

Skills and Experience: 

1. Significant knowledge of and relevant experience of Our Natural World relevant to the impact goals. We would particularly welcome applications from candidates with experience of work relevant to our work on sustainable and ethical food/nature friendly farming.
2. Creativity, flair and imagination.  Naturally curious.  An ability to identify unorthodox approaches.
3. Understanding of the range of activities undertaken by charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises and other non-profits but more broadly about the potential of wider partnerships (for example, with local authorities, business and the investment world).
4. Ability to interpret and resolve complex and sometimes conflicting information including financial information and business plans.
5. Excellent communication skills, including the ability to present complex information clearly and concisely in oral and written form.
6. Outreach experience with the ability to make presentations to groups and represent the Foundation at events and forums.
7. Project skills that demonstrate the ability to organise and manage workload to deadlines.
8. Competent IT skills including experience of using a database.

Personal Qualities:

1. Able to deal in a helpful, friendly and professional way with a wide range of people.
2. Good judge of people and organisations.
3. Analytical, ability to assess and balance risks, and willing to back judgement.
4. An active, constructive contributor to the team.
5. Ability to work under pressure and to deadlines.
6. Flexibility.
7. Diplomacy.
8. Self-motivated with high energy levels, working under minimal supervision.
9. Highly-developed sense of personal integrity.
10. Demonstrates an empathy for and commitment to the Foundation’s strategy, ethos and core values.

Qualifications

A high level of intellectual and analytical ability is required. This might be evidenced by a degree, professional qualification, or by experience of working at a level of complexity comparable to this post.

Significant Interfaces:

• Internally: all staff and trustees, in particular, the funding team.
• Externally: potential and existing partners, other relevant organisations and contacts in the sector.
• Statutory bodies, ESG investment community, impact investment practitioners.

Please download and view the full Job Description below.

Benefits

12.5% employer pension contribution (with a 5% employee contribution) and a range of benefits including: season ticket loan, income protection scheme, life assurance, (taxable) private medical insurance scheme, Give as You Earn scheme, cycle to work scheme, Employee Assistance Programme.

The Foundation has a strong commitment to the professional development of all staff.

Our commitment to DEI in recruitment

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation believes that a greater diversity of views, skills, and lived experience will help generate better ideas, and will lead to better decision making. We want to encourage applicants with a diverse range of backgrounds to apply. In particular, those with lived experience of racial inequity, disability, or poverty.

Closing date for applications: Thursday 27th February 2025

Interview dates:        

• First Stage interview: 13th March 2025 (online)
• Second Stage interview: 19th March 2025 (in person, Kings Cross Office)

Apply today via the button below! For a chat about the role, you can reach out directly to Dom Szczecinski. Email dom@inclusiverecruiting.co.uk.