Grants Development Officer

Title: Grants Development Officer

Location: EJF offices in London or Bath. EJF has hybrid working (3 days in the office)

Closing date for applications: 13th May 2024.

Contract: Full-time, permanent

Salary range: £35,000 - £40,000 (according to experience and location) plus excellent benefits

This is a unique career opportunity for an extraordinarily talented, committed and ambitious individual who can deliver outstanding written materials according to tight deadlines and use superb presentational skills to secure new funding for EJF’s work protecting people and planet.

About EJF

The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) is an international organisation that protects the natural world and defends our shared, fundamental human rights to a secure environment. With grassroots projects and national programmes in 16 countries and a growing investigative, filmmaking, and campaigns team working to protect our global ocean and climate, wetlands and forests, EJF is growing fast. This new role reflects our ambition to increase our income and diversify our funding to meet our commitment to defend the planet, wildlife and people.

Most of EJF’s income comes from private foundations and government agencies in the UK, Europe, and the USA. We want to diversify the funding base by sharing our impact and ambitions with potential funders and securing long-term prospects that help us plan and sustain our international campaigns. The role needs a highly organised and self-motivated individual to identify opportunities and manage the grant application and reporting process.

About the Role

The post is new to EJF, offering an unusual opportunity to join a dynamic growing organisation and help deliver on EJF’s vision for the future. The role will work directly with the directors and COO, senior management, and colleagues in every geography, giving unique insights into each team's operations and impacts and the issues they are working on.

This role is for you if you are enthusiastic and self-motivated with superb, precise and persuasive written skills and meticulous attention to detail. You are organised and able to meet deadlines and prioritise your workload. You have a track record of writing successful grant applications and meeting the reporting requirements to deadlines. You enjoy researching and reaching out to prospective funders, building relationships, and liaising with colleagues to ensure you have the information needed to craft winning proposals. You are a confident speaker who will inspire funders to support our work.

Responsibilities include:

• Research and make recommendations of funding opportunities (new funders) and the best fit with EJF’s current and planned programmes. Draft initial enquiries (LoI or call) or funding applications. Ensure timely, appropriate follow-up is conducted and that we collect and learn from feedback.

• As directed, manage relationships with funders, ensuring timely reporting that meets their needs. This will include drafting the funder newsletter (bi-monthly) and providing new materials, such as reports, films, audits, etc.

• Draft funding proposals and monitor all deadlines for reporting, planning for the timebound and efficient delivery, and working with team members to ensure the highest quality reports are drafted in good time.

• Organise a monthly meeting with the directors and COO to present opportunities and actions and agree on priorities and approaches to donors.

• Take the lead in preparing government grant applications, liaising with colleagues for information and finessing draft texts.

• Maintain the grant database and ensure it is regularly checked and updated and that leads are followed up.

• Maintain the grants calendar, ensuring you are aware of reporting deadlines and other priority needs well in advance and ensuring no deadlines are missed. The role will take a proactive lead and coordinate as required.

• Assist in delivering events to update existing and attract new funders and ensure appropriate follow-up.

• Assist in crafting presentations to funders and, as required, work with the comms team to develop films or other materials.

Essential skills and attributes

• You will have excellent written and verbal communication skills, with demonstrable experience drafting clear, precise, and engaging copy, winning fundraising proposals, and supporting materials.

• You can deliver presentations and engage with funders.

• You are meticulously organised and able to meet multiple priorities to tight deadlines.

• You are friendly, self-motivated, and confident, and you can connect easily with colleagues and funders.

• Fluent in written and spoken English; other modern European languages are an asset.

Applications: please send your CV and cover letter explaining why you are the right person for the role to recruitment@ejfoundation.org.

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted due to the volume of applications we receive.

Candidates must have the legal right to work in the UK.