Head of Grants

Purpose of role: To manage international conservation grants programmes at
WFN: an impactful fundraising and grant-giving wildlife conservation charity focused on
supporting grassroots projects across the Global South.

Reports to: Director

Place of work: Central London, with the option to work remotely up to 2
days/week

Contract: Full-time permanent contract, working 5 days p/w

Salary: £35,000 – £40,000 p.a. commensurate with experience

Deadline: 2nd June (before end of day). Initial interviews will be targeted
for 7th June.

The Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN)

WFN is a UK-registered charity (www.whitleyaward.org
no. 1081455) offering funding (Awards), training and media profile to inspiring leaders of
wildlife conservation projects across the Global South. We support pragmatic, sustainable and
long-lasting work rooted in science and community involvement. The charity funds projects
directly and we remain in regular contact with our winners. WFN also raises awareness of the
serious problems facing wildlife, landscapes, climate and people through promoting the work of
our winners. We focus support on nationals (leaders who were either born in the country where
they work or have gained nationality) and aim to build the capacity of successful local NGOs
and grassroots work. We fund mainly in Africa, Asia and Latin America where income is often
hardest to raise and can have the biggest impact for people and biodiversity.

Our funding is raised each year, mainly from family foundations and trusts, as well as from
individuals, corporates and international NGOs, with a current annual income of over £2m/year.
WFN is governed by a committed trustee board. Our small team is dynamic, hard-working and
strives to go above and beyond expectations. The charity benefits from high profile support
from Patron, HRH The Princess Royal, and Ambassadors Sir David Attenborough, Kate Humble and
Tom Heap. This year, WFN marks its 30th anniversary, which provides a special opportunity to
celebrate 30 years of supporting inspiring conservation leaders, and to look to the future. In
line with our ambition to raise £3m/year by 2025, we are aiming to increase the amount of
support we can channel to our growing network of conservationists around the world as we seek
to further raise their profile and foster south-south collaborations among WFN alumni.

Position of Head of Grants

If you are an ambitious and detail-oriented individual with experience in grant management who
is looking to support grassroots conservation efforts, then this is the role for you. The Head
of Grants is responsible for leading WFN’s grants programmes, including managing the
application and review processes for WFN’s Whitley Award and Continuation Funding programmes. A
senior role at the charity, the Head of Grants works with and oversees WFN’s Grants and
Networks Officer (GNO) to monitor our portfolio of active grants and manage winner reports
(with the Head of Grants focussing on Latin America and Europe, and the GNO managing Africa and
Asia) as well as to foster connections and collaborations between our global network of over
200 conservationists. Acting as the main points of contact with our winners, together the Head
of Grants and GNO support the flow of information about the incredible work our winners are
doing on the ground to the rest of the WFN team. If you have a keen awareness of evolving
trends in biodiversity conservation, and are excited and equipped to lead impactful and
effective grant giving programmes, then we want to hear from you.

Skills Required

Essential:

• MSc in a relevant field (e.g. Conservation/ Zoology/ Environmental Science)
• Experience in similar grants management role within the environmental NGO sector
• Demonstrable understanding of grassroots conservation projects, issues and solutions
  (ideally in Asia, Africa, South and Latin America)
• Experience managing application processes and assessing grant applications.
• Proven ability to manage a wide portfolio of active grants including evaluation of written
  and financial reports
• Strong written skills with ability to turn technical reports and language into exciting
  content for a lay audience
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills (interface with team members, trustees,
  international grantees, donors, external assessors, suppliers)
• Analytical and competent in data handling
• Innovative and strategic thinker; able to input on WFN’s grant-giving strategy and spot
  opportunities to maximise the collective impact of our winner network
• Efficient and organised, with high attention to detail whilst ensuring deadlines are met
• Experience of using databases to manage funding streams, workflows and analyse data
• Proficient in Outlook, Word, Excel and Powerpoint
• Flexible ‘can do’ approach and will flourish in a small team and charity environment
• A knowledge of and passion for wildlife conservation

Desirable:

• Experience working and/or travelling in the Global South
• Experience of event organisation
• Experience using Salesforce/CRM databases.
• Experience working with high profile individuals

Additional Details Related to the Position

• Attractive holiday package totalling 30 days p.a. plus bank holidays
• The charity operates a Pension Scheme.
• Apply: before the 2nd June deadline. Send your CV, contact details for two referees and a
  covering letter explaining why you feel you would be right for this position and your
  motivation to: [email protected]. Please also send a signed copy of our Candidate Privacy
  Notice (attached below) with your application.
• Please indicate what your notice period, if any, would be in your letter.
• Only applicants who have the right to work in the UK at the time of application will be
  considered for this role.