Grants & Commissioned Services Specialist
Location: Northampton
Contract type: Full-time, Permanent
Salary: from £35,000 p/a dependent on experience
Hours: 35 hours per week; 9:00am to 5:00pm, Monday to Friday
Benefits: 30 days annual leave, Vitality health insurance, Employee Assistance Programme, free onsite parking, personal training budget, matchday tickets / club discounts
BACKGROUND
Northampton Saints Rugby Football Club was formed in 1880, when Reverend Samuel Wathen Wigg identified rugby as a way to channel the energies of some of the county’s more troubled youngsters. More than 145 years on, Northampton Saints Foundation continues his legacy, using the power of sport and the values of rugby to INSPIRE, SUPPORT and EDUCATE thousands of people each year. Our education and social inclusion programmes inspire the current generation to learn, develop new skills, increase confidence and where appropriate return to education, training or employment.
ROLE
To support the fundraising team with grant applications, commissioning and tendering activities. Also where necessary, supporting the wider fundraising team with events including Foundation Day to generate revenue for the Foundation.
The suitable candidate will be ethical, collaborative, adaptable, and able to build relationships with stakeholders, while demonstrating a commitment to the Foundation's mission.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Identify and evaluate potential funding sources that align with the Foundations goals and priorities.
- Write and submit grant applications, ensuring they meet the requirements of funding agencies.
- Oversee the entire grant process, including timelines, progress reports and final submissions.
- Lead and coordinate commissioning and tendering activity, including identifying opportunities, managing bid submissions, developing partnerships, and ensuring compliant, competitive, and high-quality tender responses.
- Achieve agreed annual grant income targets through the identification, development, writing, and submission of high-quality funding applications to trusts, foundations, statutory funders, and other grant-making bodies.
- Manage grant budgets, track expenditures and prepare financial reports for funders
- Monitor compliance with grant guidelines and regulations throughout the project lifecycle
- Work with internal teams and external partners to develop project plans and ensure successful implementation of funded projects
- Support with preparation and submission required reports to funding agencies, detailing project progress and outcomes.
- Staying aware of trends and changes within the funding environment to identify new opportunities and adapt grant strategies.
- Support other members of the Fundraising and wider teams with day-to-day activities where needed.
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
- A bachelor’s degree in relevant field such as business, business administration or finance; or equivalent experience
- Previous experience in grant writing, management or related field
- Statutory and public sector funder experience.
- Experience in a Fundraising environment
KEY COMPETENCIES
- Strong analytical, communication and organisation skills
- Proficient in grant management software
- Solid understanding of regulations and compliance
- Demonstrable ability to plan and prioritise own workload
- Excellent communication and presentation skills required to build relationships with existing and potential supporters/funders
- IT proficiency in Microsoft Office (specially Excel) and grant management systems e.g. Salesforce
- Ability to demonstrate initiative and work well under pressure
- Ability to understand and work within budgets
- Excellent written skills with the ability to produce high quality proposals
- Strong data analysis to evaluate grant effectiveness and preparing detailed, accurate reports for funders
- The ability to translate programme outcomes into compelling funding narratives
- Willingness to work occasional evenings and weekends (including Matchdays) as required
OTHER
The role description, person specification, role grade and role title may be subject to change at the discretion of the Northampton Saints Foundation and in accordance with business developments. Any changes will be communicated to the role holder as appropriate.
Northampton Saints Foundation is an equal opportunities employer and would welcome applications from a fully diverse range of candidates, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, faith or disability.
The successful candidate will be subject to an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring service check and Section 128 check.
APPLICATION:
Please send CV and covering letter to [email protected] with your name and role applied for in the subject line.
Closing date: 5th June 2026
Please note, if we receive a large number of applications, we may close the process early, so interested parties are encouraged to submit their applications as soon as possible.
Any CV’s, contact details or other personal data shared with Northampton Saints Foundation in relation to this position will be processed for recruitment purposes only. We are storing this data in line with our privacy policy, and any information will only be shared internally as required to undertake shortlisting and interviews with those directly connected to the recruitment process.
We would like to keep this data until this position is filled. When that period is over, we will delete your data unless we specifically inform you that we will keep it on file for future roles.
To see a copy of our privacy policy or if you have any queries relating to how we manage personal data, please contact [email protected].
Job Types: Full-time, Permanent
Pay: From £35,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Additional leave
- Company pension
- Employee discount
- Enhanced maternity leave
- Free parking
- Health & wellbeing programme
- On-site parking
- Private medical insurance
- Sick pay
Work Location: In person
