Senior Grants and Trusts Manager

Fresh Start is an Edinburgh based charity which helps thousands of homeless people each year get established into their new home. Between 2020 and 2021 there was over 42,000 people in homeless households. This wonderful organisation delivers a range of services that provide the practical and social support that helps people resettle successfully. Fresh Start’s mission is to ‘help people make a home for themselves’. These words are simple, but behind them is the passion and commitment of the staff, volunteers and donors to break the cycle of homelessness.

Imagine being homeless and losing all your possessions. You could be sleeping on a friend’s sofa, living in a hostel, or on the streets. You’ve not only lost your material possessions but any hope for the future. Then you are offered the tenancy of a flat, a glimmer of hope, an opportunity to start again. But you have nothing – where do you begin? The journey from homelessness to settling into a tenancy can be a challenging one. Fresh Start take a rounded approach to support their users by providing numerous services such as starter packs, a decorating service, cooking classes, gardening opportunities and employment help.

The Senior Grants and Trusts Manager will be responsible for all the Statutory grants and most of the trusts and foundations grants. Fresh Start raises funds from a variety of sources including grants from statutory funders and trusts and foundations. The post holder will have an excellent knowledge of these funding sources and demonstrable experience in developing high quality applications, bids, reports, budgets and supporting documents for a diverse range of audiences including existing and new grant funders. This is a very varied role, and no two days will be the same. One day you could be spending most of your time developing applications or working on financial management and the next you could be engaging with staff in the warehouse, church members and the wider community.

We are looking for someone who will have a commitment to the aims and values of Fresh Start as well as being a strategic thinker with strong planning skills. You will spend a lot of time building relationships and networking with external stakeholders, team members and key contacts. Therefore, it is essential for you to be an effective communicator and have good people skills.

How To Apply

Please email us at [email protected] or call us on 01786 542 224 to request an information pack, full job description and person specification.

You are advised to get in touch well in advance of the closing date to give us time to consider your application and pre-interview the strongest applicants.

Closing date: Midday, Monday 21st March

Interview date: Wednesday 30th April

This search is being conducted exclusively for Fresh Start by BTA (Bruce Tait Associates). Our leadership team have all worked extensively in the voluntary sector and we use this experience to match organisations and individuals to create great appointments.