Senior Funding Operations Officer (12 Months FTC)

Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundation

The Senior Funding Operations Officer is a key role in the Finance and Funding Operations team, that provides operational and financial support across the organisation.

The role is responsible for:

• Grant and contract management activities, ensuring all grants and contracts are progressed appropriately and systems are kept up to date
• Liaising with teams, both inside the organisation and externally, to ensure the smooth running of grant processes
• Managing complex operational administrative issues
• Assuming joint responsibility with the rest of the Finance and Operations team for: maintaining the accuracy and integrity of the grants management system; preventing fraud; providing cover for absent colleagues when required; and performing any other tasks as may reasonably be required for the team to operate effectively.

Key Responsibilities

• Grants management (for Impact on Urban Health, NHS Charities and Special fund grants)
• Managing the process of ensuring ongoing grant requirements (such as reports and milestones) are met, including producing monthly reports of outstanding requirements, supporting Funding Operations Officers with requesting conditions/reports and following up on these requests when not received, and liaising with internal grant managers regarding persistent issues.
• Managing the post-award workflow for grants, including production of grant documentation and working with grant managers to establish payment and reporting schedules and updating grant management systems.
• Carrying out due diligence checks on grant applicants. Producing and actioning reports to ensure that grant records are accurate and properly reflect the stage each grant has reached, in particular, ensuring grants are closed appropriately and any outstanding funds are written back to enable further grant funding.
• Provide assistance to the Funding Operations Officers with queries regarding post-award processes.
• Support grant managers with the monitoring of complex grants and portfolios, ensuring compliance with terms and conditions.
• Ensuring clear audit trail of approval of awards and conditions to ensure efficient execution of grant agreements and payment of grant instalments.
• Reviewing investment papers for Impact on Urban Health projects
• Processing of all charitable spend ensuring compliance with grant agreements Contract management
• Carrying out due diligence checks on new contractors.
• Maintaining appropriate records in relation to service contracts, including adding and updating contract records on internal systems.
• Processing of all charitable spend ensuring compliance with signed contracts Special purpose fund management
• Supporting communications with fund holders, including writing and distributing newsletters, and drafting key messages as required.
• Providing assistance to Funding Operations Officers with complex queries and management of spending commitments and related invoices.
• Managing queries from Guy s and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust Finance staff and fundholders in relation to invoice payments.
• Authorisation of Special Purpose Fund expense claims and invoices in absence of Funding Operations Manager. General
• Providing cover for the Funding Operations Manager, as appropriate.
• Deputising for the Funding Operations Manager at Executive Investment Committee meetings to contribute to the Funding Operations perspective on discussions about grant applications, due diligences and awards.
• Assist with the development of Salesforce, new or improved processes, and new ways of working through user testing and development of guidance.
• Ensure grants and contract records are accurately maintained.
• Creating and maintaining reports to support effective management of grants and contracts
• Provide absence cover for other Funding Operations team members as agreed from time-to-time.
• Support induction of new colleagues across the Foundation, and development and dissemination of guidance.
• Liaising with Guy s & St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust finance staff to ensure all charitable payments for the Trust are made in an accurate and timely way and provide regular updates and reports regarding payments due and invoices received.
• The post holder will be working in a developing environment and will therefore be expected to undertake other appropriate duties as required for the effective operation of the Foundation.

Role responsibilities are not exhaustive, and you would be reasonably expected to take on wider tasks that are commensurate with the level of your role.

Skills, abilities, and attributes:

• Self-starter who is adaptable, works with integrity, and exhibits the Foundation s enterprising, collaborative, inclusive and delivery-minded cultural and behavioural values.
• Willing to learn and develop new skills, and help to develop the knowledge and skills of peers.
• Committed to the principle of continuous improvement, with careful attention to detail and due process.
• Committed to delivering consistent and high-quality customer service to both internal and external stakeholders.
• Good interpersonal skills and able to effectively liaise with both internal and external communities.
• Confident in communicating well, both in writing and verbally, and exhibits listening and influencing skills.
• Problem solving skills, able to use initiative and actively seeks pragmatic solutions.
• Good planning and organisational skills, able to work to multiple prioritised tasks, targets and deadlines, with careful attention to detail.
• Team player, with an ability to support effective working relationships.
• A self-sufficient individual, who enjoys the challenge of working with multiple stakeholders and complex systems

Knowledge, experience, and qualifications:

• Familiarity with grant making and grant management processes.
• Familiarity with financial concepts around invoicing and grant payments.
• Able to communicate effectively with others, both verbally and in writing, especially when explaining process.
• Computer literacy.
• Experience of grants administration.
• Experience in financial reconciliations
• Regular use of database/CRM systems, finance systems and grants management systems.
• Experience using the Microsoft Office suite. Desirable
• Familiarity with Salesforce or other grant management systems.
• Some familiarity with health/social care/voluntary sector technical language and organisations.
• Understanding of contract and supplier management.
• Experience working within the charity sector.
• Report development and data analysis skills