RELATIONSHIP MANAGER

£34,100

Full-time | Hybrid or Remote

Deadline: 11:59 PM, 16th March 2025

Details

APPLICATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED

Salary: £34,100 p/a
Hours: 37.5 hours per week
Location: Remote/Hybrid (London)
Application deadline:11:59PM, 16th March 2025

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About SCN

At The Social Change Nest (SCN), we’re radically transforming the funding landscape and strengthening civil society. We remove the financial and administrative barriers – like bank accounts and legal structures – that often prevent communities, grassroots groups and informal movements from accessing funding and focusing on their core mission. We also work closely with funders, providing Grant Distribution and Fund Management services, enabling them to support social action with confidence and transparency. 

We currently support over 600 groups across the UK and abroad addressing issues such as social injustice, climate, housing, wellbeing and animal rights. We are at the forefront of Fiscal Hosting in the UK and, since our inception in 2021, we have supported groups in securing over £23m in funding, helping them take advantage of opportunities that may have otherwise been unavailable.

The Social Change Nest is part of The Social Change Group. We are a Disability Confident Employer, and an accredited Living Wage Employer. In addition, we were listed as one of the top social enterprises in the UK in the SE100 for the last three years. 

How we work

You’ll be joining a close-knit team, supported and developed to be the best you can be. We believe that every member of our team brings a unique perspective from their experiences and abilities and we encourage everyone to be a curious soul about how we can improve everything we do, from how we interact as a team to how we deliver for our clients and communities. 

Underpinned by our values of collaboration, curiosity, courage, and creativity, we work closely and with care with our partners because we believe relationships are the glue that hold us all together. 

We’re a growing business and operate at pace to keep up with the challenges that the sector faces. We have established a lot, but as we grow, we’re still working some things out. The right person will thrive in this environment and feel a level of ownership to support the build out of things we need as we need them. 

The ideal person will enjoy working towards building something new and exciting for our clients, and be able to thrive when things change quickly which you need to adapt to. You’ll be the type of person who will intuitively look at the entire system and how your role and function fit into it, always looking to collaborate and make sure there’s great communication across each part of the business.

About you

We are looking for a talented person who will work closely with the delivery team to provide account management support for our Grant Management and Process Hosting services. Many of our groups are at the beginning of their journey to scale in impact or size. This role will involve supporting our groups through this journey, ensuring we understand their needs, finding practical solutions to support them to achieve their goals, ensuring contracts are delivered in line with agreements, supporting them with budgeting, and advising where financial decisions need to be made. Our Process Hosting service is new but growing, and provides groups, coalitions and networks with crucial admin and governance support. This role will be an integral part of the business, and your understanding of the service and what is important for our clients will support the growth of our business.

The role would suit someone who understands the intricacies of how change happens within grassroots, community groups, and social innovations, and the role finance, governance and admin play in this messy interconnected world. You will have excellent attention to detail, be able to manage budget and will have confidence in holding spaces and conversations that support groups to move forward. 

You will be reporting to the Head of Social Impact and Community and must be ready for the messy, passionate, interconnected world that is social change.

Skills and experience

You will be a detail oriented person, proactive, very organised, an excellent communicator, have good time management, and be good at managing various tasks at the same time. You will be keen to make an impact in a small team and be hungry to search out opportunities to develop yourself and the business. We are looking for someone who is happy working on their own initiative with energy, enthusiasm and good humour. The role involves customer facing work so you must be comfortable with working with groups of people from varied backgrounds along with your work colleagues, and comfortable prioritising urgent, last minute tasks. 

 

Person specification includes: 

  • Demonstrable experience of working with clients or partners in a collaborative and flexible way. You must be able to build strong relationships with clients and work with them to find practical solutions to emerging challenges. 
  • Experience of supporting or working at startups, early-stage ventures, or growing community groups. 
  • Experience of managing budgets, forecasting and spreadsheets. 
  • Experience of managing contracts successfully to completion, and managing emerging risks.
  • Exceptional organisational skills.
  • An understanding of grant giving and granting processes.
  • Ability to facilitate meetings and group spaces.
  • An exceptional attention to detail.
  • Ability to make connections across various networks.
  • Ability to manage various tasks at the same time, and capable of managing time effectively.
  • Ability to manage competing priorities.  
  • IT literate. 
  • Experience of working within a team. 

 

We will give you full training on our internal systems and processes and other methodologies that will be relevant to your role.

Job duties and responsibilities

Account management (75%):

  • Manage a portfolio of partner accounts, working directly with them to understand their needs and helping them to find solutions that help them to build out their capacity in ways that work for them.  This will often require creative problem solving and working collaboratively with clients to respond to challenges as they come up.
  • Nurture relationships to help build positive, long-term partnerships.
  • Grant Management:
    • Monthly 1-1 meetings with clients to build relationships, discuss emerging needs and track progress on contracts with funders.
    • Liaise with funders on behalf of our partners when working through new contracts, through fund reporting, and any needs that arise during their grant period.
    • Track grant budgets and support partners with fund management. Risk management of the contracts, ensuring budgets are not overspent and are in line with expected deliverables. 
    • Ensure partner’s contractual obligations are met.

  • Process Hosting:
    • Advise on decision making that supports the client with their strategy and operations. This will range from advising on the business model, governance structures, funding opportunities, design and implementation of operational processes to support their mission.
    • Support the planning and management of governance related meetings.
    • Consult with the leadership team regarding their board meeting agendas. 
    • Ensure papers are produced in line with the agenda and support tracking of action points.
    • Attend board meetings and facilitate the meetings to support the group to move their aims forward.
    • Ensure meeting minutes and actions are documented and circulated.
    • Support with the processes around recruitment and voting

 

Support the strengthening of Grant Management service delivery (10%):

  • Working closely with the Head of Social Impact and Community, support with process improvements to ensure an efficient service is delivered. E.g.:
    • Help develop the service as we grow, thinking about how we can adapt the model of delivery to fit our purpose. 
    • Help highlight perspectives from the partners and support by providing feedback on their experience and needs. 

 

Support the SCN team (15%):

  • Support internal activities and the development of the wider team that contribute to The Social Change Nest’s overall mission and strategy
  • Collaborate with the team and bring new ideas that work towards team success 
  • Support in the delivery of SCN’s Grant Distribution service 
  • Support the team in delivering SCN’s Process Hosting service, including:
    • Coordinating and attending board meetings.
    • Ensuring meeting minutes and actions are documented, circulated and signed off.
    • Supporting partners with the recruitment and voting processes.
    • Ensuring knowledge and ways of working are captured by the partner.

Terms and benefits

Terms: The role will be full-time (37.5 hours/week) permanent contract  – we will consider well-structured JobShare applications. As we often work with volunteers, occasional evening and weekend work will be required and compensated through TOIL. Occasional but limited UK or European travel will be required (by arrangement). 

We are open to exploring flexible working arrangements and supporting you to meet commitments you may have.

Salary: £34,100 p/a

Location: You must be based in the UK. We have an office in Kings Cross, London which London-based staff are in 3 times a week, but if you are based out of London you will be home based. 

We hold quarterly all-staff strategy meetings and annual away days which you will be required to attend in person and we will cover the cost of your travel. You will be required to come together with the team occasionally and these travel costs will not be covered, we try our best to keep these to when only necessary. 

Language skills & visa status: Candidates must be fluent in English. You must have the right to work in the UK independently, as we are unable to provide visa sponsorship.

Holiday:  22 days plus bank holidays. We close the office in the days between Christmas and New Years – this time is paid for all staff and is in addition to your annual leave entitlement.

Employer pension contribution: We offer a 3% employer pension contribution, that you will auto enrol for after 3 months of employment with SCN.  

Additional Paid Time Off: We offer 2 days of paid voluntary time off, encouraging all staff to serve as trustees or any equivalent voluntary positions to contribute to their communities.

Mintago: The health and wellbeing of our staff is very important to us. We offer all of our staff access to Mintago which offers a 24 hour support line, structured counselling with external support, and a bank of online resources such as webinars and articles tailored towards health and wellbeing for both you and the members of your family, and access to some types of legal advice. You can see their website for details. They also offer access to a 24hr virtual GP. 

Financial Wellbeing: The financial wellbeing of our staff means a lot to us. We offer the following to our staff to help them reach their financial goals:

  • Salary sacrifice/exchange schemes for groceries (and pensions will be coming soon!). Staff members can choose a set amount to be taken out of their gross pay (before being taxed)  each month, to be put towards purchasing groceries from all major grocery retailers. 
  • Financial wellbeing platform allows staff to check their pension dashboard, plan for retirement and search for forgotten/lost pensions. There is also a smart saver plan and we provide access to financial advisers for free.
  • Benefits app – retail discounts. Select from over 80 brands.


Start Date: ASAP

How to apply

To apply please fill out this application form. Please note that CVs, cover letters, and/or copies of the question outline will not be considered.

We recognise that AI tools are becoming increasingly prevalent in various aspects of professional life, including the job application process, view our AI use guidance for some points to consider.

Applications will close at: 11:59 PM, 16th March 2025

Hiring process

We strongly encourage applicants from a wide variety of backgrounds. We’re committed to our staff representing the wide variety of backgrounds represented in the communities we work with. If you are concerned that you may not fit 100% of the job specification – please throw your hat in the ring. We never put formal education requirements on any role, we value lived experiences as highly as formal education and training qualifications.

We follow a blind recruitment process, which means that hiring managers for the role can only see your work history and answers to application questions when deciding to progress to the interview stage.

If you need any accessibility accommodations for this application please do not hesitate to contact us at hello@thesocialchangeagency.org or by calling 0333 200 5837 and we will be happy to provide you with those accommodations.

Please visit our main vacancies page for our equal opportunities statement.

Using AI in your application

We recognise that AI tools are becoming increasingly prevalent in various aspects of professional life, including the job application process. While we neither encourage nor discourage the use of AI in your application, we believe it’s important for candidates to be aware of both the potential benefits and drawbacks. Here are some key points to consider:

Potential Benefits of Using AI

  1. Reduces barriers: AI can help individuals with disabilities or those who are not native English speakers in the application process.
  2. Guidance: Can provide suggestions on what you might want to include in your response.
  3. Feedback: Can offer insights on how you could improve your responses.


Potential Drawbacks of Using AI

  1. Generic content: Can result in similar wording appearing across multiple applications, making them feel less unique.
  2. Inaccuracies: AI is sometimes overly creative with facts and may provide inaccurate information.
  3. Loss of personal touch: Your individual experiences and personality might not shine through if AI is relied on too heavily.

Remember, the most successful applications are those that genuinely reflect your skills, experiences, and personality. Whether you choose to use AI tools or not, make sure you check your responses thoroughly and ensure that your application accurately represents you as a candidate.