Head of Funding

**Who are we?**

The London Marathon Foundation (part of the London Marathon Group) is one of the UKs major funders of initiatives that support people especially children, young people and underserved communities to lead active and healthy lives.

Were the parent charity of London Marathon Events (LME), whose event portfolio includes the TCS London Marathon and Ford RideLondon-Essex. Every year, after costs, the surplus generated by LME is passed through corporate Gift Aid to the Foundation, and we use this income to fund projects that inspire, increase and champion participation and diversity in physical activity in London, Essex and across the UK.

Since our founding in 1981, weve awarded more than £105 million to more than 1,700 projects that inspire activity. Being active looks different for everyone, and we fund a wide range of inclusive sports and physical activities from boxing to wheelchair basketball, street dance to seated exercise classes and play to Pilates so that everyone, regardless of their age, ability or background, can lead an active and healthy life.

Our values are integral to who we are, how we work and what we do:

- ** Impact** together we create positive change
- ** Innovate** together we enable new ideas
- ** Everyone** together we champion inclusivity
- ** Customer first** together we go the extra mile for all

Diversity, inclusion and wellbeing are at the heart of everything we do, and we want to ensure they are at the heart of our company. We strongly value diversity within our workforce and recognise that different people bring different perspectives, lived experience, ideas and culture to the company. This difference brings with it great strengths, including diversity of thought and innovation.

So, if youre ready to be a force for good, lead change and make a difference to society, keep reading.

**Overview of the Role**

Reporting to and working closely with the Foundations Executive Director (ED), the Head of Funding role is a senior position at LMF, managing the day to day operations of our funding and grantmaking work.

The Head of Funding will help oversee delivery of all aspects of our funding plan, including the design and review of our funding programmes, development of new approaches, and the monitoring and evaluation of the impact of our funding. They will be able to think strategically about our grant-making and our position within the wider sport for development landscape, and work closely with the ED to ensure our strategic funding plan fits within any wider group strategy and is aligned to our group vision, mission and values.

They will bring demonstrable experience and expertise from the funding and grantmaking sector, preferably with knowledge of sport for development and/or associated fields such as health and wellbeing and community sport. They will oversee a diverse funding portfolio that delivers meaningful outcomes and impact, and will be an experienced line manager effective in managing a high-performing team that delivers our funding effectively. This will include having oversight of our grants management platform and optimising our systems and processes to ensure effective and responsive grantmaking aligned to emerging developments and innovations in grantmaking. They will have an ability to horizon-scan and share insights and recommendations, thinking creatively to help inform the continuous improvement of our funding and grantmaking.

The Head of Funding will have a strong understanding of the governance needs and legal requirements of a grantmaking charity. They will be comfortable working with Boards, preparing reports and papers, developing grantmaking-related policies, and be experienced in risk management related to the delivery of our funding. They will work closely with the ED and the Finance Team on our funding budget forecasting and monitoring, and will be responsible for reporting regularly to the ED and when required to relevant Board and Committee meetings. They will act as the main liaison with our Grants Committee, managing the annual meeting cycle, collating and delivering Committee packs, and supporting Trustees to ensure optimal oversight and governance of our funding.

**Key Responsibilities**

**Funding & Grantmaking**
- To lead on the delivery and evaluation of the Foundations strategic funding plan
- To work closely with the Grants Committee on the effective annual Grants Committee meeting cycle, ensuring thorough oversight and governance of all our funding and grantmaking processes.
- To work with the ED and wider team on the continuous improvement of our funding and grantmaking processes and systems
- To lead on all aspects of the operational planning and implementation of the Foundations funding and grantmaking, ensuring effective and efficient processes and systems are in place to support our work.
- To work closely with the ED and the Finance Team on the long-term planning of the funding budget.
- To ensure that embedded t