Grants and prizes administrator

Closing date for applications: Monday 23rd June at 11.59pm

Contract: Permanent, full-time

Location: Bloomsbury, London, with the option for hybrid working

Starting salary: £25,500 pa, plus benefits

Team: Grants and Prizes

Start date: August 2025

The Society of Authors is the UK's largest trade union for all types of writers, illustrators and literary translators. It has been advising authors and speaking out for the profession since 1884.

As Grants and Prizes Administrator you will be trained on the administration of a diverse list of prizes, including the SoA Awards, Translation Prizes, and external prizes such as the Sunday Times Charlotte Aitken Trust Young Writer of the Year Award. You would also work on grants for writers, in particular the Authors’ Contingency Fund, the SoA Access Fund, the Authors’ Foundation and the K. Blundell Trusts.

In this role, you'll be joining a small team that gives out over £650,000 annually in grants and prizes to authors at all stages of their careers. We’re looking for an organised and attentive individual keen to learn about the mechanics of grant and prize administration, with an interest in charity management and the literature sector. Due to the nature of some of the grants this position requires a compassionate individual able to deal sensitively with enquiries and applications. You will be required to work on numerous projects simultaneously and so we are looking for a strong multi-tasker who is able to manage their time effectively.

Key activities

• Fielding general enquiries to the Grants and Prizes department by telephone and email.
• Registering, recording, and storing prize entries.
• Coordinating deliveries to/from the office.
• Updating entry forms and liaising with publishers to notify them of prize opening and closing dates.
• Helping to maintain the web pages for the Grants and Prizes department.
• Conducting prize eligibility checks.
• Assisting with the administration of the Authors’ Contingency Fund and Authors’ Foundation: processing grant applications, eligibility checks, dispatching applications and aiding with assessor meetings.
• Learning how to create certificates, prize booklets and PowerPoint presentations for awards.
• Assisting with the communications output for the SoA’s Grants and Prizes.
• Attending and supporting prizes events and talks.
• Writing departmental staff activity reports.
• Assisting with the SoA stakeholder nominations for HRH Birthday and New Year Honours.
• Updating grants and prizes entries for the annual Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook.
• Assisting with payment processes, ensuring the relevant information is obtained and instructions are given to the Finance team in a timely manner.
• Helping to research a diverse range of new judges.
• Involved in event planning for annual SoA Awards and Translation Prizes ceremonies. Helping to ensure that SoA prize events and ceremonies are accessible and inclusive.
• Any other relevant duties as required for the role.

Knowledge, skills and experience

• High accuracy and attention to detail is essential.
• Excellent organisational skills.
• Good time management skills.
• Good communication skills.
• Fully competent with Microsoft Office applications: Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint.
• Team worker with initiative and a practical, common-sense approach.
• Willingness to learn.
• InDesign skills and relevant experience are desirable, but not essential.

You will occasionally be required to work outside normal office hours, usually in the evenings for prize presentations. Time off in lieu is provided. There is also the opportunity to get involved with one of the SoA’s groups or networks as part of this role.

Benefits

As a progressive and ethical not-for-profit organisation, SoA offer a range of benefits to support your physical, mental and financial wellbeing. They are a London Living Wage and a Disability Confident - Committed employer. Benefits include:

• Flexible, family-friendly working practices
• Generous annual leave 
• Generous employer contributions to a stakeholder pension plan
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Employee perks scheme
• Private healthcare options
• Interest-free annual travel card loan
• Cycle-to-work scheme
• Death-in-service benefit
• Ongoing development opportunities

The office closes over the Christmas break. While the SoA gifts an additional day of leave during this period, employees are required to use their annual leave allowance if they do not wish to work during the Christmas closure.

To apply

• Log in to your Creative Access account or register today to apply for this opportunity
• Upload your CV and cover letter as one document (applications without a tailored cover letter will not be accepted)
• Once submitted, you can no longer amend your application, so proof-read carefully
• Do not contact the company directly
• Please email any queries about this role to Creative Access at this address: recruit@creativeaccess.org.uk

We welcome and encourage applications from candidates who are under-represented in the creative industries. This includes, but is not limited to, individuals who identify as Black, Asian, or from other ethnically diverse backgrounds, or people of any ethnicity who belong to the following under-represented groups: disabled people, people with the characteristic of gender reassignment, individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, carers and asylum seekers.

Creative Access offers programmes of training, networking and support specifically designed for people from these under-represented groups.