Grants & learning officer

Deadline for applications: 24th November 2025 at 9.00am

Salary: £35,327 per annum, pro rata

Contract: Fixed-term contract to 31st March 2027, full-time (37.5 hours per week), we operate a blended working approach where you will be required to work in the office two days a week, Wednesday & one other day tbc

Play a key role in funding the next generation of grassroots music projects helping hundreds of young artists and organisations thrive.

As a grants and learning officer, you’ll be helping us to deliver our ambitious, nationwide grants programme. We currently support over 500 grassroots organisations and 18-30 year old creatives, and have a busy grants cycle to manage, alongside ever-increasing numbers of applications. This year, we’re building and migrating to a new grants database and you’ll play an integral role on the project team. In addition, you’ll manage an assigned portfolio of grants, and help with all aspects of the funding cycle. You’ll support applicants and funded partners, make funding recommendations, administer grants, provide feedback and support, and visit projects.

First and foremost, you’ll be passionate about the work that Youth Music does. As a skilled administrator, you’re not fazed by planning, monitoring, reporting, and spreadsheets. You have an eye for detail. You’ve got good IT skills and working knowledge of how databases operate. With the development of our new database this is an exciting opportunity for someone who enjoys developing processes and working with data and detail.

You’re a collaborative worker who enjoys being part of a friendly team, as well as travelling on your own to build new relationships with a diverse range of people. As a grants manager you’ll have an instinct for what’s important – when to give advice, and when to step back.

Key Responsibilities

Grant Making

• Relationship management for a diverse portfolio of grants within allocated areas or specialisms.
• Maintain an up-to-date knowledge of the music/creative landscape and issues affecting your allocated areas.
• Provide telephone, online (e.g. Zoom, Microsoft Teams, webinars) and email advice to potential applicants.
• Assess grant applications.
• Make recommendations to the assessment panel.
• Efficient and effective turnaround of grants administration, primarily through our grants databases (Salesforce and Grant Tracker).
• Ensure data in the grants database is accurate and up-to-date, and support with data input, analysis and cleansing.
• Review grant requirements and ensure quick processing of payments.
• Undertake visits to funded projects and attend events.
• Provide advice and feedback to successful and unsuccessful applicants.
• Support the running and facilitation of events.
• Contribute to the improvement of Youth Music’s funding processes and procedures in line with the flexible funding principles we’re committed to.
• Provide support to others in the wider Youth Music team.

Learning and Projects

• Undertake project-based tasks as part of wider team or organisational project work.
• Specialist knowledge about assigned areas of Youth Music’s work or operations and produce relevant outputs to help us and others to learn and develop.
• Produce resources and content for the Youth Music community.
• Present information and learning to internal and external colleagues.

General

• Carry out all such additional duties as are reasonably commensurate with the role.
• This post will require travel across the UK, occasionally involving overnight stays.
• This job description is not necessarily an exhaustive list of duties but is intended to reflect a range of duties the post-holder will perform.

Knowledge skills & experience

Essential

• Experience of working or volunteering in music education, music industries, grants management, youth work or advocacy, education, or not-for-profit settings
• Familiarity with the funding process
• Experience of working in an administrative role
• Experience using databases and other software
• Proficient IT skills, including Microsoft Teams and Office (in particular Outlook, Excel and Word)
• Organisational and administrative skills, able to prioritise and work to deadlines
• Attention to detail
• Confident in decision-making and can work autonomously
• Ability to think creatively to solve problems
• Interpersonal skills and the ability to work as part of a team
• Ability to communicate effectively with different types of people
• A clear and persuasive verbal communicator with the ability to write in plain English
• Ability to build and manage relationships
• Analytical skills (you’ll be required to read and respond to applications and reports)
• Commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity and access (IDEA), with good awareness of accessibility and understanding of inclusive best practice

Desirable

• Experience of project management, including financial planning and management
• Understanding of the social issues facing children and young people today
• Understanding youth voice and/or participatory grant making practices
• Understanding of organisational best practice (safeguarding, financial health, governance, equality, and diversity)
• Understanding of the music education and / or music industries landscape

We welcome and encourage applications from candidates who are under-represented in the creative industries.

Please state in your application that you found this role through Creative Access.