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JOB APPLICATION PACK
Trusts and Foundations (Grants) Manager
February 2026
OUR STORY
London is a fantastic city to call home, but a central truth remains in the capital. Every year thousands of young people find themselves unhoused, unsupported and unsafe.
That's why New Horizon Youth Centre exists.
Founded in 1967 by Lord Longford to address the needs of young people who were homeless and misusing drugs in the West End of London, today New Horizon Youth Centre continues to be a vital support network for 16–24-year-olds with nowhere else to go.
Through the services we provide at our day centre, via outreach and remotely, our multidisciplinary team of over 60 staff support thousands of young people experiencing homelessness in London to find safety, improve their wellbeing, develop skills for life and ultimately find somewhere that they can call home.
“For as long as young people are homeless and unsafe in London, we will be on a mission to give their potential a home”
For more info about our impact, please take a look at our latest impact report.
COMMITMENT TO EQUITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
New Horizon Youth Centre is committed to recognising and valuing difference and ensuring fairness and equity; and recognising and seeking to redress inequity and disadvantage wherever possible. We have an ongoing action plan to improve our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) practices, which every member of our organisation has a role in contributing to.
As a service provider to young people facing homelessness and who are unsafe, we aim to be an empowering, supportive employer and to offer as much flexibility as possible to help each individual realise their full potential as users of New Horizon Youth Centre and as employees. We believe that this approach is key and central to promoting and developing diversity.
We recognise that true diversity in our community and within the staff group also involves a willingness to act, where necessary, by combating the effects of existing barriers to fair and equal treatment. Within society certain groups are unfairly discriminated against – for example on the grounds of race, gender or gender identity, disability, sexuality, age and class - and are, as a result, disadvantaged in terms of their access to services and employment. We will, where appropriate and where possible, seek to positively redress the effects of this discrimination. Any action we take will be legally compliant and consistent with our approach of making young people and staff feel valued and respected.
We recognise that many people have suffered disadvantage and barriers to progress for all kinds of reasons related to them as an individual and not because of their personal characteristics such as homelessness, employment, economic or domestic circumstances, or involvement with the justice system. For this reason, our commitment to diversity includes being supportive, positive and open minded.
We encourage applications from all backgrounds in respect of ethnicity, disability, gender, sexuality, religion, and socio-economic backgrounds.
New Horizon Youth Centre is deeply committed to inclusive working practices, so during the application process we commit to:
- Reimbursing any childcare and other care costs whilst you are attending interviews.
- Reimbursing your travel costs to the office and back for interviews.
- Making any reasonable adjustments – for example ensuring we have a sign language interpreter organised in advance if you would like them.
- Offering a guaranteed first stage interview for disabled candidates who meet the minimum requirements for the role.
If there is anything else you are concerned about or think we could provide, please let us know.
OUR WORK IS GUIDED BY THREE VALUES:
We champion young people
We collaborate for impact
We are determined to find a way
BACK TO OUR BEGINNINGS: ROOTED IN OUR PAST, FOCUSED ON OUR FUTURE – OUR STRATEGY 2025-2030
With rough sleeping at record levels and more young people fleeing violence, there's a pressing need and growing gap for a specialist emergency response that can support young people in crisis and open up housing for thousands more young people in need. Rather than trying to provide everything ourselves for all young people until they turn 25, we can focus on being excellent at supporting young people to get the safe homes they deserve as quickly as possible, support with life skills and living independently and helping them create a future without needing our support.
By getting back to our beginnings we will lean on our unique heritage as the only youth-specific day centre and drop-in in London and continue our long and proud history of being here for young people who find themselves homeless in the capital. Doing so means making some tough choices about who we cannot support and so our focus will shift to those in more immediate need, prioritising them over those we have already housed and we will be more focused at moving people on successfully.
We will support every young Londoner in crisis to access safety, support and stability, then transition them onto independence. We will do this by providing: Successful Services, Productive Partnerships & Confident Campaigning.
Too many young people cannot get the housing help they need.
So we deliver high quality, trauma-informed SERVICES for any young person that needs our support.
We spend 75% of our resources on this.
We spend 15% of our resources on this.
This is complex and difficult work to do.
Because the government under-invests in young people.
Because the services that should help can’t or won’t.
So we need to sustain a WELL-RUN ORGANISATION that invests in staff and celebrates the diversity that makes us a success.
So we CAMPAIGN, saying what others won’t say and doing what others won’t do to ensure that no young person misses out, even the young people we will never meet.
So we work in PARTNERSHIP to optimise our offer and maximise our impact.
We split 10% of our resources across these two areas.
“New Horizon.
It might not be your home.
They might not be your parents.
They might not be your family.
But they want you to win in this world.”
Najma, 21
JOB DESCRIPTION – TRUSTS AND FOUNDATIONS (GRANTS) MANAGER
Reporting to: Head of Fundraising and Development
Responsible for: Grants Officer
ROLE SUMMARY
The Trusts and Foundations Manager will play a vital role in supporting New Horizon Youth Centre’s mission by managing and growing a portfolio of valued trusts, foundations and statutory supporters. This year, the organisation is on track to raise £4.9million, with £1.9million secured from trusts and foundations and £1.8million from statutory funders. In this role, you will focus on deepening relationships to secure meaningful, long-term support for our vital work with young people facing homelessness.
Exceptional bid writing will be central to success in this role. Crafting compelling, tailored proposals is crucial to securing funding in an increasingly competitive landscape. The Trusts and Foundations Manager must be able to articulate New Horizon Youth Centre’s impact in an emotive manner, with clarity, creativity, and strategic focus to ensure that every application not only meets criteria but also inspires them to invest in our mission.
If you're looking to expand your fundraising portfolio and gain hands-on experience securing six and seven-figure gifts, this is the place to do it. We’ve already secured over 50% of our total budget for the next financial year, and have a developed pipeline of warm relationships meaning our target for the year is well within reach. Whether you’re ambitious about raising serious money, developing strategic funding bids, or stepping up to the next level in your fundraising career, this is a rare opportunity to make a big impact and learn a lot while doing it. This will be a highly rewarding yet demanding position, where your expertise will directly contribute to making a real and lasting difference to the lives of young Londoners who find themselves homeless.
MAIN TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Trusts and Foundations
- Manage a portfolio of five, six and seven figure trusts and foundations, understanding their motivations and tailoring opportunities and communications to cultivate long-term, strategic partnerships
- Collaborate with the Head of Fundraising and the wider Fundraising team to strengthen, grow and sustain our portfolio of our trusts, foundations and statutory funders
- Research and identify new trust and foundation prospects, building and maintaining a robust pipeline to support income growth
- Lead on the development of compelling project proposals, setting budgets and collecting supporting documentation for large trusts and foundations
- Build and maintain strong, personalised relationships with trust and foundation partners, leading on timely and high-quality reporting to demonstrate impact
- Work in close partnership with fundraising consultants to deliver high-quality funding applications and reports
- Ensure all donor interactions, financial records and account plans are accurately recorded and regularly updated in our CRM system and shared files
Strategy and leadership
- Take a lead role in developing and delivering the Trusts and Foundations team strategy, contributing to planning, setting team objectives, and supporting the Head of Fundraising to motivate the team and drive income growth
- Provide proactive, supportive management to the Grants Officer, offering regular coaching, identifying opportunities for development and monitoring performance against objectives
- Support the Grants Officer to develop compelling project proposals and set budgets for smaller trusts and foundations
- Report regularly to the Head of Fundraising and Chief Executive, providing updates on progress, highlighting key successes and addressing any challenges in a timely and solution-focused way
PERSON SPECIFICATION
We are looking for an individual who can demonstrate the following competencies and want to use these to the full in their work.
ESSENTIAL EXPERIENCE, SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE
- Experience of securing and successfully managing five and six figure grants and multi-year gifts from a range of grant makers
- Experience in prospecting for new high value trust and foundation funders and soliciting new donors to make significant gifts
- Experience in writing compelling funding applications and impact reporting
- Experience in developing and presenting complex project and financial information to support compelling funding proposals
- Ability to compassionately and effectively line manage, or steward, junior colleagues
- Experience of successful cross department working with senior colleagues to deliver on funding objectives and budget
- Demonstrable ability to manage multiple competing deadlines and priorities, whilst maintaining high standards
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, particularly in writing proposals and presenting to or meeting with funders
- Proven ability to form good working relationships, both internally and externally
- A working knowledge of and commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion as it applies to a supportive service and in the workplace.
- Ability to assimilate strategic plans into compelling funding proposals
- The ability to work with complex budgets and present them to funders, and experience with using a range of budget management systems in the management of income
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Location:
The post is based at: New Horizon Youth Centre, 68 Chalton Street, London, NW1 1JR.
Contract:
The contract is ongoing, subject to successful completion of a probationary period.
Hours of work:
The post holder will be required to work 35 hours per week, Monday-Friday.
Pay:
The starting salary for the role is £37,024.
The salary scale is £37,024 (AP32) to (AP36) £41,600
Other benefits:
- 30 days annual leave per year (pro rata), plus bank holidays and some additional time off over Christmas
- Employer contribution of 6% to a group personal pension scheme
- Enhanced Employee Assistance Programme, including 24-hour helpline, access to counselling, contributions towards medical expenses, discounted gym memberships, high street vouchers and more
- Clinical Supervision and Reflective Practice
- Staff Loan Policy, including Cycle to Work scheme
- Generous Training budget and a Diversity Leadership Programme
- Regular Staff Away Days and teambuilding activities
TIMESCALES AND HOW TO APPLY
The timescales for recruitment are as follows:
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Closing date and time for applications |
9am, Friday 27th March 2026 |
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Shortlisted candidates will be informed |
6th April |
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Interviews |
13th April 2026 |
If you wish to apply for this position, you will need to supply:
- A CV setting out your career history, education or qualifications, and other key responsibilities or achievements (2 sides of A4). Please do not include your name, initials, contact details or references in the CV and the file name.
- A supporting statement (1500 words or up to 2 sides of A4) highlighting your suitability for the role and how you meet the criteria listed on the Person Specification. Please do not include your name, contact details or address.
The supporting statement is an essential part of your application and will be assessed for shortlisting purposes.
- Completed diversity and adjustment questions – Your data will be stored separately from your application and will at no time be connected to you or your application by the shortlisting panel.
To apply, visit our careers site: https://jobs.nhyouthcentre.org.uk
We do not consider incomplete applications.
You will be notified if you have not been shortlisted. However, we are unfortunately unable to provide each individual application with feedback.
If you have any questions or would like to arrange a call to discuss the role, please feel free to email us at recruitment@nhyouthcentre.org.uk or call 0207 388 5560.
nhyouthcentre.org.uk
@nhyouthcentre
Charity number: 276943
Company number: 01393561
Giving potential a home since 1967