Candidate Specification

IGL Fundraising & Business Development Officer

Join us to help unlock the resources and partnerships to scale IGL’s global work and impact on innovation and productivity

About the Innovation Growth Lab

The Innovation Growth Lab (IGL) is a global policy lab dedicated to fostering productive, inclusive, and sustainable economies through the application of innovative policy ideas, experimentation, data and evidence. We partner with policymakers, researchers, practitioners, and funders worldwide to address key challenges in science, innovation, entrepreneurship, and business productivity policies.

IGL is a non-profit initiative hosted by Nesta, the UK Innovation Foundation, and the Barcelona School of Economics (BSE). Launched in 2014, IGL has become the global leader in this nascent field, achieved substantial policy impact across the OECD, and helped advance the experimentation agenda in this policy space. 

We’ve helped over 50 government agencies worldwide to become more experimental, engaged with policymakers from over 45 countries at multiple levels (from EU finance ministers at the Eurogroup to junior changemakers within ministries and innovation agencies), successfully campaigned for the creation of experimentation funds in the UK and the EU, and seeded a growing global community of policymakers, practitioners and researchers engaged in policy experimentation in this field, collaborating with over 120 organisations to advance this agenda. 

Following our recent strategy review, IGL is seeking to grow its work with an ambitious policy agenda to impact policymaking across the OECD and the launch of several initiatives to address key policy challenges related to science, innovation and productivity. 

See www.innovationgrowthlab.org to learn more about our work.

Position overview

We are looking for a Fundraising & Business Development Officer to help us deliver our ambitious strategy, ensuring that IGL has the resources and partnerships to grow our work and make a positive impact on science, innovation and productivity growth across the OECD and beyond. This is a new role with the opportunity to shape it, develop it and grow with it.

This new role will play a key part in identifying and developing a diverse portfolio of funding opportunities. IGL’s work is funded through a combination of funding sources, including membership contributions from our government partners, philanthropic funding from international foundations, competitive research grants from public research funders, and procurement contracts. This role offers the opportunity to engage with and build your experience with very different types of funding models, building strong relationships with governments and philanthropic funders worldwide.

This role will work closely with IGL’s Director and the broader team to expand IGL's funding pipeline across core funding, programmes, and projects. You'll not only identify and evaluate potential funding opportunities, but also lead the development of compelling proposals that articulate the value and impact of our initiatives. 

You will be responsible for managing the entire funding opportunity pipeline, from initial research to final submission, ensuring that IGL maximises its potential to secure critical resources and partnerships.

Your ability to cultivate and leverage strong funder relationships, alongside your skills in proposal development, will be key to your professional success and satisfaction in this role.

We seek an ambitious, proactive individual who excels at building relationships, can spot opportunities that others miss, and thrives on the challenge of securing funding for impactful programmes. You will have an exceptional ability to read between the lines to understand funders' motivations and creatively translate our priorities into persuasive narratives that align with their interests.

If you are a highly organised, detail-oriented professional with a passion for IGL’s mission and a proven track record in proposal development and relationship management, we encourage you to apply. 

At IGL, you'll join a collaborative and intellectually stimulating environment where your relationship-building and fundraising efforts directly support cutting-edge research initiatives and shape the future of innovation and productivity policies across the OECD. You'll leverage your entrepreneurial spirit and expertise to empower IGL to achieve its ambitious goals, making a tangible impact on the global stage.

Key Responsibilities

• Proactively research and identify prospective funding opportunities from a variety of sources and open calls, aligning with IGL's strategic priorities across projects, programmes, and core funding.

• Help develop relationships with potential government and philanthropic funders, identifying opportunities for collaboration that advance IGL’s mission and are aligned with the funders’ priorities.

• Work with IGL’s Director and the leadership team to develop our fundraising strategy and coordinate its execution to deliver on our fundraising targets.

• Maintain a comprehensive and up-to-date database of prospective donors and funding opportunities, tracking engagement and proposal pipeline progress.

• Conduct initial screening of funding opportunities to assess suitability and strategic fit for IGL, filtering opportunities to maximise the team's focus on high-potential prospects.

• Regularly inform of new funding opportunities, providing timely and concise summaries and assessments of their relevance to IGL.

• Lead the full proposal development for projects including setting up and coordinating bid and proposal teams, assigning roles and responsibilities, structuring proposals in alignment with funder guidelines, coordinating and significantly contributing to the development of proposal content - including budgeting. 

• Collaborate with our Policy team to create materials, such as case studies, impact reports, and presentations, that effectively communicate the value of our work to potential funders.

• Liaise with Operations teams to support the submission process of all required documentation for proposals and bids, adhering to funder deadlines and compliance requirements.

Skills and Experience

• 3-5 years (or more) of proven experience in fundraising and/or business development roles within think tanks, foundations, universities, non-profits or similar organisations, utilising various funding models (e.g., EU competitive research funding calls, relationship-based fundraising from philanthropies and corporates, public procurement, consultancy contracts, etc). Candidates with less experience will be considered if they can clearly demonstrate a successful track record of coordinating and significantly contributing to winning proposal submissions for major funders.

• Demonstrated ability to cultivate and maintain strong relationships with diverse stakeholders through active listening, engaging communication, and consistent follow-up.

• Proven experience in Operations or Project Management roles, demonstrating strong organisational and coordination skills.

• Strong proposal writing and coordination skills, with the ability to structure compelling narratives and manage complex proposal processes.

• Excellent research and analytical skills, capable of identifying and assessing funding opportunities from diverse sources.

• Proven capacity to exercise sound judgment by gathering diverse information, critically evaluating options, and reflecting on decision outcomes.

• Exceptional attention to detail and commitment to accuracy, particularly in proposal documentation and compliance.

• Familiarity with the funding landscape relevant to IGL’s work, including private foundations, government funding, and open funding calls is a strong plus.

What we offer

Salary: Competitive remuneration commensurate with experience plus an array of benefits. Depending on the successful candidate's experience, we may offer a position at a different level.

Location: This role can be based in Spain or the UK. IGL has offices in Barcelona and London but this role can also be remote (within those two countries). Please note that for appointments made in the UK, employment will be with Nesta, while for appointments made in Spain, employment will be with the Barcelona School of Economics. 

Term:   Permanent   

Hours: This is a full-time role, but we also welcome applications from candidates seeking part-time arrangements. We offer a range of flexible working options and encourage our people to take advantage of them. Many do. 

Making an application 

To apply for this role, please submit your application here before 08:00am on the 1st May 2025.

Interviews will take place w/c 12th May 2025. 

At IGL we believe that a diverse workforce leads to an organisation that is more innovative, more creative and gets better results. We want our workplace to be one where different experiences, expertise and perspectives are valued, and where everyone is encouraged to grow and develop. This means that when we are recruiting, we actively seek to reach a diverse pool of candidates. It also means that we are happy to consider any reasonable adjustments that potential employees may need to in order to be successful. We are open to candidates from a range of backgrounds - do consider applying even if you do not feel that you perfectly meet every requirement on this list.