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Role purpose  

This role supports the Portfolio Management team to implement and draw learning from a range of activities which support community business to thrive, including investments in new ideas, demonstrators of innovative practice and pilots of new approaches. 

The Portfolio Officer will work closely with a small team of Portfolio Managers to provide project support across our activities, including administration, analysis, research and relationship management.  They will play a role in understanding what challenges community businesses across England are facing, and support the Portfolio Management team and the wider organisation to make decisions about where our resources can be most impactful, design and deliver effective projects, and learn from our experience in order to influence a range of stakeholders and to continue developing and refining our approach. 

Role responsibilities  

• Provide proactive project support across a handful of live projects, supporting the relevant Portfolio Manager to deliver our activities in partnership with community businesses and partner organisations. 

• Administrate grant and procurement activity, tracking grants and contracts, liaising with grantees and contractors and implementing grant and procurement processes. 

• Liaise with community businesses and other stakeholders such as policymakers, social investors and aligned funders in support of our past, present and potential activities, whilst ensuring our work remains grounded in the experience of community business. 

• Carry out research and analysis to support the delivery of live projects and to ensure the decisions we make and the activities we design and deliver are evidence-led. 

• Support the Portfolio Management team and the wider organisation to learn from our activities and capture our evidence, in order to develop our approach and to effectively influence a wide range of stakeholders. 

• Work closely with the Communications team to support communications on past and present activities and disseminate our learning through writing web content, drafting case studies and blog posts. 

• Act as the first point of contact for external partners, including community businesses and other funders. 

• Support the closure process for activities coming to an end, including grant closures, liaising with partners to collect evidence of impact, and disseminating our learning. 

• Support the ongoing development of internal resources, including a ‘toolkit’ of approaches to project design and delivery to ensure they reflect our latest thinking. 

• Work with colleagues across the organisation to coordinate payments, processes and project details. 

• Coordinate the preparation of proposals and updates for the Executive Team and Board of Trustees. 

• Embed and continue to review diversity, equity, and inclusion into our work.  

• Be an active and engaged colleague, taking part in support and learning activities. 

Organisation responsibilities 

• Embed and continue to review diversity, equity, and inclusion into our work.  

• Be an active and engaged colleague, taking part in support and learning activities. 

• Provide ad-hoc assistance to other team members as required. 

Skills and experience 

This role will need… 

Some experience of: 

• The community business or social enterprise sector. 

• Providing project support and coordination. 

• Service/user centred design. 

The ability to: 

• Work flexibly and fluidly, working effectively across multiple projects. 

• Build and maintain good working relationships internally and externally. 

• Write to a high standard and influence with written and verbal communication. 

• Maintain good levels of accuracy and attention to detail 

• Synthesise and communicate complex information. 

• Manage databases (e.g. SharePoint and Salesforce) and work across IT systems, particularly Microsoft Office. 

With a preference for: 

• Building relationships with others internally and externally. 

• Collaborating with others across the organisation and the community business sector. 

• Reflective practice and adapting to change. 

• Networking and connecting with others.