Project Manager, Operational Effectiveness (6-9 Month Contract)

November 2017

Dear Applicant

Project Manager, Operational Effectiveness (6-9 month contract)

Thank you very much for enquiring about the above post.

I enclose further details, an application form and an equal opportunities monitoring form. The application pack can be obtained in other formats on request. Application forms can be word processed or manually completed.

Completed, signed applications must be received by 12 noon on Wednesday 13 December 2017. We will contact shortlisted applicants by 5pm on Monday 18 December. If you have not heard from us by then, unfortunately your application has been unsuccessful.Interviews for shortlisted applicants will be held on Monday 8 January 2018.

The information you give in your application will not be held by us longer than is necessary and will not be used for any purpose other than to assess your suitability for the advertised post in accordance with the Community Foundation’s Data Protection policy.

Please include all relevant information on the application form. Do not send CVs, references or other materials as they will not be used in the selection process.

You can find more information about the Community Foundation on our website

If you have the experience and skills we are looking for, I hope you will apply and look forward to receiving your application.

Yours sincerely

Rob Williamson

Chief Executive

Appointment of Project Manager, Operational Effectiveness

(6-9 month contract)

Background Information

Overview

The Community Foundation is a charity that champions giving to make a difference to people’s lives in Tyne Wear and Northumberland, and across North East England. We focus our work on three things:

• Giving and philanthropy:helping anyone become a philanthropist through starting a fund with us or giving collectively alongside like-minded others.
• Funding and support:finding and supporting effective voluntary groups and talented people through the funds set up by our donors and partners.
• Knowledge and leadership:using our expertise and reach to benefit our communities by shining a light on vital issues, and working with others to make change happen.

There are nearly 1,800 community foundations across the globe. All are independent charitable organisations dedicated to making a difference to a particular city, county or region. We are the largest of 46 in the UK.

Our website has lots of information about our work and us and can be found at

Our governance and management

We are a registered charity and limited company governed by a high profile board of trustees, chaired by Fiona Cruickshank OBE. Individuals, voluntary groups, businesses and public bodies in Tyne & Wear and Northumberland are all eligible to become members of the Foundation. Members elect and nominate representatives to the Board. The full Board meets four times a year and appoints and delegates certain responsibilities to sub-committees and staff. The Duke of Northumberland is our honorary President and serves alongside our Vice-Presidents and Patrons who act as ambassadors for our work. The staff team of 22, led by our Chief Executive, Rob Williamson, manages the organisation. We have our own building – Philanthropy House in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne – a beautifully converted former Methodist Chapel which serves as our office and space for meetings and events

Funding, philanthropy and leadership

By total annual grant-making the Community Foundation is the largest independent funder serving Tyne & Wear and Northumberland. We receive around 2,500 applications a year. In the financial year to March 2017, the Foundation awarded £6.8m through 1,509 grants. The

Individuals, families and companies set up philanthropic funds at the Foundation to support causes they care about. In almost all cases, major donors are introduced to us through someone they know, and sometimes through a professional advisor. We handle all the administration and advise donors to ensure their giving is effective. Most funds are held within our endowment but we also manage gifts given and used annually. Many funds are donor advised, meaning there is an active relationship with one or more people – sometimes a panel – who are involved in recommending groups to support from a fund. Other donors have specified a field of interest (which might be a beneficiary group or a place) and allow the Foundation discretion to award grants accordingly. We match grant applications to relevant funds, but we also have specific calls for applications where appropriate. Our Vital Community funds are entirely unrestricted and we use them to support priorities linked to those in our Vital Signs reports.

The Foundation also works with public and charitable funding partners who rely on our expertise to deliver their aims in our area. Our work includes promoting funding opportunities, acting as a local referral route for applicants, grant assessment and running devolved grant programmes. Our partners include Newcastle and Gateshead Councils, Henry Smith Charity, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation, Northstar Foundation, the Ridley Family Charity, Comic Relief and the 1989 Willan Charitable Trust.

Operations

The Chief Finance and Operating Officer is responsible for the organisation’s finance, operations, HR and asset management. She leads a small team working to provide effective administration, systems and customer service to underpin the Foundation’s work. Their role includes administering grant applications and awards, purchase ordering and invoicing, processing donations, arranging and serving events and meetings, co-ordinating mailings and providing ICT and premises support. We use an operating/CRM system, FIMS (Foundation Information Management System), designed for community foundations in the US provided by Microedge, now part of Blackbaud. FIMS modules covercontacts, gifts, grants and finance. Our PCs have recently been updated to run Office 365.

The project

The Foundation has ambitious plans for growth – aiming to grow our endowment to £100m and be awarding £10m a year in grants by 2025. Greater efficiency is critical to meeting these ambitions. It is unfeasible to add extra staff capacity every time we add a new fund set up by a donor, or agree to run a new grants programme. We need to be able to use our existing capacity better and ensure, when we are in a position to add to our headcount, that we focus on the right skills and expertise.

The Board has decided to invest in a dedicated, time-limited transformation project to develop and implement changes that will increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our systems, processes and ways of working. This will include looking at current functions, engaging staff in change and evaluating digital products to help productivity.

The role

We are seeking a suitably experienced person to manage this project for a fixed term. We are anticipating appointing someone as a member of full-time staff for a fixed term. However, we are open to discussing other options, including secondment (paid or pro-bono) and offering the role on a freelance contract.

Closing date: 12 noon, Wednesday 13 December 2017

Interviews to be held Monday 8 January 2018

Project Manager, Operational Effectiveness

The purpose of the Project Manager role is to develop and manage a time-limited change programme that will transform the efficiency of the Community Foundation’s operations.

Accountable to:Chief Finance and Operating Officer

Duties

Systems review

• Analyse operational problems and opportunities, taking into consideration risks, resources and dependencies across organisation functions.
• Review operating system requirements and assess viability of current products against alternatives. Present options and implement next steps as agreed.
• Review options for, then plan and introduce new software and applications to augment internal communications, data processing and internal/external access.
• Review options for, then plan and introduce new ICT hardware as agreed.
• Identify efficiencies in production of reports and grant assessment processes.

Project management

• Plan and manage systems changes and performance improvement areas as agreed.
• Work with functional leads to drive adoption and embedding of new systems and practices.
• Maintain effective relationships with third-party providers involved in projects as required.
• Provide quality assurance and service excellence throughout the change process.
• Oversee finance and administrative staff involvement in project.

Organisational and team development

• Review skills, competencies and remits in the finance and administration function, ensuring effective delivery of roles at the appropriate level of capability and responsibility.
• Engage staff through change management approaches that generate buy-in and accountability for systems improvements and foster effective team working.
• Train staff on new policies, protocols and processes.
• Assist in space planning and ongoing facilities management.

Skills, knowledge and competencies

Essential

• Experience of designing and implementing similar change projects around people, processes, systems and data in a similarly-sized organisation.
• Digitally savvy, with wide experience and understanding of office productivity applications including CRM systems and Microsoft Office packages.
• Understanding of requirements around data protection.
• Results-oriented, with excellent project management track record.
• Able to hit the ground running and gain detailed understanding of the Foundation’s operations.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with a proven ability to engage colleagues at all levels, sell change and work well within a team.

• Strong commitment to the values of the Community Foundation, including equal opportunities.

Desirable:

• Experience of working with or in a funding organisation such as a grant-making trust, lottery distributor or in a business-financing environment.
• An understanding of charities and their regulation.

Terms and Conditions

1 Remuneration

Salary in the range £31,000 to £34,000pro rata for a fixed term for six to nine months. We will consider alternative arrangements e.g. a secondment, negotiable on appropriate terms.

2 Pension

For employees, the Community Foundation makes a matching contribution of 6% of staff contributions of 5%. From April 2017 the Community Foundation operates an auto-enrolment policy.

3Hours

35-hour working week normally based on a 9am-5pm working day with one hour for lunch.

The postholder may be required to attend Community Foundation events in the evening and/or work additional hours on occasion to accommodate work demands. Such overtime is voluntary and is paid at the normal salary rate.

4Leave

For employees 25 days a year pro rata plus public holidays.

5Probation

The post is subject to a one-month probationary period.

6Offices

The Community Foundation has spacious offices in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne which are accessible for disabled people. The offices are non-smoking.

7Travel

The office has excellent public transport links and there is on-site staff parking which is available by arrangement.

The Community Foundation will pay business travel expenses and post holders would require business travel insurance if they use their own vehicle on company business

Equality and diversity

Community Foundation is committed to promoting equality of opportunity for all staff and job applicants. We aim to create a working environment in which all individuals are able to make best use of their skills, free from discrimination or harassment, and in which all decisions are based on merit. We do not discriminate against staff on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation (protected characteristics).

We ask that you include all relevant information on this form

Please do not send CVs or references

Post applied for: PROJECT MANAGER, OPERATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS
SECTION 1 – PERSONAL DETAILS
The information in this section will NOT be used in the shortlisting process
Name:
Address:
Post code:
Home telephone: / Work telephone: (if convenient)
Email:
Support Needs
Do you have any support needs if asked to attend an interview? Yes No
If yes please give details below - e.g. use of an interpreter, wheelchair accessibility:
Are you entitled to work in the UK? Yes No
Declaration
I declare that the information on this form is true and complete. I understand that any wilful mis-statement or omission renders me liable to dismissal if engaged.
Signature: / Date:
SECTION 2 – EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
Please give details of your current or, if unemployed, most recent employment
Job title:
Brief descriptions of your duties and responsibilities:
Date started: / Date ended: / Salary:
Employer’s name and address:
Reasons for leaving or wishing to leave:
Notice required:
References:
Please give names and addresses of two people who we may approach for a reference. One of them should be your present or most recent employer.
It is company policy to request references for candidates who are shortlisted. Please indicate clearly if you do notwish a particular referee to be contacted prior to interview
Name: / Name:
Job title: (if applicable) / Job title: (if applicable)
Address: / Address:
Telephone: / Telephone:
Contact prior to interview? Yes No / Contact prior to interview? Yes No
Previous employment history
Please duplicate this sheet if more space is required and include paid and voluntary work
Dates / Employer’s name and address / Job title / Salary / Brief description of main duties / Reason for leaving
SECTION 3 – EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Please start with the most recent secondary school attended
Dates / School / Qualifications
Dates / University / College / Qualifications
Dates / Further education or formal training / Qualifications
Any other relevant courses attended:
Details of any professional membership:
Details of activities relevant to the post applied for (e.g. hobbies):
SECTION 4 – INFORMATION IN SUPPORT OF YOUR APPLICATION
Why do you want this particular post? What qualities and experience do you think you can contribute? How do you meet the person specification? (continue on ONE separate sheet if necessary)
SECTION 4 – INFORMATION IN SUPPORT OF YOUR APPLICATION (continued)

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES MONITORING FORM

The Community Foundation is striving to be an equal opportunities employer.To ensure that our policy is operating effectively, and to identify groups that may be under-represented or disadvantaged in our organisation, we monitor applicants' ethnic group, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion and age as part of the recruitment procedure. We ask you to complete this form and send it back to us with your completed application.

Provision of this information is voluntary and will not adversely affect your chances of recruitment or any other decision related to employment. The information is removed from applications when received and before shortlisting, and is treated as strictly confidential, and not used at any time during the selection process.

Gender / Male / Female
Are you married or in a civil partnership / Yes / No
Age / 16-24
45-49 / 25-29
50-54 / 30-34
55-59 / 35-39
60-64 / 40-44
65+
What is your ethnicity?
Ethnic origin categories are not about nationality, place of birth or citizenship. They are about the group to which you as an individual perceive you belong. Please indicate your ethnic origin by ticking the appropriate box.
White
English
Irish / Welsh
Gypsy or Irish Traveller / Scottish
Northern Irish / Other White background
Mixed/multiple ethnic groups
White and black Caribbean
White and Asian / White and Black African
Any other mixed background
Asian/Asian British
Indian
Bangladeshi
Any other Asian background / Pakistani
Chinese
Black/African/Caribbean/Black British
African
Any other Black/African/Caribbean background / Caribbean
Other ethnic group
Arab
Prefer not to say / Any other ethnic group
Do you consider yourself disabled? / Yes / No / prefer not to say
Any information you provide here will be used for monitoring purposes only.
What is your sexual orientation?
Heterosexual/straight
Gay man
Other / Gay woman/lesbian
Bisexual
Prefer not to say
What is your religion or belief?
No religionBuddhistChristian
HinduJewishMuslim
SikhAny other religionPrefer not to say
Do you have caring responsibilities? If yes please tick all that apply
None
Primary carer of a child/children (under 18)
Primary carer of disabled child/children
Primary carer of disabled adult (18 and over)
Primary carer of older person (65+)
Secondary carer
Prefer not to say
How did you find out about this job?
LinkedIn / Fish 4 Jobs
Word of mouth / Community Foundation site/e-news
VONNE website / Otherplease specify

By completing this form you have helped us better understand how we, as an employer, ensure equality of opportunity for all.

Thank you for completing this form.