Fundraising and Grants Officer

Blue Ventures is a marine conservation organization that puts people first. We support coastal fisheries in remote and rural communities to rebuild fisheries and restore ocean life. Our work began two decades ago in Madagascar’s remote coastal communities and is growing globally.

Across a dozen countries, we’re partnering with traditional fishers and community organizations to design, scale, strengthen and sustain fisheries management and conservation at the community level. We bring partners together in networks to advocate for reform, and share tools and best practices to support fishing communities across the globe.

We are seeking a Fundraising and Grants officer to support our fundraising team and ensure the effective delivery of a growing number of programs. This is an exciting opportunity to join an ambitious and growing team in a key function, with opportunities for travel, professional development, and learning from across our global programs. Reporting to the Senior Officer in the fundraising team, this is a full-time role, with opportunities to work with colleagues, partners, field teams, and communities internationally.

 

The successful candidate will be a motivated, proactive, and highly organised individual, with an excellent knowledge of administrative systems and/or grant management. They will thrive in environments that are dynamic, fast-paced, and ambitious, and ideally have a proven track record in communicating effectively and professionally, and managing competing priorities to meet deadlines reliably. Experience in the environmental conservation and international development sectors would be beneficial.

Assessment of applications will include candidates’ alignment with BV’s core values and mission to support human rights-based approaches to marine conservation and fisheries management.

- Supporting the Senior Officer in the Fundraising team with administrative tasks, including organizing meetings and reviewing proposals

- Taking ownership of the grant reporting process by collating and reviewing content for all reports and liaising with the finance team on information for reporting to funders

- Working with the UK Grants Manager to support institutional grant administration and grant management

- Keeping the grant management system up to date, including being responsible for all grant documentation is stored and updated in relevant systems

- Taking ownership of the grant lifecycle from start to finish, including at check-in meetings, kick-off and close out meetings

- Working with field teams to lead content creation for, and present the relevant grant processes at, grant kick-off and close-out meetings

- Being responsible for grant report deadlines, making sure they are up to date in the system, and ensuring they are promptly communicated to staff and templates are sent on time

- Working closely with the Fundraising team to ensure a clear set up of grants once they are signed

- Managing our supporter engagement work, including managing data, gift acknowledgments, and support with answering donor questions, queries, and due diligence

- Improve current grant management system to reduce error and increase ownership and effectiveness - including supporting Senior Officer with CRM database setup and ongoing maintenance

 

- Documenting lessons learned and liaising with the communications team to ensure information is shared from grant reporting

- Assist in promoting BV’s activities both internally and externally, by acting as a liaison between the fundraising team and the Technical Knowledge and Communications teams, sharing learning and information

The above job description contains the main duties and responsibilities for this position. However, in an organization such as Blue Ventures, staff members are expected to show flexibility in their approach to work and be willing to undertake other tasks that are reasonably allocated to them but are not part of their regular job description. Where any task becomes a regular part of an employee's responsibilities, the job description will be changed in consultation with the employee and the Human Resources team.

- Postgraduate/graduate degree (or equivalent) in a relevant feld and/or proven experience in rural development or environmental conservation

- Demonstrable practical experience working in community-based conservation or development in a low-income country

- Proven experience in financial planning and control, budget preparation, and management

- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, and ability to convey complex messages clearly in presentations, meetings, and written form, and to connect with people of all seniority levels and cultural backgrounds

- Fluency in written and spoken English

- Proven experience in grant management and writing

- Excellent organizational skills, an ability to marshall resources, and continually improve systems and processes

- Capacity to undertake research and development work independently as well as part of a team

- Strong technical reporting skills, and experience in preparing project reports for funders

- Excellent knowledge of MS Office, Google Apps, and social media tools (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Google Plus)

- Experience in the small-scale fisheries, marine conservation, or rural development sectors, working with institutional partners, conservation, and development sectors.

- Competency in French

- Experience in scientific report writing and preparation of research papers for publication

- You are committed to Blue Ventures’ mission and values, evidenced by a high level of personal and professional integrity, humility, and humanity.

- You demonstrate a strong bias for action and comfort with the uncertain; you are motivated to move forward, make decisions, and finalize details quickly once information is available.

- You’ve shown a willingness and ability to challenge the status quo creatively and productively.

- You have an analytical mindset and orientation toward measurement, outcomes, and continuous improvement and learning. You value others, and yourself, data-driven and consultative decision-making.

- You think critically and put a high value on offering and receiving constructive feedback and criticism.

- You’re a natural relationship builder and have a proven ability to work collaboratively with others in a complex organization, demonstrating professional curiosity, team building, and facilitation skills. You enjoy collaboration and have a genuine interest in learning from and developing others.

- You’re a people person who takes pride and pleasure in developing talent and creating safe, happy, productive, and engaging workplace cultures and environments for staff at all levels and from varied backgrounds. You crave building teams, finding talent, nurturing relationships, and tackling challenging people-related issues.

- You are a passionate professional who combines strong leadership skills with patience and a humble approach.

- You can engage people’s energies, hearts, and minds in service of a mission. You use exemplary interpersonal skills to establish relationships of trust and influence

- You’re detail-oriented and compliance-minded; you enjoy dotting i’s and crossing t’s

- You demonstrate excellent organizational skills, an ability to marshall resources, and continually improve systems and processes.

- You show self-motivation, flexibility, and the ability to work and thrive in a fast-paced, energetic, entrepreneurial environment.

- You’re trustworthy in managing sensitive situations and information; you are discrete, professional, and possess excellent judgment

- You are comfortable with a playfully professional workplace culture.

Blue Ventures is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of young and vulnerable people and expects all members of staff to share this commitment. We take a zero-tolerance approach to anyone who contravenes our safeguarding and protection policies. All candidates will be asked questions on safeguarding and child protection.

Applicants should apply online via Blue Ventures’ website by 26th May 2023

Please note that applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and first-round interviews may be conducted with short-listed candidates before the application deadline.

Mission: We operate at the frontline of some of the world's most pressing environmental problems, innovating effective, equitable, and scalable responses with coastal communities. We are recognized as a transformative force in our sector.

Working style: We're a fast-moving social enterprise, quick to embrace and implement promising ideas without bureaucracy.

Autonomy: We expect and support our colleagues to take the lead in their work, offering scope for creativity and strategic input.

Professional development: We challenge and support our colleagues to grow their skills, providing considerable exposure to different work experiences and training opportunities.

Adventure: We offer extensive opportunities for travel, working in diverse environmental and cultural contexts.

Family: We look out for one another as we work closely together in challenging situations, celebrating successes and spurring each other on when the going gets tough.

Above all, we listen to community needs, responding sensitively and pragmatically for lasting beneftsPassion & belief

Our mission is urgent and critical, we believe that our approach works, and we’re determined to get the job done.

We work in diverse and inclusive teams where all members have a voice and influence.

We work transparently and collaboratively to share what we learn.

Our mission is urgent and critical, we believe that our approach works, and we’re determined to get the job done

We’re resourceful and creative.

We’re prepared to take risks and challenge broken paradigms.

We have high standards and aren’t afraid to be self-critical. If something doesn’t work, we change tack until we’re on the right course.