Head of Grants and Charitable Partnerships

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JOB TITLE: Head of Grants and Charitable Partnerships

DEPARTMENT: Foundation

LOCATION: London (Stamford Bridge)

JOB FUNCTION: To lead the Grant Giving and Charitable Partnerships department.

FOUNDATION: Creating positive change through impactful opportunity. An independent charity, Chelsea FC Foundation uses the power of football to better the wellbeing, futures and inclusion of its community. Chelsea FC Foundation is steadfast in supporting its local communities to improve physical and mental wellbeing, assisting those in its community who need our help the most and adding value by investing in the education and development of people’s futures. In 2024, Chelsea Foundation positively impacted the lives of over 10,000 individuals and is proud to align with Chelsea Football Club to support Chelsea’s community.

PLAY YOUR PART (Main Responsibilities):

• Grant giving: To ensure that CFCF grant giving is best-in-class, delivering real impact to those organisations we partner with.
• To manage our grant functionality end-to-end, including the pipeline of potential grantees, our governance related matters, awarding of grants and subsequent impact of our partnerships.
• To work closely with the Head of Philanthropy and Partnerships to ensure our fundraising aligns with our grant giving aspirations.
• To ensure our grant giving is aligned to CFCF’s broader strategy.
• Charitable Partnerships: To ensure our charitable partnerships functionality is world-leading, partnering with organisations who align to our strategic priorities for mutual benefit.
• Ensuring we partner with organisations who are considered experts in their field.
• To lead on the operational side of any Foundation-Club charitable initiatives addressing local need i.e. the Wrap Up Warm campaign we delivered in the winter of 2024.
• To lead and manage our charity assets team ensuring that our work & inventory is deployed strategically to best support our communities; local communities who are under-served, our past-players and our fans.
• To spearhead designing, delivering, monitoring and evaluating a best-in-class volunteering programme, ensuring that skills of volunteers are used to achieve the greatest impact for beneficiaries.
• Volunteers will encompass Foundation & Club staff as well as existing and new commercial partners.
• Leadership: To lead, manage and empower as a Senior Management Team member the broader Foundation team, including direct reports from the Grants & Charitable Partnerships department (consisting of five people).
• To work closely with the Impact Manager to ensure all work across the department is monitored robustly and is as impactful as possible whilst being aligned to the overall Foundation strategy.
• To demonstrate and live by the club’s values; Here to Win, Be Brave, Do the Right Thing, Play Your Part, Many Teams, One Club and Proud to Be Chelsea.
• To adhere to the club’s policies and procedures, including Health & Safety, Financial Authorisation, Confidentiality and GDPR.
• To act as an ambassador for diversity, equality, and inclusion, and demonstrate a positive commitment by treating others fairly in line with our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Policy and reporting any acts of discrimination through appropriate channels.
• To create a safe environment and act to protect all young people and vulnerable adults that are either in your care or attending club premises, and report any concerns to the Safeguarding Lead.
• To report any misconduct or suspected misconduct to the HR Department.

HERE TO WIN (Measures of Performance):

• Expansion of charitable partnerships and grantees, displaying tangible impact related to the Foundation’s strategic aims.
• Timely correspondence.
• Developing a high-performing team and culture.
• Ability to manage multiple work streams and requests, demonstrating good judgement to prioritise these.

PROUD TO BE CHELSEA (Person Specification):

• Experience: Proven experience in developing high-quality outcomes in areas of either grant giving or charity partnerships.
• Demonstrable experience in successful project management in a complex stakeholder environment.
• Experience working with or managing volunteers, preferably within a charity is desirable.
• Experience building and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders.

• Skills and Behaviours: Comfortable operating at all levels; this role will at times be hands on.
• Ability to work on own initiative.
• Ability to prioritise tasks and correspondence.
• Discretion and ability to handle confidential information.
• Strong attention to detail with good written and IT literacy (MS Office).
• Strong project management skills.

Chelsea FC and the Foundation is fully committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all children, young people and adults at risk (vulnerable groups). We therefore require all successful applicants to complete a DBS Check prior to starting employment. Depending on the role, successful applicants may also be required to undergo other child protection screening where appropriate.

This Job Description is not intended to be exhaustive; the duties and responsibilities may therefore vary over time according to the changing needs of the Club.