Social Investment & Innovation Advisor

At the Postcode Lottery, our purpose is to raise funds for good causes and distribute them in a way that is fair, impactful and rooted in long-term social value. Reporting to the Deputy Head of Charities, the Social Investment and Innovation Advisor will have operational responsibility for sourcing, assessing, presenting and then account managing social investments for the Postcode Innovation Trust. The postholder will work on a programme to provide access to concessionary capital to help high potential social enterprises scale their work and impact, advising the board of the Postcode Innovation Trust on where we could invest support from our players to have the greatest value.

The postholder will have knowledge and understanding of the not-for-profit sector and most importantly, the social enterprise sector across Great Britain. You will work specifically on the Sustainable Planet and Resilient Communities portfolios, which span environment, biodiversity & green innovation, along with employment, inclusion and community development. It’s crucial that you have a positive approach and the ability to lead discussions at the highest level. While we will always safeguard our players’ funds, we won’t shy away from being ambitious, innovative and unique in the way we fund. You will embrace and contribute to this approach.

As a part of the Charities Team, you must be able to support your direct colleagues as well as ensure that the wider Postcode Lottery team remains passionate about what we do and why we do it. Part of this role will involve assisting with the delivery of the Dream Fund, an annual competition that offers a £5m grant to a partnership of not-for-profit organisations to deliver a ground-breaking project tackling society’s most challenging problems. This is an exciting time in the charities team. The right candidate will have experience in social investment, account management and a clear understanding of the charity and social enterprise sector. You must be able to learn quickly and build trust-based relationships with our investees and charity partners.

Key activities and responsibilities:

• Manage a growing portfolio of loans to social enterprises and charities, including preparing detailed investment proposals and financial analyses for the Investment Panel.
• Co-manage the Trust’s grant and loan programmes end-to-end, covering research, application processes, due diligence, monitoring, and review cycles.
• Contribute to the development and delivery of Trust strategy, including attending Board meetings, providing portfolio updates, and supporting financial audit and bad debt provisioning.
• Collaborate on communications and stakeholder engagement, including producing media content, annual report copy, representing the Trust at external events, and contributing to sector discussions.
• Support wider organisational initiatives aligned to the Funding Philosophy, including special projects, charity engagement activities, events, and campaigns that extend impact beyond funded partners.

Key Skills:

• Strong experience in social investment, including supporting applicants through the full investment lifecycle from application to award.
• Proven ability to prepare high-quality papers for investment committees and boards.
• Solid understanding of financial reporting, business analysis, and due diligence processes.
• Experience in portfolio and relationship management, with the ability to build and maintain effective stakeholder relationships.
• Strong communication skills (written and verbal), with proficiency in CRM systems (e.g. Salesforce) and Microsoft Office, and the ability to contribute to funding strategy and programme development.

Desirable Skills and Personal Attributes:

• Working towards (or willing to work towards) a relevant financial qualification, with experience in the social enterprise, charity, or grant funding environment.
• Good understanding of social investment and enterprise, particularly within Sustainable Planet and Resilient Communities (e.g. environment, sustainability, employment, community development).
• Knowledge of investment legal processes and broader funding landscape.
• Highly organised, able to manage a complex workload, large portfolio, and competing deadlines effectively.
• Strong interpersonal approach: passionate about social impact, collaborative and independent working, receptive to feedback, and able to build positive relationships with a proactive, enthusiastic attitude.

Additional Information:

The core hours of the role will be 37.5 hours per week, worked Monday – Friday 9am – 5:30pm, working out with these hours may be required around event times, where time will be given in lieu. We anticipate the starting salary for this role to be between £48,000 and £51,000.