Contract Type: Full time 

Salary: £45,000 per annum

Location: Sky Blues in the Community Offices, CBS Arena, Coventry

Working Hours:
Monday to Friday, core hours between 08:00 – 18:00
(37.5 hours per week)

Do you believe that sport has the power to change lives, and that securing the right funding is what makes that possible?

At Sky Blues in the Community, the official charity of Coventry City Football Club, we use the power of football to connect communities, tackle inequality, support wellbeing, and create opportunities across Coventry and Warwickshire. Every day our programmes make a difference to children, families, older adults, young people at risk and people facing disadvantage. Your work in this role will be what keeps those programmes going and helps them grow.

We are recruiting a Fundraising and Grants Manager to lead our income generation activity. If you are passionate about securing funding that creates real-world impact, skilled at developing compelling applications and experienced at building relationships with funders, this is a role where your expertise will be felt directly in communities across Coventry and Warwickshire.

Why this role matters

Our programmes only exist because of the funding that supports them. Premier League Kicks keeps young people safe on Friday nights. Walking Football for Parkinson’s gives people with neurological conditions a place to stay active and connected. Premier League Primary Stars and Inspires reach thousands of children in schools across our region.

Behind every one of those programmes is a funding application, a funder relationship and a compliance obligation. This role is responsible for all of it. The Fundraising and Grants Manager will shape SBitC’s income strategy, lead on bids to the EFL Trust, the Premier League Charitable Fund and a wide range of trusts, foundations and statutory bodies, and ensure we meet every reporting and compliance commitment we make to our funders.

This is a senior, strategic position with a direct line to the Head of Community and a meaningful stake in the organisation’s future.

What makes this opportunity unique

You will be based at the Coventry Building Society Arena, home of Coventry City Football Club, with access to one of the most compelling community stories in the EFL and Premier League. The breadth of our programmes across Sport, Health, Inclusion and Education means there is rarely a funding opportunity that does not connect to something we deliver.

You will work across all four of our strategic pillars, supporting programme managers to articulate the impact of their work and translating that impact into applications that secure the income we need. You will have the freedom to shape our fundraising strategy, build our pipeline and develop funder relationships that last.

The role includes a performance-related bonus. Once you have secured £200,000 of new income in a year, the bonus structure opens progressively, reaching up to 4% of base salary for exceptional performance. This is a genuine incentive that recognises the direct contribution this role makes to the charity’s sustainability.

What you will do:

Your work will shape how SBitC sustains and grows its charitable activity. The role focuses on four main areas.

Income Generation and Strategy

Leading our fundraising strategy across all four pillars, building and managing a live pipeline of applications to EFL Trust, Premier League Charitable Fund, lottery bodies, trusts, foundations and statutory funders. You will set and own our annual income targets and keep the Head of Community fully sighted on progress, risks and opportunities.

Bid Writing and Application Development

Taking the lead on all grant applications, from identifying the opportunity to submitting a compelling, fully costed bid. You will work closely with programme managers across our teams of: Sports Facilities and Community Assets, Health and Wellbeing, Social Inclusion and Community Cohesion and Participation and Education Training and Employment; to build the evidence base, and you will ensure every application we submit reflects the quality and ambition of the work we do.

Funder Relationships and Stewardship

Acting as SBitC’s primary contact for our key funders, attending meetings, representing the charity at external forums, and managing every relationship with the professionalism and consistency that builds long-term trust. You will develop a stakeholder engagement plan that ensures no funder relationship is left to chance.

Reporting, Compliance and Impact

Ensuring we meet every funder reporting obligation on time and to the required standard. You will maintain a reporting calendar, oversee financial returns to funders in partnership with our Financial Coordinator, and work with programme teams to capture the impact data that makes our next application stronger than the last.