Please find below a listing of current job openings with the Community Foundation.
If no listings appear, there are no current openings with the Community Foundation at this time and we kindly ask that you check back in the future.
Volunteer Community Panel Member – Role Description
Background
The Community Foundations for Lancashire & Merseyside operate as one independent registered charity and are part of a UK and international movement of community foundations that distribute community funding, including via grant-making, facilitating and administering community philanthropy, and contributing to achieving positive social change.
Community Foundation funding distribution has taken place in Merseyside since 1999 and in Lancashire since 2007, investing in total over £71 million in over 28,000 grants to voluntary and community groups during that time across Lancashire and Merseyside to support communities to be prosperous and thriving
We manage over 65 different grant funding programmes which support a wide variety of charitable activities. Particular areas of focus for our funding are children and young people, mental health and local place based funding.
Role
The decision making panel is a very important part of the funding process. Panel members have the very difficult job of deciding who is successful and who has to be declined. As well as being difficult it is also very rewarding as panel members have an opportunity to make an impact and learn more about what is happening in their community. They have the responsibility to ensure that funding is spent as per the donor’s wishes. CFLM values the knowledge, skills, expertise and experience that panel members can bring to the discussion as it can really enhance the assessments and aid decision making.
Time Commitment
Grant panel meetings can last 1-3 hours and usually take place during daytime hours, in person either at our office in Liverpool City Centre, a venue in Lancashire or sometimes over video call. We would anticipate that you would be invited to take part in two or three grant panels per year. Each Volunteer Community Panel Member will be asked about availability beforehand.
Before the grant panel meeting, a commitment to spend time reading and scoring grant applications during the week leading up to this.
Person Specification
We do not require you to have previous experience of making grant funding decisions. We are looking for volunteer panel members who have direct experience in the voluntary and community sector, either in a paid or voluntary capacity, delivering charitable projects and services who are able to contribute and provide advice from that experience.
We are particularly keen to receive applications from people who are part of diverse ethnic communities, from people living with disabilities, and from people who identify as LGBTQ+.
Further Information
Information regarding Community Foundation for Lancashire and Merseyside can be found at www.lancsfoundation.org.uk and www.cfmerseyside.org.uk
The Volunteer Community Panel Member role is unpaid however, we will reimburse any out of pocket expenses such as travel costs.
A panel member is to be independent and must highlight any conflicts of interest that arise, for example, if a charitable group were to apply to the fund which a panel member has links to.
If you are interested in the role, please send your CV (if available) and brief statement of no more than 500 words to detailing your voluntary and community sector experience and why you are interested in being a panel member. If shortlisted, Community Foundation for Merseyside will invite you for an informal interview to find out more about you. If you would like to apply, please send your expression of interest to james.proctor@cflm.org.uk. If you have any queries please contact James at the above email address or by telephone on 0151 294 4750.
