Research Grants Administrator

Outset Contemporary Art Fund (UK) is seeking to recruit a dynamic and experienced Research Grants Administrator to support the Outset Partners award management function within the team. This is a permanent full time position.

The Outset Partners Research Grants Administrator will work directly with the Director, Research Fellow and Outset Partners to ensure the effective administration of the Outset Partners grants programme. Outset Partners is a group of up to 15 internationally-based patrons united by a passion for the arts. Partners pool funds that create an annual grant-giving programme to international public institutions to support ambitious contemporary art projects. Since 2018, Outset Partners has provided over £1.8 million in funding to 29 international projects chosen by the Partners. 

This collective and collaborative funding process is facilitated by a leading independent Research Fellow. Driven by consensus and underpinned by open, respectful but robust dialogue about applications, the Partners work together to respond to and meet the evolving needs of the global cultural sector. 

As the Research Grants Administrator, you will be responsible for the full award management function, ensuring the seamless delivery of services, monitoring work in progress, and reporting on projects. You will manage a portfolio of research projects funded by the Outset Partners, be responsible for ensuring adherence to funding regulations, optimising grant administration processes, and working with successful applicants for the duration of their projects and beyond. 

You will report directly to the Director.

This role can be fully remote with working hours in GMT. The Director and Research Fellow are based in London and meet in person up to five times a year in preparation for key meetings. There are up to six meetings with Partners per calendar year: these are held virtually except for the Final Vote Meeting in October. You will co-chair and coordinate these meetings (details below). Some international travel will be required for up to three days in October each year when Outset Partners meet for final deliberations. Reasonable travel costs will be covered. 

This role will include, but is not limited to, the following responsibilities:

Project management:

• Manage all live projects for Outset - liaising with institutions on the status of the funded project and understanding the next steps.
• Monitor grant expenditures to ensure adherence to grant conditions.
• Maintain detailed project records, ensuring milestones and deadlines are met.
• Track progress on Outset’s network of previously supported artists and institutions.
• Ensure CRM is up to date. 

Grants Cycle Coordination and Analysis:

• Support the Research Fellow in coordinating the annual grants cycle, including: setting meeting agendas, analysing the grant proposals Outset has received; interacting with applicants to request additional information; producing indices; assisting with and editing interviews with shortlisted applicants; providing feedback to unsuccessful applicants; sharing insights and information with stakeholders.
• Assist with data gathering and analysis, including: generating surveys to garner Partners’ feedback on applications (which forms the basis of discussions at meetings); wider identification of trends or tendencies within applicants and applications; and feeding into wider conversations to identify Outset’s priorities in data gathering and analysis.
• Support the Research Fellow in the writing of an annual report, including data, images, fact-checking.
• Contribute to conversations with Partners, Director and the Research Fellow with suggestions on how the application process can be streamlined and improved.

Contract management:

• Raise timely invoices to funders.
• Coordinate financial reporting with bookkeeper, accountant and administrative assistant. 
• Coordinate all grant and residency agreements, from drafting stage to ensuring projects are adhering to their commitments through regular check-ins.
• Negotiate agreements using the guidelines defined by the charity, and in consultation with the Director and Board Legal Secretary. 

Stakeholder Management and Communications:

• Create ongoing stakeholder communications about supported projects to ensure Outset Partners and other external stakeholders remain up to date.
• Raise public awareness of the fund externally.
• Oversee Outset’s website updates, ensuring that project information is relevant and successfully archived.

The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope of the post.

About You

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

Essential Criteria

• At least three years of experience in a similar role. 
• Knowledge and understanding of research award management.
• Experience reviewing and collating large volumes of grant applications and distilling and communicating key themes.
• Track record of providing accurate, timely and accessible information to management and senior staff.
• Self-starter with demonstrable ability to work independently and remotely. 
• Ability to work effectively with multiple individuals and manage several tasks at once.
• Organised and determined, with excellent attention to detail and strong task-management orientation.
• Strong proficiency in literacy and numeracy, accompanied by exceptional attention to detail.
• Confident communicator, and comfortable picking up the phone and speaking to donors and applicants directly.

Desirable criteria

• Experience in the arts or philanthropic sector.
• An interest in current debates in contemporary art. 
• Experience with developing research grants administration tools, processes, best practices.
• Capabilities in Mailchimp, Capsule, G-drive, video editing software, Airtable, Squarespace, Wordpress.

We pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming. We embrace diversity and want everyone to feel that they belong and are connected to others in our community.

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the advert. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.