Overview
SENIOR FUNDING MANAGER, HUO FAMILY FOUNDATION
Salary: £60,000 per annum plus benefits. Reports to: Director of Research. Location: Mayfair, London. Contract type: Permanent. Hours: Full-time 37.5 hours per week. Start date: August 2026. You must have the right to work in the UK. Please note that we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role. Application closing date: 30 April 2026. Interview dates: during May 2026.
About The Huo Family Foundation And Its Science Programme
HFF is a grant-giving foundation based in London. Its mission is to support education, communities and the pursuit of knowledge. The Foundation’s current focus is in three main areas: education; the arts; and science. Since its inception in 2009, it has pledged over $100M to impactful projects in the UK, US and China. More information is available at https://huofamilyfoundation.org/. The Trustees are supported by a small executive team of six. The foundation has established and will continue to grow a multi-year research portfolio in the UK and the US on the effects of the usage of digital technology on brain development, social behaviours and mental health in children and young people. In 2025, we ran our first annual call and recently announced the outcome of these awards on our website. For our second annual funding round in 2026, we released an open call for proposals. We are now looking for a Senior Funding Manager to join the small HFF Science Team in a permanent role.
Summary of the Role
The Senior Funding Manager is a newly created role in the HFF Science Team. You will work with the Director of Research and the Senior Programme Officer to administer the Foundation’s science portfolio of grants schemes, awarded grants and related activities. You will manage and deliver the end-to-end grant application, review and award processes. You will act as a key point of contact for external liaison relating to the schemes. You will help develop and deliver events for Foundation grant holders. The role may require some domestic and international travel, including to meet grant holders for horizon scanning, monitoring and impact assessment purposes. You may also contribute to the Foundation’s wider portfolio of work and the delivery of our strategy.
Is This Job For Me?
This is an exciting new role within the HFF Science Team and would suit an individual with demonstrable experience of research funding processes and knowledge of the research environment and funding landscape. You will lead and deliver the full funding cycle with its complex priorities. Strong communication, analytical skills and attention to detail are essential, along with the ability to build trusted relationships and work collaboratively. You will be part of a small team, so a pro-active and hands-on approach to all tasks will be necessary; collaboration and supporting others are essential to success in this role. If you are organised, adaptable and keen to make a positive impact on world-class research, we’d love to hear from you.
Key Responsibilities
- Take a leading role on managing a diverse grant portfolio from pre-application to post-award, ensuring robust due diligence, clear communication with applicants, high-quality committee preparation, supporting good governance and decision-making, and smooth implementation of funding decisions.
- Provide proactive and collaborative funding operations support to the Science Team and other HFF colleagues.
- Lead, coordinate and deliver funding schemes and calls, setting timelines and workflows, and managing all aspects of associated funding committees to enable efficient, well governed decision making.
- Act as a trusted advisor, offering guidance to applicants and colleagues on funding policies, applicant eligibility, assessment processes, allowable costs and best practice.
- Oversee, coordinate and deliver high quality peer review and governance, selecting appropriate expert reviewers, managing conflicts of interest, ensuring timely and transparent assessments.
- Ensure effective post-award grant management and continuous improvement, resolving complex queries, assessing change requests, monitoring compliance and progress, and contributing to process enhancements that support high quality funding operations.
- Partake in monitoring and impact assessment purposes – annual reports, end of grant reports, etc.
- Liaise with other funding organisations, as appropriate, for example, on the operation of joint funding schemes.
- Contribute to the HFF Science’s wider activities, which may include developing and delivering events for HFF grant holders such as a mini conference or workshop. This may require some domestic and international travel.
- Contribute to the Foundation’s wider portfolio of work, including drafting and providing information for papers for meetings of the HFF Trustees.
- Perform any other duties that might be reasonably expected, and which are commensurate with this level of post.
Education/Qualifications/Knowledge (essential)
- Educated to Bachelor’s degree standard (or equivalent) in a relevant science or public health subject
- A strong understanding of academic research activities in science
- An excellent understanding of procedures and best practice in research funding
Education/Qualifications/Knowledge (desirable)
- Educated to Master’s or PhD standard (or equivalent) in a relevant science or public health subject
Skills (essential)
- Skilled team worker
- Highly numerate with strong analytical skills
- Excellent organisational skills
- Excellent communication (oral and written) and interpersonal skills
- Good IT (e.g. Microsoft suite, ChatGPT, and online databases) and presentation skills
- Robust stakeholder management skills – ability to quickly build and maintain the trust of internal and external stakeholders at all levels of seniority
Experience (essential)
- Proven experience (at least five years) as a funding manager or similar role; experience of delivering research funding processes; extensive experience of using a grants management system; experience of planning, leading and delivering projects; connections and links to other funders and peers across the sector
Experience (desirable)
- Extensive experience of the Flexigrant grants management system
Key Staff Policies And Benefits
- Annual leave allowance of 28 days per year plus bank holidays
- 10% employer contributions through the Foundation’s pension scheme
- Private medical insurance and travel insurance
- Health cash plan
- Life insurance
- Flexible and hybrid working is possible
- Team away days and opportunities to engage with events and activities in the cultural sector
- Onsite breakfast and lunch
How To Apply
Please submit by the deadline via email to science@huofamilyfoundation.org an up-to-date CV, including information on your notice period for your current job, and answer the two application questions below to demonstrate that you meet the minimum requirements for the role.
Minimum Criteria
- Experience of academic research environments and educated to at least degree level in a relevant science or public health subject.
- Previous experience as a funding manager or equivalent role in a research funding organisation.
- Extensive experience of using a grants management system.
- In relation to the funding of research, excellent organisational skills with the ability to prioritise and manage large workloads, and work to deadlines.
- In relation to the funding of research, strong verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to summarize complex information, and tailor it for specific audiences.
- Excellent stakeholder management skills - ability to quickly build the trust of internal and external stakeholders.
Application Questions
- Using examples, outline how you meet the minimum criteria for this role (up to 500 words).
- Provide specific details of up to two different initiatives or projects you have been directly involved in that are relevant to this role. For each activity, please use up to 250 words to describe your role, the purpose of the activity, and your major contributions.
Ahead of applying, if you have any questions about the role and/or would like an informal chat about the position, please contact the HFF Science Team on science@huofamilyfoundation.org.
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