Associate - Funding Approver (Adoption and Special Guardian Support Fund)

Mott MacDonald

Position location: Cambridge or London
Recruiter contact: Madeleine Phillips

This is a part-time position and working hours will be discussed during the interview process.

We’re a global engineering, management, and development consultancy.

Our purpose is to improve society by considering social outcomes in everything we do, relentlessly focusing on excellence and digital innovation, transforming our clients’ businesses, our communities and employee opportunities.

A fundamental part of this is respecting each person’s differences and striving to meet their needs.

Our values: Progress, Respect, Integrity, Drive, Excellence.

About the business unit

The advisory and programme delivery division delivers services to projects ranging in scale and complexity from a few million pounds to £20bn through a range of technical disciplines including programme management, project management and education and healthcare management.

Our social infrastructure portfolio is primarily a UK based business working in key sectors of education, public health, and social care. Our work stretches from running training courses attended by individual teachers through to managing the £46m Adoption Support Fund on behalf of the government.

Overview of role

Interested in working on a major social infrastructure programme that delivers socially inclusive services and positive outcomes?

At Mott MacDonald, we are dedicated to tackling our clients’ toughest portfolio, programme, and project challenges in order to achieve successful outcomes. We are excited to solve complex challenges that have a positive impact on the world, and we are always looking for like-minded people to join our team. 

The Advisory and Programme Delivery (APD) unit delivers management services in all the sectors that Mott MacDonald operate in the Built Environment, Defence, Energy, Water, Transportation and Education, Health and Care.

The Unit delivers services to projects ranging in scale and complexity up to £20bn, through the technical disciplines of Programme Management, Project Management, Project Controls, Scheduling, Cost Management, Estimating, Infrastructure Finance, Management Consulting, Digital Consulting and Education, Health and Care Management.  
 
The Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) is a programme we have been running for our client the Department for Education (DfE) since 2015 with ongoing success.  Over £350 million has been spent to support more than 129,000 service recipients from adoptive and special guardianship order families across the country to provide access to therapeutic support until March 2025.

As part of our programme team you will be joining a supportive network, who work together to achieve our programme goals through connected thinking. The Associate plays a vital role within this team, engaging with internal and external stakeholders, whilst assessing applications against the scope and criteria of the Fund. 

Job Description

We are looking for an associate to complement our wider Programme Delivery team and support the Programme Manager to achieve the programme outcomes. 

The role will involve working with internal and external stakeholders to assess funding applications.  We are looking for an enthusiastic and self-motivated team player with excellent communication skills.

What you’ll be doing

•    Utilise a bespoke IT solution to assess applications made to the Fund
•    Establish effective communication across the programme delivery team 
•    Monitor, investigate and respond to application queries, flagging for other team members attention and referring or escalating where needed
•    Attend meetings and share best practice with colleagues
•    Mentor more junior members of the team in the programme and provide sector expertise
•    Engage with the process of continuous improvement and support ways of increasing efficiency
•    Support the Programme Manager and other team members in solving programme-wide problems
•    Contribute to the evaluation of the programme at all stages and reviews
•    Report progress of assigned tasks in a timely manner

Candidate Specification
To be successful in this role we would like to hear from individuals who have worked in the sector previously, is used to handling high volumes of data, and has a good attention to detail.

You will be confident in liaising with individuals over the phone both internal and external and have excellent organisational skills with the ability to meet deadlines and work in a pressurised environment.

In return you will join a friendly and energetic team who work closely to support each-others work and take pride in providing high quality administrative support services.

Essential Experience
•    Experience of working with Local Authorities or Central Government
•    Experience of working with a range of stakeholders both within the private and public sector
•    Ability to create an enjoyable and fulfilling work environment 
•    Excellent written and oral communication skills

The application process
Read the information provided and if it sounds like the right role for you please apply online as soon as possible. Our online application process takes about 10 minutes and you’ll need to upload your CV / resume. You have the option to upload a cover letter, to help explain why you’re interested in applying for this role. 

Equality, diversity, and inclusion 

We put equality, diversity, and inclusion at the heart of our business, seeking to promote fair employment procedures and practices to ensure equal opportunities for all. We encourage individual expression in our workplace and are committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels they can contribute.

Accessibility

We want you to perform your best at every stage in the recruitment process. If you are disabled or need any support to enable you to apply or attend an interview, please contact us at reasonable.adjustments@mottmac.com and we will talk to you about how we can support you.

Agile working 

Happy to talk Flexible Working and how we can support your responsibilities beyond the workplace.

We offer some fantastic benefits including:

• Pension matched up to 7%   
• Life insurance 
• An annual professional institution subscription   
• Continuous development opportunities – because we want you to thrive  
• Agile/flexible working – because life isn’t 9-5  
• Enhanced parental leave; shared parental leave policies – for parents and care givers  
• Annual bonus scheme  
• Flexible benefits that suit you, including ability to buy/sell annual leave entitlement, cycle to work & interest free season ticket loans 
• Wellbeing support including access to an independent Employer Assistance Scheme, wellbeing champions and access to learning and support resources 
• Access to our Advanced Employee Networks which support our LGBTQ+, gender, race and ethnicity, disability and parents/carers communities 
• The opportunity to make a difference; learn more about our social outcomes

Apply now, or for more information about our application process, click here.