Grants and Funding Manager

SEI is looking for a Grants and Funding Manager to strengthen institutional and research fundraising across our global centres. Based in Stockholm, you will help teams engage funders earlier, develop competitive proposals and build fundraising capacity across the institute.”

The role

The successful candidate will play an integral part in our fundraising efforts. Together with the Business Development and Strategic Partnership Manager, you will drive implementation of SEI’s fundraising strategy, working closely with SEI’s leaders, centres and teams. Your primary focus will be institutional and research funding, complementing your colleague’s focus on philanthropic funding and strategic partnerships.

This is a strategic and operational role. You will help centres and teams develop fundraising strategies, understand funder priorities and engage earlier with funders and partners, and you will support them in preparing competitive proposals and pitches. You will also monitor the funding landscape, coordinate engagement with institutional funders and bring colleagues together where combining SEI’s expertise makes us more competitive.

You will analyse SEI’s funding pipeline and fundraising results to inform planning and reporting to management and the Board. Working with the Director of Finance and Operations, finance colleagues and line managers, you will help ensure that proposal processes and funding decisions take account of funder requirements, resource needs and cost recovery. With the Business Development and Strategic Partnership Manager, you will also lead internal training and capacity development in proposal writing and fundraising.

We expect you to shape this position over time by working with colleagues across SEI to identify fundraising needs, prioritize support and suggest new ways of working. Building trusted relationships within SEI will be key to your success.

SEI’s fundraising remains centre-led. As part of a two-person Global Fundraising Team, you will provide guidance, coordination and practical support, with more hands-on involvement in selected strategic opportunities. Centres and teams retain responsibility for their proposals, funder relationships and project delivery.

You will report to the Director of Finance and Operations.

Key responsibilities

Fundraising strategy and coordination

Together with the Business Development and Strategic Partnership Manager, drive implementation of SEI’s fundraising strategy, setting priorities and reviewing progress with SEI’s leaders.

Guide and support centres and teams in developing fundraising strategies and plans aligned with SEI’s priorities and relevant funding opportunities.

Coordinate fundraising across SEI where shared funder relationships or opportunities require a common approach, including engagement with strategic institutional funders.

Funder intelligence and opportunity development

Monitor institutional funding priorities and opportunities, alongside selected research funding calls relevant to SEI.

Support early positioning with institutional funders and potential consortium partners, working with relevant centres and teams.

Organize briefings and kick-off meetings for priority institutional and research funding calls, helping teams assess fit, identify opportunities for collaboration and agree next steps.

Support centres in developing opportunities with existing funders for continued or expanded funding.

Proposal and pipeline support

Develop and improve proportionate processes for identifying, assessing and coordinating funding opportunities and preparing proposals.

Support Project Leaders in selected strategic funding opportunities through advice on funder engagement, alignment with funder priorities and coordination across centres and with partners.

Analyse SEI’s funding pipeline and prepare forecasting reports for management and the Board.

Work with centres to strengthen pipeline information and forecasting, identify funding gaps and risks to inform fundraising priorities.

Contribute to assessments of how SEI should prioritize its own co-funding across projects in the funding pipeline.

Lead HQ proposal coordination and develop cross-centre proposal coordination in collaboration with SEI’s global leadership.

Conduct win–loss analyses and After Action Reviews to improve fundraising processes and inform priorities.

Fundraising capability and knowledge sharing

Lead initiatives to build capacity and competence in fundraising and proposal writing across SEI’s global centres.

Collaborate with Centre Directors and the Global Management Committee to design training programmes and update guidance materials on the intranet.

Develop practical tools, templates and shared proposal resources that help teams respond to different funder requirements.

Promote consistent sharing of funder contacts, engagement records and intelligence through SEI’s fundraising systems and in line with established instructions.