Introduction

Councils work in partnership with outside agencies to fund certain ventures. The person responsible for identifying potential sources of funding, securing their commitment and advising others is the external funding officer.

Work Environment

External funding officers are mainly office-based, but they also attend meetings at a variety of places outside the council.

They normally work a standard 37-hour week. In some councils you could work part-time and job-share opportunities may be available.

Daily Activities

External funding officers develop applications for funding by external organisations, such as Government departments or the European Union (EU). They provide up-to-date information on sources of funding and other resources – and know how to access them – in plenty of time for the council to formulate its proposals and develop funding bids. An external funding officer’s main responsibilities could include:

• researching and investigating possible sources of funding from external funding organisations and attending meetings with interested parties;
• developing projects that might be eligible for funding;
• gathering relevant information – such as objectives, criteria, deadlines – and presenting them to relevant council committees;
• developing partnerships between various sectors in order to access funding for multi-agency initiatives;
• liaising regularly with a range of departments and organisations including: other council departments, the region’s Government Office, voluntary organisations working in partnership with the council, representatives of the Single Regeneration Budget, the European Union, the National Lottery etc.;
• keeping and updating a comprehensive database of all external contacts and partners that relate to external funding;
• advising council staff and partners who are looking for funding on issues such as how to submit bids for National Lottery funding or European funding;
• setting up and running the matched funding application process;
• monitoring the progress of applications and writing reports.

Skills & Interests

External funding officers need to be:

• excellent communicators with good negotiation skills,
• good at giving presentations and reports,
• good organisers who can plan and prioritise their workload to meet deadlines,
• able to work well under pressure,
• IT literate,
• able to interpret and present statistical analyses,
• able to think laterally and innovatively,
• able to work on their own initiative.

Entry Requirements

Most external funding officers need previous experience of making external funding applications and may require a knowledge of different funding bid processes.

You would probably need a degree in a discipline with a significant financial content and would also be likely to need a relevant professional financial qualification, for example from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA).

Estimated salary range

£22,500 – £35,000 per year.

Please note that salary information is a guide only and there may be local agreements in place. For further information about salaries for particular positions, please contact your local council directly.

Future prospects & opportunities

There may be opportunities to progress to more senior financial and managerial roles in accountancy, auditing or budget monitoring within the council. There may also be chances to gain experience in other related areas of local government such as economic development and regeneration.

Related Occupations

Follow this link to view a list of all related occuptions in Supporting Your Community.
Alternatively, follow this link to view all career profiles placed in the same job area.

Further Information & Services

Chartered Institute of Public Finance Accountants www.cipfa.org.uk

Institute of Economic Development www.ied.co.uk

You may find further information about this area of work in your local Connexions service/careers office/school careers library – under AC, IA or IF.

What should I do next?

Look for current local government External Funding Officer vacancies in the following places:

• LGjobs.com - the official recruitment website for local government.
• Weekly, bi-weekly or monthly jobs bulletins produced by local councils themselves, available from libraries, community centres, town halls/main civic buildings and central council personnel departments.
• Local council websites.
• Local newspapers
• National newspapers – The Guardian is particularly well known for its public sector job advertisements on a Wednesday.

Find out about the council and get some work experience if possible by:

• Making the most of work experience placements arranged through your school, college or university.
• Contacting councils close to your home to find out about the work experience opportunities they offer.
• Talking to someone who does the job you are interested in – ring your local council to see if someone can spare some time.
• Making an appointment to see a careers adviser for more specific information about jobs and training.