Job Type: Permanent
Application Deadline: 13 June 2026
About the Fidelity Europe Foundation
The Fidelity Europe Foundation is one of four independent, grant-making
organisations, proudly supported by Fidelity International, which also supports the Fidelity Asia Pacific, UK and Bermuda Foundations.
Currently focusing on Germany, the Republic of Ireland, France, Spain and Italy, the Fidelity Europe Foundation focuses its grant making on organisations active in the following fields:
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Enabling children and young people to thrive (focusing on education, employability and youth development). Examples of organisations supported through this programme include: Joblinge (Germany); iScoil (Republic of Ireland); and Fundación Exit (Spain)
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Health and wellbeing (focusing on organisations that are delivering services to improve health and wellbeing that fall outside of the scope of state provision/areas of unmet need/prevention and early intervention - the Foundation does not fund organisations focused on health research or those that provide clinical services), and examples of organisations supported include: FoodCloud (Republic of Ireland); Progetto Arca (Italy); and Krisenchat (Germany)
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Arts, culture and heritage (the Foundation has a Programme Manager in post based in London, who leads this programme, working closely with the Fidelity Europe Foundation team). The Foundation primarily focuses on supporting visual arts organisations, and an examples of an organisation supported is Staedel Museum (Germany).
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Environmental conservation (the Foundation has a Programme Manager in post based in London who leads this programme, working closely with the Fidelity Europe Foundation team). The Foundation has a focus on land and freshwater conservation and access and connectivity to nature, and examples of organisations supported include: Rewilding Europe (Netherlands) and An Taisce (Republic of Ireland).
The Foundation’s approach to grant making is distinctive as it focuses on capacity building - helping strengthen the impact, efficiency and/or sustainability of charitable organisations (focusing on organisations with budgets of US$1m-$20m). By capacity building we mean enhancing the capability, knowledge and resources that charities need to thrive and effectively deliver on their mission. This might include investment in technology and digital tools, leadership, impact measurement, financial management, and scaling proven interventions. The Foundation is pro-active in its approach to grant-making and does not seek unsolicited proposals. It runs a highly interactive grant-making process. It takes pride in its holistic and intentional approach, and seeks to analyse an organisation as a whole, including its leadership and governance, impact, strategic/business plans, how it engages with the communities it seeks to serve and the wider eco-system, its approach to collaboration, operations, and financial management/funding model/sustainability - and importantly how any project proposed for funding will enhance capacity.
Our values of, integrity, trust, compassion, collaboration, and a deep sense of humility guide our grant-making, which is executed quietly as the Foundations do not seek public profile. To read more about the Foundations, please go to:
www.fidelityeuropefoundation.com
www.fidelityukfoundation.com
www.fidelityasiapacificfoundation.com
The post of Grants Manager will play a critical role in developing and managing a significant strategic portfolio of grants across the Foundation’s priority countries for the Europe Foundation, working closely with, and reporting to the Head of Europe Programmes. In addition to informing strategy, the role will primarily involve: pro-actively developing a pipeline of grants; undertaking in-depth due diligence on non-profit organisations and analysing their capacity building needs and anticipated impact; writing clear and concise proposals for Trustee consideration; monitoring progress and learning from grants made, and maintaining good relationships with grantees and peer funders. The post-holder will also interact regularly with colleagues working across the Fidelity UK and Asia Pacific Foundations. This is an exciting time to join the Foundations as they look to grow and develop grant portfolios, continue to finesse their grant-making strategies, and deepen their understanding of the impact of their grants.
The successful candidate will have in-depth knowledge of and significant experience within the non-profit sector in Europe, ideally having a combination of significant experience of grant-making as well as direct experience of working within, and/or acting as a consultant to, mid-large sized non-profits that are active in the fields of interest to the Foundations.
In terms of subject matter expertise, candidates will have in-depth knowledge and experience within the Disadvantaged Children & Young People, and/or Health & Wellbeing sectors.
Given the Foundations’ focus on strengthening the capacity of non-profit organisations, and in particular their financial sustainability/resilience, the ideal candidate will also have the necessary analytical skills and knowledge to assess and analyse organisations across factors such as leadership and governance, impact, financial health, business and strategic planning etc. They will also be adept at analysing how proposed capacity building projects will strengthen the impact/efficiency and/or sustainability/resilience of organisations under consideration for receiving funding.
How to apply
In addition to the submission of a CV, applicants must also send a cover letter of no more than 2 pages answering the following questions:
What are you interested in this role? Drawing on the role profile and person specification, what skills and experience would you bring to the role?
Title: Grants Manager, Fidelity Europe Foundation (full time)
Organisation: Fidelity Europe Foundation (the post-holder will be employed by Fidelity International and seconded to the Foundations)
Reports To: Head of Europe Programmes
Location: Fidelity International’s office in Amsterdam, The Netherlands (the post-holder will be required to be in the office 3 days per week, and available to be in the office/travel across Europe for site visits, as required).
The post of Grants Manager will play a critical role in developing and managing a significant strategic portfolio of grants - working closely with, and reporting to the Head of Europe Programmes. In addition to informing strategy, the role will primarily involve: pro-actively developing a pipeline of grants; undertaking in-depth due diligence on non-profit organisations and analysing their capacity building needs and anticipated impact; writing clear and concise proposals for Trustee consideration; and monitoring progress and learning from grants made. The post-holder will also interact regularly with colleagues working across the Fidelity UK and Asia Pacific Foundations.
Grants management:
Oversee development of pipeline of grants
- Pro-actively develop a significant pipeline of possible grants to ensure that grant-making targets for the Fidelity Europe Foundation are met and that proposals are well aligned to the Foundation’s strategic priorities.
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Assess concept papers invited from non-profits providing in-depth analysis and recommendations regarding which proposals should be taken forward to full applications.
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Undertake thorough due diligence on applications (involving site visits), effectively applying the Foundations’ due diligence framework, analysing an organisation as a whole (effectively analysing factors such as leadership and governance, impact, funding model and financial health and strategic/business plans) and assessing how a proposed project will enhance an organisation’s strategic ambitions and strengthen impact, efficiency and/or sustainability/resilience.
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Reflect on appropriateness/relevance of organisational and project goals for grant proposals to support monitoring of progress and impact, ensuring that measures are meaningful and ‘owned’ by grantees.
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Write clear and concise proposals with sound analysis for Trustee consideration.
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Peer review grant proposals across the Foundations
Portfolio management
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Develop and maintain constructive relationships with grantees throughout the grant-making life-cycle - from application to monitoring progress, assessing progress reports and learning from grants made.
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Implement Trustee decisions, working closely with the Grants Administration team to ensure all aspects of grants administration are processed efficiently.
Monitoring, impact and learning
Working closely with colleagues focused on monitoring, impact, and learning:
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Review grantee reports and undertake periodic meetings/site visits throughout the grant period in the interest of developing positive relationships with grantees, monitoring progress and learning from grantees and from the impact of grants made.
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Analyse the impact of grants, preparing related papers for Trustees, as required.
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Pro-actively connect grantees to facilitate shared learning.
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Support learning across the wider Foundations’ team so all Foundations continue to enhance their knowledge, strategic thinking and practice.
Grant-making strategy
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Working closely with the Head of Europe Programmes, contribute to the development of the grant-making strategy, undertaking research focused on Europe to inform strategy, as required.
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Keep abreast of developments and programmatic interests across Europe, tracking existing and developing trends (including the regulatory environment for grant-making in the region), pro-actively sharing knowledge and insights across the team.
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Build and maintain relationships with, and knowledge of other grant-makers that have shared interests.
General
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Ensure compliance with all Foundation policies, and effectively mitigate and manage risk.
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Ensure the Foundations’ grant-making database is kept up to date and accurate.
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Offer flexible support for the Foundations generally, as and when necessary, providing cover for other members of the team to ensure the work of the Foundations can continue effectively and without interruption.
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Represent the Foundations in a manner that is consistent with their values.
Experience and Qualifications Required
Qualifications
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Degree or equivalent experience (ideally in fields directly relevant to the role).
Knowledge and expertise
- In-depth knowledge of the non-profit sector in Europe and the associated policy/regulatory environments.
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In-depth understanding of legal, finance and governance issues and organisational structures in Europe.
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In-depth knowledge of at least one of the Foundation’s programme areas, particularly: Disadvantaged Children & Young People, and/or Health & Wellbeing. A keen interest in the Foundation’s other programmes is desirable.
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Knowledge of capacity building and how philanthropy can help organisations become more effective, efficient, sustainable and/or resilient.
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Significant experience of grant-making and/or undertaking due diligence on/analysing non-profit organisations (e.g. as a consultant).
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Demonstrable track record of working within/supporting the non-profit sector.
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In-depth knowledge of capacity/capability building needs non-profit organisations, including knowledge of the effective application of technology and insights regarding effective innovation that is supporting new business models, financial resilience and/or sustainability.
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Proven experience of analysing an organisation’s capacity building needs, including experience of analysing funding models, business plans and assessing the sustainability of organisations.
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A sound understanding of how philanthropy can be effectively harnessed to strengthen the impact, efficiency and/or sustainability of organisations.
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Direct experience of providing capacity building/organisational development support to non-profit organisations (desirable).
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Proven track record of producing clear, concise and insightful information for diverse audiences, including strategy papers.
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Experience of building supportive relationships with a range of non-profit organisations.
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Proven experience of developing effective strategies to enable positive social change.
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Established network across the non-profit sector, including with other funders active in the field.
Skills, abilities and interests
- Ability to think and plan strategically.
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Strong research skills and ability to analyse complex information/organisations and assess charitable organisations as a whole (including reviewing and analysing business/strategic plans, impact data and financial accounts and budgets), considering an organisation’s role and impact in the broader context.
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Ability to analyse financial accounts, management accounts, strategic and business plans.
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Ability to produce strong, clear and compelling written material to inform decision-making.
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Excellent attention to detail.
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Excellent administrative, project management and organisational skills and the ability to meet tight deadlines and work at pace, managing a diverse and demanding workload on own initiative.
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High standard of written and spoken English. Fluency in another language associated with the priority countries for the Europe Foundation is a significant advantage.
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Excellent communication and inter-personal skills - must be able to work effectively with a diverse range of organisations, other team members and key stakeholders.
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Excellent listening skills.
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Ability to ask insightful questions and make informed and sound judgements, engaging effectively with organisations throughout the life cycle of a grant.
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IT literate and ability to effectively use grant-making database (Salesforce).
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High level of personal responsibility, discretion, humility, and emotional intelligence with experience of engaging with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures.
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Empathic with an open and curious approach.
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An understated and collaborative style.
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Flexible, creative, approachable and diplomatic; with the ability to work with cross cultural and cross functional teams in Europe and internationally.
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Ability to get alongside organisations, allowing them to lead.
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Generous approach to knowledge sharing.
General
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The desire to bring enthusiasm, ambition, and commitment to the role.
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Commitment to the ethos and mission of the Foundations.
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Willingness to travel internationally, including some overnight stays.
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Evidence of commitment to work-related learning and development.
Appendix 1: About Fidelity International
Fidelity International offers investment solutions and services and retirement expertise to customers globally. As a privately-held, purpose-driven company with a 50-year heritage, it thinks generationally and invest for the long term. Operating in more than 25 locations, clients range from central banks, sovereign wealth funds, large corporates, financial institutions, insurers and wealth managers, to private individuals.
Fidelity International’s Workplace & Personal Financial Health business provides individuals, advisers and employers with access to world-class investment choices, third-party solutions, administration services and pension guidance. By combining our asset management expertise with solutions for workplace and personal investing, it works together to build better financial futures.
Fidelity International’s clients come from all walks of life, and so do its staff. It is proud of our inclusive culture and encourage applications from the widest mix of talent, whatever your age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, social background and more.
As a flexible employer, Fidelity International trusts its people to perform their role in the way that works best for them, our clients and our business. We are a disability-friendly company and would welcome a conversation with you if you feel you might benefit from any reasonable adjustments to perform to the best of your ability during the recruitment process and beyond.
Fidelity International Values
Integrity: Doing the right thing, every time, and putting the client first
Trust: Empowering each other to take the initiative and make good decisions
Fidelity International Behaviours
Our employees should be:
Brave: Challenge the status quo, be accountable and speak up
Bold: Act with conviction, encourage diverse thinking and keep things simple
Curious: Learn to do new things in better ways and encourage fresh thinking
Compassionate: Have empathy, care for colleagues, clients and the community
