Policy Advisor: Grants Officer

About the job

Job summary

The Civil Society and Youth (CSY) directorate aims to build a fairer society, in which government, civil society, and businesses are able to work together to tackle social challenges and build stronger communities. We are the Government leads for civil society responsible for a dynamic set of policy areas relating to young people, volunteers, charities and social enterprises, with over 100 staff based across the UK.

The Youth team is a high profile and friendly unit within this directorate with a vision to ensure that DCMS delivers the greatest impact for young people and their communities. In December 2025, the Government published ‘Youth Matters: Your National Youth Strategy’ alongside a State of the Nation report. It is the first cross-government Strategy for young people in England in 15 years. Youth Matters was co-produced with young people and the sector. It is a 10 year plan, backed by an initial £500 million from DCMS over the next 3 years, to ensure every young person across the country has somewhere to go, someone who cares for them and a community they feel part of. This is a busy and exciting time for the Youth team as we deliver the first funded steps of this ambitious strategy.

Job description

We're seeking a grant officer to work to improve local youth services and deliver a major cross government programme - Young Futures Hubs and Local Youth Transformation. It is a great opportunity for someone who thrives on seeing direct results, enjoys working with internal and external stakeholders and is committed to providing exceptional grant management.

The role will be responsible for managing delivery oversight and grant compliance for a portfolio of local authorities. Key elements of this role would include, but are not limited to:

• Build effective relationships with Local Authorities receiving DCMS grants, to ensure open, honest two-way communication.
• Monitor Local Authority delivery progress, working closely with the programme’s external delivery partner, resolving and/or escalating issues.
• Ensure compliance with grant management standards, reviewing financial and delivery evidence to aid effective use of managing public money.
• Capture learnings and feedback on the programme delivery to share with the wider team to support policy development.
• Drafting briefings, supporting visits, answers to parliamentary questions, correspondence and other parliamentary business

Person specification

The ideal candidate would have the following key skills and experience, please note that desirable skills will only be used in the event of tied candidates.

Essential requirements:

• Able to deliver at pace, with evidence of managing a number of workstreams to deliver stretching outcomes.
• Managing a quality service to those receiving funding, achieving high standards in delivery and changing and improving the way we deliver.
• Working together with internal and external stakeholders, including seniors stakeholders and delivery partners.
• Communicating and influencing to achieve positive outcomes and feedback.

Desirable skills:

• Demonstrable interest in and experience of youth policy and public services and/or youth services;
• Experience working with Local Authorities
• Experience of grant management

We are running an information session where prospective applicants can find out more about the role. This will be hosted by Claire Critchley, and will take place on: Tuesday 2 June 11:00 - 12:00

The session will be an opportunity to hear more about the role, the team and wider directorate and the department. It will also be an opportunity for you to ask any questions.

Please register your interest by filling out this Registration form and you will be sent an invitation. Invites will only be sent after this deadline has passed. Please note that the session will not be recorded and will not focus on the DCMS recruitment process - please direct any queries that you have on this topic (timelines, reasonable adjustments, onboarding etc) to resourcing.team@dcms.gov.uk

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Delivering at Pace
• Managing a Quality Service
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together