Pathways Fund Facilitator Role description
The Blagrave Trust is seeking a creative and dynamic facilitator to support the development of a new Pathways Fund Advisory Panel. The Pathways Fund Advisers will be made up of current and previous grant partners, who will be employed to advise on the development of the next round of the Fund.
Location: London and hybrid online
Contract length: 1 year, June 2026 – June 2027
Salary: Day rate £350 per day (excluding VAT), up to an agreed maximum number of days. We anticipate 10 days in 2026, and potentially a further 10 days in 2027.
Closing: 9am, Monday 18th May
Interview: Tues 26th May (in person or online)
Overall Purpose:
To support Blagrave and Pathways Fund Advisers through planning and delivering design sessions during their one-year tenure.
Key dates:
Please let us know as soon as possible if there are dates you cannot make:
• Deadline for application: 9am, Monday 19th May
• Interviews for facilitator role: Tues 26th May
• Contracting: w/c 1st June
• Launch call: w/c 8th June
• Deadline for application for Advisers: Monday 8th June
• Recruitment of Advisers: w/c 22nd June (2 group interviews, Tues 23rd and Weds 24th June)
• Contracting: w/c 29th June
• Launch call with Advisers: Wednesday 8th July, 5pm-7pm
Online and in person meetings confirmed following your appointment, these will be designed to meet advisers and facilitator other commitments (July 2026 – June 2027)
About Blagrave
Blagrave is an independent charity dedicated to serving young people who are challenging and experiencing injustice in their individual lives and within society. We hold investments of c. £40 million, which along with other income sources, funds all the work we do including grant-making. We directly fund and support young people to lead change through a range of programmes including Challenge and Change, Pathways Fund, and the Youth Led Change Day.
About Pathways Fund
The Pathways Fund was born directly from the learning and momentum of Blagrave’s Challenge and Change programme, a pilot that provided small grants to young people as individuals, collectives, and movements. When the pilot concluded, several partners were demonstrating real, scalable impact but had nowhere to go next. There weren’t many vehicles in the wider funding landscape that could offer multi-year, core funding to emerging youth-led groups that were neither “start-ups” nor yet “established.”
In response, Blagrave chose to fund four groups from the Challenge and Change cohort with larger, three-year grants as a test case. The aim was to co-design a ‘next stage’ model of support alongside these partners. After the first pilot year, Blagrave launched the Pathways Fund publicly in 2023, building on extensive learning sessions with the pilot partners and consultation with other youth leaders. The feedback was clear: young changemakers needed stability, space, and support that went beyond money alone. The Pathways Fund was designed to meet that need, offering core, flexible funding of £20,000– £30,000 per year for three years, paired with a holistic support package that centred on wellbeing, organisational development, and fund management support.
In 2026, we will be refining the programme ahead of a relaunch at the end of the year, open as a pathway for the current Challenge and Change cohort. To support us in refining the programme in the lead up to the launch we intend to recruit an advisory panel for the Pathways Fund. The opportunity will be open to previous and current partners, and we hope to recruit five advisers that represent the diverse range of groups the Fund is here for.
About the role
To support the advisers, Blagrave is looking to appoint a skilled facilitator.
You will play a key role in supporting our advisers to do their work by building individual relationships, supporting the formation of the group and creating a safe and productive space where everyone is able to meaningfully contribute. You will support the recruitment and the induction of the advisers and will be responsible for planning and running regular meetings, both in person and online.
Essential criteria
You will be:
Based in commutable distance of London
A skilled and experienced facilitator of groups, particularly those where difficult or sensitive decisions need to be made
• Experienced working with young people with lived experience of social injustice.
• Knowledgeable of the context for charitable funders and social justice groups
• Comfortable supporting people from all walks of life to work together
• Able to work with uncertainty and respond flexibly to emerging issues
• Thorough and diligent in your approach
And you will have:
A love of creative methods for having meaningful, fun and energising conversations
An awareness of how power and privilege play out in group conversations and a commitment to help the group work together – with an awareness of your own power in the group
An ability to create a safe, warm atmosphere where people can relate as people, not just in their assigned roles
A willingness to support honest conversations and disagreement; recognising that surfacing and dealing with difficult issues openly and with kindness can help deepen trust
• A knowledge of different decision-making methods for the group to experiment with
As we consciously recruit a diverse group of advisers, it is essential that you are skilled enough to hold space for everyone despite their differences in lived, learnt and practice experiences, allowing for differences of opinion and a variety of experiences of social injustice. We are open to candidates from all backgrounds, but we will prioritise those who will help us to continue to diversify the voices heard in philanthropic work and in particular centring young people in all we do. We are committed to creating an equitable environment where all can thrive.
Key tasks
The facilitator’s role will be to support the Advisers to play equal and cohesive parts in programme design and grant making decisions over the course of the coming year. This includes designing and delivering interactive online and In-person session to enable the Advisers to:
• Design and refine:
o The criteria for the fund
o The application process and website copy
o The support offer
o Reporting and impact frameworks
• Design and deliver sessions:
o A Q&A for potential applicants
• Shortlist and making final recommendations for board and delegated approval.
The split of responsibilities between Blagrave staff and your role is:
| Blagrave | Facilitator |
| Lead interview process for advisers | Support with adviser interviews if diariesallow |
| Delivering specific sessions e.g. Blagraveinduction. | Leading in holding and facilitating thespace, including access and inclusion. |
| Playing an active role in sessions asappropriate, providing context, guidanceand support as needed. | Designing equitable decision-makingprocesses, ensuring power dynamics areheld between Blagrave and the advisers. |
| Co-developing the structure, timeline, andcontent of the meetings. | Co-developing the structure, timeline, andcontent of the meetings. |
| Leading with admin and logistics forsessions e.g. emailing advisers,contracting, paying advisers. | Recording key decisions and holdingBlagrave to account to ensure there is aclear feedback loop with advisers. |
| Safeguarding and wellbeing oversight(held by our Safeguarding and WellbeingTeam) | Providing pastoral support to advisers asneeded, including check in calls. |
| Leading on grants process and havingultimate approval of grants and sign offfor content. | Sending invoices and organising your owntravel, accommodation and food asrequired. |
Terms
The role will be on a self-employed basis, so you will invoice Blagrave based on time spent up to an agreed maximum. The daily rate is £350 excluding VAT. Any travel or expenses costs will be reimbursed separately.
Time frame and time commitments
This agreement runs from June 2026 until June 2027. The advisers will begin in July 2026, and they will be employed for a year. Your time commitment will vary with the demands of the work. At some points, we anticipate weekly meetings; at other points meetings might be monthly.
Based on our experience with other programmes, we anticipate the role will need around 1-4 days per month to include prep and delivery time, with some months busier than others. We have budgeted up to 10 days of work for the 2026 calendar year (June-Dec 2026) and will agree with you and advisers your commitment and days for the remainder of your contract (Jan – June 2027) in 2027 well in advance.
To accommodate advisers’ other commitments, we anticipate some if not all meetings could take place at evenings or weekends.
Safeguarding and Equity Statement
We are committed to creating safe environments for young people and partners. All staff share responsibility for promoting safety, noticing concerns, and acting in line with our safeguarding policy. All job offers are made subject to appropriate background checks. Blagrave will only ask an individual to provide details of sensitive information, including convictions and cautions, that it is legally entitled to know about. We do not want this to be a barrier to those who have the potential to add great value to the work we do. If you have any questions regarding DBS check, please contact the Designated Safeguarding Lead, Valeria Tavares, at valeria@blagravetrust.org. This role will be subject to a Basic DBS.
Blagrave is committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion. We expect all staff to actively engage in anti-oppressive and anti-racist practices and contribute to creating an inclusive environment for all, including young people and partners.
We recognise that traditional recruitment practices can exclude people, and we are committed to offering a fair, transparent, and inclusive process. We are open to discussing adjustments and alternative ways of showing your experience. If you meet part of the job specification but not all, please consider applying if you share the vision and values of the role.
As a disability friendly employer, Blagrave is committed to ensuring all recruitment processes are accessible and will offer an interview to candidates who declare they have a disability and meet the minimum criteria for the role.
All information gathered as part of our recruitment processes will be treated sensitively, with confidentiality strictly maintained, and according to our Privacy and Data Protection policy.
How to apply
To apply, please email callum.pethick@blagravetrust.org with the following:
• Covering letter explaining your interest in and suitability for the role
Two references
Your CV
Applications close 9am, Monday 18th May 2026.
Please note, interviews will take place Tuesday 26th May, if you cannot make this date, please flag this in your application.
If you have any questions ahead of application, please contact:
callum.pethick@blagravetrust.org