WELLCOME TRUST

Funding Manager, Directed Activities

• locations
• London

• posted on
• Posted Today

• job requisition id
• R-002991

Salary: £53,500 

Closing date: Sunday 11 January 2026

Contract type: Permanent  

Interview dates: W/C Monday 26 January 2026

The Wellcome Trust is a global charitable foundation. We improve health for everyone by funding science, leading policy and advocacy campaigns, and building partnerships.

We plan to spend £16bn over the next ten years, funding new discoveries in life, health, and wellbeing, and taking on three global health challenges: mental health, infectious disease and climate and health.

We are looking for two Funding Managers (senior level) to join our Directed Activities team in permanent roles.

Where in Wellcome will I be working?  

Research Funding is responsible for the operational management, governance, and support of all Wellcome’s grant funding activities.

This role sits within the Directed Funding & Planning section within Research Funding, reporting to the Senior Manager of Directed Activities.

The Directed Funding & Planning section provides dedicated support to Wellcome’s Strategic Programmes in Infectious Diseases, Mental Health and Climate & Health, as well as other teams across the business. The section is responsible for the coordinated central planning and implementation of Directed Funding at Wellcome, working collaboratively with the Legal and Finance teams to operationalise the Programmes’ Directed Funding objectives.

The Directed Funding & Planning section manages and delivers the end-to-end grant application, review and award processes. Applications may be for strategic, one off Discretionary Awards or those submitted to themed funding calls.

What will I be doing?  

As a senior level Funding Manager, you will provide effective business partner support to Wellcome’s Strategic Programmes, using your key expertise in Directed Funding process and knowledge of Wellcome’s funding policies to pro-actively advise the Programmes on the delivery and implementation of their strategic activities, playing an integral part at Wellcome to ensure that world-class research happens.

You will contribute to the coordinated central planning of Directed Funding activities and proficiently implement the resulting Discretionary Award applications and Funding call rounds, as well as any associated Advisory Committees. Using your excellent communication and influencing skills, you will work collaboratively with colleagues across the organisation to ensure operational excellence and consistency of practice towards helping Wellcome achieve its strategic funding objectives.

As a Funding Manager (senior level), you will:

• Provide proactive business partner support to Wellcome’s Strategic Programme teams. You will work collaboratively across Wellcome, particularly with Legal and Finance teams, to help execute the objectives of the Strategic Programme teams by guiding, advising and leading Directed Funding processes, such as the implementation of Discretionary Awards and funding calls.

• Build excellent stakeholder relations, clearly communicating with and positively influencing a range of people across the organisation and at various levels of seniority.

• Lead the implementation of new schemes and funding calls, or changes to established schemes, setting timelines and deciding workflow as required. You will manage any committee meetings associated with the scheme or funding call, coordinating all aspects of the meeting.

• Ensure good governance and provision of high-quality advice around grant management.

• Manage your own portfolio of Directed Funding grants throughout the life cycle, including due diligence and expert review of applications, provision of written feedback, making awards and managing queries on awarded grants.

• Deliver operational projects for Research Funding as needed, including planning, contributing to research and analysis, delivery of outcomes or implementation of recommendations.

Is this job for me?  

The ideal candidate should have excellent knowledge of grant funding processes and policies, and be educated to at least degree/equivalent level in a relevant science or public health subject.

You will have excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills, with an ability to adapt your approach to internal and external stakeholders at all levels of seniority. You will use initiative and good judgement to know when processes need to be flexibly adapted, recognising when discussions need to be escalated and clearly communicated to Research Funding leadership.

You will demonstrate strong problem-solving skills, with the ability to identify and explore key considerations to produce well-rationalised recommendations for a senior audience. You will have excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to summarise complex information and tailor it for specific audiences.

To apply for this role please submit an update CV and answer 2 application questions to demonstrate that you meet the minimum requirements for the role.

Minimum Criteria:  

• Educated to at least degree/equivalent level in a relevant science or public health subject.

• Previous experience as a Funding Manager or equivalent role and experience of the academic research environment.

• Evidence of robust stakeholder management skills – ability to quickly build and pro-actively maintain the trust of internal and external stakeholders at all levels of seniority.

• Evidence of strong verbal and written communication and collaboration skills across a range of internal and external audiences.

• Evidence of excellent organisational skills, with the ability to prioritise and manage large workloads and work to deadlines.

You can view the full  job description on our website  

You can read more about the benefits we offer our employees on our website   

Our Hybrid Way of Working  

We understand that our colleagues have commitments and personal interests outside of work and we strive to build a flexible working environment, in which people can perform at their best.

At Wellcome we have a hybrid way of working which is 3 days in our Euston Road offices (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) with the remaining 2 days working either remotely or in the office.

Diversity and Inclusion is at the heart of everything we do  

Diversity and Inclusion is a priority at Wellcome. We are committed to cultivating a fair and inclusive environment, where everyone can be themselves and thrive. We are happy to discuss flexible working options for all roles. We work to ensure that our recruitment processes are as inclusive as possible to everyone. This includes making adjustments for people who have a disability or long-term condition. Please visit our  website for more information on adjustments and accessibility, or contact us at 

.

jobs@wellcome.org

Our offices will be closed from Tuesday 23 December until Monday 5 January 2026. We will not be able to respond to emails sent to jobs@wellcome.org during this time and will reply to any queries on or after Monday 5 January 2026. 

#LI-CD1

#LI-Hybrid

About Us

We support researchers, we take on big health challenges, we campaign for better science, and we help everyone get involved with science and health research. Wellcome isn't just a supporter of great ideas, it's a great place to work. We offer excellent benefits and help our employees to develop in an open, respectful culture where differences are valued.