TALBOT VILLAGE TRUST

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job title:

Impact & Learning Lead

Job purpose:

To deepen the impact of the charity’s grant programmes for public benefit.

Reports to:

Director of Giving

Contract:

Full time

Location:

Bournemouth, Dorset

Salary:

£35,000-40,000 per annum, depending on skills and experience

BENEFITS:

29 days’ holiday entitlement
Hybrid, flexible working arrangements

JOB DESCRIPTION

Talbot Village Trust (TVT) is one of Dorset’s largest place-based funders. Guided by the
social purpose of our founders, we support people and communities across south-east
Dorset to live well. Over the past decade, we have awarded more than £10 million through
over 650 grants to charities and local impact organisations operating across Bournemouth,
Poole, Christchurch, Purbeck, and East Dorset.

Alongside grant-making, we manage a diverse estate that includes the historic Talbot
Village, residential and commercial lettings, woodland, and an urban heath.

We are now developing a long-term, evidence-informed approach to transform the Trust’s
grant giving. As part of our strategic aims, we are extending a recent pilot Strategic
Partnership programme, to enable the Trust to move from reactive grant giving to more
sustainable, impactful grant giving that transforms the lives and opportunities for local
communities in the longer term.

Our overarching ambition is to strengthen learning, insight, and impact, and this new role is
central to achieving that goal.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Role Purpose

The Impact & Learning Lead will help us understand, deepen, and communicate the
difference our funding makes. You will lead on impact measurement, evaluation, and
organisational learning, ensuring decisions are evidence-informed and funding delivers the
greatest possible benefit. You will have experience of social value measurement and of
facilitating knowledge exchange to bridge grassroots action and strategic philanthropy.

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This is a new and pivotal role within TVT, offering the opportunity to shape our approach to
learning from grant-making, support grantees, and enable more effective, preventative,
place-based change.

Key responsibilities

Impact Strategy & Framework

•  Coordinate the design, delivery and refinement of the Trust’s impact and learning

strategy.

•  Translate insights from the grant giving programmes and sector research to inform

strategic recommendations to the Trust’s Board.

•  Work with grantees to develop practical, sustainable impact frameworks, monitoring

processes and data quality.

•  Lead TVT’s own impact measurement initiatives, including the use of theory of

change design and other relevant tools.

Supporting Grant-making & Engagement

•  Promote our various grant programmes particularly to organisations addressing

diverse community needs.

•  Support the development of new initiatives and funding partnerships.

•  Use data-driven approaches to identify and support high-need areas or groups.

•  Contribute to events, stakeholder engagement and strategic reviews.

•  Connect grantees with useful opportunities for networking, training and development.

•  Support the Trust’s Philanthropy Committee and Board with evidence-based

reporting.

Learning Culture & Facilitation

•  Facilitate and contribute to internal and external learning processes, including

reflection sessions, learning events, communities of practice, and peer learning.
•  Promote a culture where insights - including failures - are openly shared and used to

shape future decisions.

•  Commission and manage external evaluations where appropriate.
•  Translate complex evidence into accessible insights for trustees, staff, and partners.

Data, Systems & Reporting

•  Produce high-quality insights, reports and presentations to inform decision making at

all levels.

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•  Oversee data quality, monitoring and analysis, and the development of impact

dashboards or summaries.

•  Review and improve systems to capture, store and analyse impact data.
•  Contribute to sector research networks (e.g., ACF, IVAR) to strengthen internal and

sector-wide learning.

Stakeholder Relationships

•  Prepare content, reports and other key communications targeting messages for

diverse stakeholders at local, regional and national level.

•  Contribute to internal and external communications and campaigns to highlight the

impact of the Trust’s work.

•  Maintain strong relationships with other funders, impact specialists, and statutory

partners to share learning and improve sector support.

•  Work collaboratively across Trust staff teams to deepen impact practices and

communications.

•  Represent the foundation in external networks, working groups or collaborations.

General

•  Attend occasional events outside of office hours.

•  Undertake any other duties reasonably required to support the charity’s activities.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

This role will suit someone who enjoys building trusted relationships and meaningful
collaborations, investigating data, and reflective learning - someone who can translate
complexity into meaningful action and enjoys convening others around learning. You don’t
need to come from a traditional evaluation of grant giving background - many routes into
learning and impact work are valued - but you will bring:

Essential:

•  Experience of designing and leading impact enquiries.
•  Experience of co-designed approaches e.g. community engaged participatory

research.

•  Strong communication (written and verbal) and relationship building skills with a

diverse range of partners and potential beneficiaries

•  Strong analytical skills with the ability to translate complex information into actionable

insights.

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•

IT skills and knowledge of key data sets used by charities/ public sector

•  Self-organised, proactive, and collaborative approach.

•  Understanding of charitable organisations and the impact of their work.

•  Commercial awareness regarding organisational sustainability.

•  Commitment to TVT’s mission, vision, and values.

•  Clean, valid driving licence and access to a car. The role will involve site visits to

communities across south-east Dorset.

Desirable:

•  Experience of working in a grant-giving environment.

•  Experience of working with statutory partners

•  Familiarity with place-based, community-led or systems-change work

•  Understanding of UK charity law and governance.

How to apply

Please apply with a covering letter outlining why you are suitable for this role along with
your CV including names of two referees (none of whom will be contacted without your
consent and only if you are offered a position). Email your application to
caroline@talbotvillagetrust.org

As a small team, we are not able to provide individual feedback at the initial stage of the
application process. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

This is a full time role, working 35 hours per week, Monday-Friday. We can offer the option to
work from home on an agreed number of days per week once probation has been passed.

Deadline for applications is Friday 30th January 2026.  Please note that applications will
not be monitored over the holiday period. However, we reserve the right to hold interviews
for shortlisted candidates ahead of the closing deadline.

Should you be interviewed for this post (either virtual or face to face), you will always receive
considered feedback from us once a decision has been reached.

We warmly welcome applicants from all parts of our diverse community.

Thank you for showing an interest in the opportunity.

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